New Travel Lift

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This impacts a really small group of folks (MoonDancer and me) but ought to be helpful to other Potomac Boaters as well. To my utter shock, Marine Corps Base Quantico is installing a marine travel lift this fall.
No taxpayer dollars involved--this is all funded by the dollars Marina patrons pay for the facility. Great news though, as we will be able to haul out for winterization, storms, and the occasional, uh, leak in the bilge!

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[fwebster]

Having a travel lift where you keep your boat is a trememdous advantage.......you'll love it.

You will not, however, love the fact that there is a learning curve to their operation as well as to handling the boats being hauled. You cannot assume they know what they are doing and you will have to watch your boat and be actively involved in the haul out and blocking process in order to prevent damage. All boats are not created equal.

To save you calling sea Ray, your boat requires a firm base upon which to be blocked, it needs a minimum of 4 blocks equally spaced under the keel, 2 of which align with the sling marks, and 4 jack stands equally spaced down each side positioned just inboard of the chine. Block the boat slightly bow high...shim the kelel blocks as needed with various thichnesses of plywood.

 

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Frank,
I had the same thought as regards letting them learn on other boats. Both times the 420DA has been hauled under my owership the lift operators were very experienced. When we hauled as soon as we took delivery the haul out involed a 1/4 mile transit on the lift, up a hill, around several boats, and into a covered warehouse in the yard. Nerve wracking. Best left to experienced operators.

The blocking you describe is precisely how the yard did it when we hauled two weeks ago--so now I know what right looks like.

regards
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