wooden 27ftr on rack or wet slip?

[ss boxfish]

I,am a complete begginer who has bought his 1st wood boat at age 50.I,am in West palm beach,Florida,and will be bringing down a well maintained 1960 27ft.Chris Craft Constellation,with no dry rot to the waterways here.Currently.she stays in Washington D.C and stays wet.I,am having problems finding slips for smaller vessels.Three places will put her on a rack placing the load in the correct positions of strength.Two questions.Is this a good idea to keep a wood boat on a rack,from the standpoint of structural compromise and also with the swelling and contracting that will occur?keep in mindI will use her/least bi-monthly and never leave her on the rack longer then a month.Too with the higher humidity here that should help.....Thanks for your help

[longliner45]

here in the midwest, I have seen alot of boats kept in boathouses in the winter but the keel is kept wet. so I would guess ,,,and only guess that it is more important to keep wet than dry,

[ss boxfish]

Thanks,for your reply.As I mentioned since the boat wont be stored for a winter but rather used every other week...I,am wondering how critical it is to keep her in water.Since she will never be allowed to dry out I quess I,am more concerned with structural integrity up on a rack with her 9000lbs.Any more ideas out there.

[Buildboats]

In Canada they seem to store those older hulls without much issue. I Now that in winter... the air during a high pressure after a cold front passes can be very, very, dry. As for the rack just be careful to set the hull on the rack correctly each and eveytime you store her. Not much else you can do would be nice it the rack had a keel support as well as the standard hull braces. is it lifted by fork lift or straps?

[ss boxfish]

Good question?All I know for sure is at one place the yard foreman told me to contact Chris Craft to get the correct Points of support diagramed on the boat so it would be supported properly.I,ll ask to see what they use for sure....thanks

[Buildboats]

I don't rally see a problem storing the boat out of water at all. As for lifting it I wouldn't see a problem either way if it's going on to a rack, I'd think there using a fork lift Kind. Be a bit difficult with a tammy lift to stick it in a rack. shouldn't make a dif to the hull

[ss boxfish]

Thankyou sir.........

[gonzo]

You may end up with a leaking problem. The hull will have to swell up each time you launch. That can take up to two days in a good hull. Also, get a written guarantee that they can handle the boat properly. In my experience, most operators are very rough and have no knowledge of wooden boats.