Saggy Bottom

[reen8888]

I have a 1984 Newport 33' I just pulled to do a bottom job. I'm on a trailer with 4 pads, sitting with almost all weight on the keel. I have noticed behind the keel the hull is pushing up into the boat. With a board laying flat along the bottom to measure, the hull is inverted 1/2". What are the odds that the boat is just too heavy to have all the weight on the keel? Its a fin keel. I am in the process of building a cradle to support the aft end of the boat between the rear 2 pads. The boat does not have wooden stringers below the cabin sole. There are only a few blisters on the bottom. It does appear the boat had about 8 inches of standing water inside at one time. Any and all ideas are welcome.

[PAR]

I've said before and will again, I'm sure, most trailer designs are very lacking in support, especially sail. You're hogging her on this trailer, this means the ends are drooping because they aren't being supported. This can and does happen in the water, but will accelerate quite quickly if on the hard without correct support.

A boat of that length should have at least three stands along each bilge, better if four. The keel should be supported evenly in rollers or bed and a forward roller or two for the bow (not at the bow, but under it) and an insert support for the stern. This stern support is where trailers do a lot of damage. It's hard to engineer a system that provides support and allows easy loading or launching. The best ones I've seen have an "over center" or cam action to lift a roller into place after the boat is dragged up the ramp. If the trailer is well designed the aft bilge stands will help a great deal in supporting the stern. Basically it should look like the boat would if placed in a marina's yard with jack stands, but on a frame with wheels attached. You can't have enough stands . . .

This may also be damage from a hard grounding as this is an area that receives very high loads in that situation. If this is the case, you need a survey to determine the damage and the options to fix. Or it could be a hog that has developed over years of poor support, which will present more of a challenge to address.