Cradle

Our previous cradle had been trucked from marina to marina in Ontario and was rather ideal in that it bolted together. For the overland transport of our vessel we required a cradle that was 1′ narrower and a little stiffer (welded const.)

Construction of the new cradle began in the spring of 2011 with the goal of comepletion in order to move the vessel to her new yard before summer fees would take effect in her old yard. With late nights and long days the cradle was completed before the deadline. Alas working multiple jobs created logistic difficulties for moving her, she came home in late August of that year.

The cradle was constructed of 8″ channel ( x 2.5) with 2x2x 3/16″ uprights and 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 x 1/8 diagonal supports.  The 16 x 7′ cradle was constructed in the 24 x 11 boat shop with equipment setup inside the cradle. The completed cradle as well as the delivered materials were moved on pairs of 10″ 300lb  capacity utility wheels. The completed cradle sat on 3 pairs of wheels and was pulled in and out of the shop 4 times so it could be used for other projects.

The came the transport of the 900 lb+ cradle to the old yard. I raised the cradle to  the height of a moving truck bed using farm jacks and wood blocking. I found a rental moving truck that appeared to fit the cradle but within 1″ of the total length. In went the cradle rolling a half dozen 1″ round bar rollers. Our friends of SV Artful Dodger were there to assist in the seamless transfer. The protruding bolts brought the cradle within 1/2″ of the door but it closed freely.