This is going to be a long post, because I haven't been able to post due to not being able to upload some images. Thanks for your patience and hope someone finds this interesting or helpful! This weekend I really only had one day (Saturday) of good weather, and this sucks because I hadn't planned this out correctly and need to be doing a lot of prep work on the trailer. Unfortunately, the trailer is outside and I'm not looking to work on it in the rain so it's gonna have to wait. In reality, I should've moved the trailer into the garage first, and leave the boat outside covered. I have to prep, paint, wire, and grease up the trailer (with new bunks) before I do anything more on the boat because I want to restore the trailer completely before putting the boat back on (since it's so much easier to do when you don't have a boat on it haha)
So yesterday I successfully removed the boat from the trailer, flipped it upside down, and got it stored in the garage. I'm really glad I did this - even though I did it out of order - because it made surface prep for the paint probably three times easier and quicker. I have a 16ft boat with absolutely nothing in it but it's shell (hull). I think if this was an eighteen footer, had any sort of wood left, or was wider, I would not have been able to complete this maneuver. So if you're reading this and looking to flip your boat over, and you don't meet that criteria, you're probably gonna have to enlist a different method or many more hands then me.
This is how I flipped my boat over using a 1 ton cherry picker (Engine Hoist), and a buddy.
First thing I did was jack up the cherry picker as high as possible. One thing this does is shift all the weight of the boat (when lifting) to the stern instead of evenly distributed. If I were to do this again, I wouldn't raise it as high, but instead get the trailer out from underneath. Raising it this high proved pretty challenging when my buddy and I were supporting the weight at the stern. One thing to notice in this picture above, the tow strap I'm using is aligned off-center of the U shaped tie down. This is intentional. Shifting it to one side with a lot of tension on it means when we lift up the boat it will naturally want to flip over because of the straps position.
I don't have any pictures of us in the middle of the process, so I'll simply describe it. Me and a buddy positioned at the stern of the boat grabbed both corners and began to slowly lift. As we lifted, we indeed felt the boat naturally wanting to list due to the strap. Once lifted, we had limited time to work because honestly with how high the bow was lifted, there was a lot of weight back there. So immediately once we cleared the bottom of the trailer on the stern by lifting, we simply let the boat flip over while bracing it. Once the straps tension released (upon flipping) the bow dropped about six inches to a foot (the distance from the gunnel to the hook coincidentally). This release and difference in height in the bow took off probably fifty to seventy pounds of weight where we were lifting. Now that the boat was flipped upside, we carefully set it down on the trailer to take a break. One thing to mention is you -must- ensure clearance at the bow when you flip. If you don't have it raised enough, the tip of your boat will smack your winch, roller, or trailer in the process of rolling over. The bow will drop in height when using this method, so ensure proper clearance.
After flipping it over, somewhat effortlessly for two guys, our next task in order was moving it into the garage. Here I have a cherry picker on wheels, so we simply picked up the boat on the stern while the bow was supported by the engine hoist. We lowered the hoist from its previous position so that the weight on the stern was more manageable. In the garage, we put down a couple 2x4's so the gunnels aren't directly on hard concrete.
And that's that. The only lesson learned here, is it would be much easier to lift the boat up, take the trailer out, and -then- do the flipping. Because we had to flip the boat above the trailer, it was a little trickier. We're young and in pretty good shape I'd say so very much doable for us. My biggest recommendation in terms of safety and efficiency is just more hands. If we had four guys instead of two, it would've been so much easier. Considering the circumstances of my country and health concerns that wasn't an option so this sufficed. Figured I'd share it for anyone interested!
With the trailer empty, I'm doing to replace the bunks with new wood and better rated carpet. Rewire the trailer lights because currently they're old and spliced. The trailer lights are also using the frame for a ground which is bad practice from what I'm reading, so going to run a dedicated line for that. Not sure how I'm going to chase the wires from the rear to the front (If I'm going to use clips, pipe, or flexible plastic socks). Also going to touch up the rollers. The rollers themselves are in great condition and were replaced recently, but the pins need cleaned and greased. So in order, going to remove all hardware and lights, remove bunks, surface prep and paint the trailer, rewire the trailer, install new stainless steel hardware, install accessories, and then reinstall new bunks.
I'm definitely behind schedule due to weather, and now I'm essentially forced to paint the trailer outside. That's a real bummer and wish I would have thought about it before. Live and learn, right? haha.
