Getting it upside down??

I have a 1961 18 foot wooden lapstrake grady white that I am restoring.

I would love to roll it over if I could think of some safe easy way to do it with out harming the boat.

any suggestions?

 

That boat is quite light weight and can be man handled by a few big 'fellas. Of course, you'll want to remove the outboard, tanks, batteries, etc. before the roll. You can also pick it up with an engine hoist, either the boom style or a chain fall rigged from a heavy branch or truss. I've used "come-a-longs" to do this too, but it's a lot more effort, with the pumping and resetting necessary.

Lift the boat clear of the trailer, move the trailer out from underneath, then lower her onto some foam, old tires (sans the rims), the ground if soft and rearrange the hoisting straps so the next lift will be sideways (well off center) then hoist again. She'll come up with one rail much lower then the other and when just clear of the ground or padding, lower her back down until the rail just touches the ground or padding. This is when a few strong friends can be of big help. You'll want to gently roll the boat "over center" which is a balance point you'll find were the boat wants to flop over. You keep hoisting and lowering adjusting the straps until she's belly up. If the big friends are available then they can twist the boat over center while in the straps, making a much shorter afternoon of the job.

If you're about to do some bottom work, placing her back on the trailer (upside down) isn't a bad idea, it'll make moving it around easier at least. The trailer may need some temporary supports to receive the upside down boat without damaging it. The boat also may require some temporary athwartship bracing to keep her from deforming during the rolling process. These temporary supports and braces may just be a few 2 x 4's clamped, nailed or screwed to the boat or trailer.

I do this all the time and have a staging area with a few chain falls rigged so I can raise and lower a boat front to back and side to side (a hoist for each corner on large boats and a hoist on each side for small ones) Honestly, you'll find she's not very heavy at all and a handful of healthy guys can easily lift, move and roll this boat, without the need of a hoist. An offer of free beer (cheaper then renting a hoist) seems to work magic with my friends, how about yours?