Boat House Lift Straps vs. Cradle

C

Comfortably Numb

New member
I have tried to search and see if this question has been posed before, but couldn't see anything that directly referenced the topic. That said, I could very well have missed it. So, please bear with me.

I have an opportunity to keep the Comfortably Numb in a neighbor's boat house this season (they don't have, and never will have, a boat). It's a great chance to not have to take her in and out all season. Anyway, the boat lift is currently rigged to accommodate lift straps, and not a cradle. My buddies and I are contemplating converting the current configuration to a cradle. The primary reason the boys are thinking this way is a concern that straps can cause a boat to flex a bit.

What I mean by this (and you need to understand this community is made up of an overwhelming number of open bow runabouts...my buddies both have Cobalts and NO other C-Dorys are on our lake or in the area) is we have seen a open bow stay in straps, without being lowered at all into the water for several seasons straight, and the center window that forms part of the walkway into the bow has literally been "forced" over and lapped onto the remaining windshield. UGH! By the way, we actively boat every weekend. The Comfortably Numb will not stay in the lift for extended periods of time at all.

The straps I am talking about here go underneath the hull and lift/support the boat. The straps do not attach to any hardware on the boat.

Because of the way the C-Dory is built, are there any concerns out there about using straps instead of a cradle? I am thinking the rigidity of the hull and the completely enclosed cabin with bulkhead may be different enough from a bow rider the concerns are not the same?

I sure would appreciate folks with some experience to chime in before I possibly spend money I don't need to.

Thanks a lot,
Mark :thup
 
Mark, no question that a cradle would provide "better" support. IMHO, straps are fine for lifting a boat in and out but not for storing it. I had a cradle of sorts for my 22 and now just have two 2X12's that the TC sits on between the steel bars. Unless the lift is set up right, it might take a lot of modification to convert it. There's an independent 110V motor (1/2HP) for each beam with a continuous cable that lifts both sides at the same time.


BoatHouse004.jpg

It's a belt, pully worm drive arrangement.

BoatHouse003.jpg

There are two longitudinal supports that the hull rests on that go between the beams.

BoatHouse002.jpg

The boat is closer to one side than the other to make boarding easier.

This lift, originally built for my 22 Cruiser, now holds the TC255 and the two longitudinal beams have been pushed towards the center, into the tunnel of the Cat and two 2X12's have been used for the two hulls to rest on. It overhangs the back quite a bit because of the length of the TC but overall seems to work well. We've got a roof on it now too.

I'd recommend some sort of a cradle to give the hull more support if you're going to have it on there a lot.

Charlie
 
I don't see a problem with the straps on a 22. I kept a Grady White 22 (weight more than CD, with a 225 hp outboard) in straps for 5 years with no problems. My neighbor had a CD 22 in straps for about 6 years and a Tom Cat 24 for 4 years with no problems.

Make sure that the aft strap is just in front of the transom, The foreward strap should be about 15 feet (could be slightly less. It should work fine.

Bob
 
I keep my 22 in straps with no problems. In my case I only have about 1 foot of water at low tide so the straps work out better. The downside to them is the cables can become bird nested around the 2" pipe if you aren't careful because of the lack of the weigh of the cradle. To solve this I have added 15 lb weighs to the cables where they connect to the straps. I have mine rigged where the rear strap is about 6" behind the fuel fill. The front is about 12' forward of the rear. This is the fourth boat I've had in straps without any problems.
 
Back
Top