Total lengths, sizes and shapes of steel used.
2 x 6 x ¼ rectangle 70 inches
2 x 2 x 3/16 square 41 ft, 4 in
1 x 1 x 1/8 square 19 ft, 10 in
1 ½ x 1 ½ x 1/8 square 15 ft
6 inch channel 10 ft.
1 ½ x 1 ½ x 3/16 angle 12 ft.
Allow a little extra length when purchasing, to allow for cutting and odd sizes
Cut lengths, used for the actual construction.
1 - 2 x 6 x ¼ rectangle tube 70 inches – front cross piece
2 – 2 x 2 x 3/16 square tube 108 inches – sides of base
2 – 2 x 2 x 3/16 square tube 66 inches – middle and rear cross piece, base
2 – 2 x 2 x 3/16 square tube 24 inches – Front uprights
2 – 2 x 2 x 3/16 square tube 22 inches – middle uprights
2 – 2 x 2 x 3/16 square tube 28 inches – rear uprights
10 – 1 x 1 x 1/8 square tube 18 inches – angle bracing
2 - 1 x 1 x 1/8 square tube 23 inches – angle bracing, front/side
1 - 1 x 1 x 1/8 square tube 12 inches - spacer under keel rest, between 2 x 6
rectangle and 6 inch channel
12 – 1 ½ x 1 ½ x 1/8 square tube 12 inches - pads
6 - 1 ½ x 1 ½ x 1/8 square tube 6 inches - pads
1 – 6 in channel 120 inches – keel rest (*please see below for further
explaination)
2 – 1 ½ x 1 ½ x 3/16 angle 72 inches – wings to widen keel rest
Hardware/ Auto parts store stuff
6 – 1” x 36” in threaded rod
12 – 1” nuts
6 – 1” washers
6 – 9” x 12” ½ inch plywood
12 – 2 ½ x ¼ in. carriage bolts (hold plywood pads to pad frames.)
12 – ¼ in nuts
12 – ¼ in lock washers
Carpet for keel rest – 1 piece 6 ft x 10 in
Carpet for top of pads – 6 pieces 9” x 12”
12 – nylon tie-wraps – attach carpet to plywood pads.
1- 2 x 6 treated board, ripped down by ½ inch to fit in 6 inch channel
6 – 4 inch 1 ½ inch PVC pipe (driven inside top of 2 x 2 uprights to protect threads on threaded rod)
You can see pictures of the cradle at http://www.signsbyrik.net/rik/transport.html to get a better idea of how all of this fits together. For more information, my email address is; rik@signsbyrik.net
The cradle is 110 inches long (108 in 2 x 2 side pieces + 2 x 6 front cross piece) and 70 inches wide at the bottom. (66 in 2 x 2 cross pieces + the 2- 2 x 2 side pieces)
The upright support legs slant inwards from the sides of the base, 5 inches per side ( measured at 30 inches above floor), giving 60 inches (approx) between the center of the pads when measured side to side. I ripped a 2 foot long, 2 x 6 board at an angle, 4 inches narrower at one end (top), to use as a template for this angle. The uprights are spaced out equally from front to back with the front upright sitting atop the 2 x 6 front crosspiece and the rear upright sitting atop and flush with, the back end of the 2 x 2 side pieces. The center upright lines up with the center cross piece in the base.
The keel rest is 5 inches higher in the front than the back to allow the boat to sit level when in the cradle. The keel rest (6 inch channel) is welded atop the 2 x 2 inch rear cross piece and the 2 x 6 inch front cross piece with a one in square tube spacer to make the difference between the front and rear heights 5 inches. (more about this below*)
The metal pad frames are made with a ½ inch space between the plywood and the 6 inch center piece to allow the plywood to shape itself somewhat to the curve of the hull. The plywood is only attached to the metal frames on one side, to allow this flexing.
I will be building an extra, adjustable, front keel rest, as the keel does not sit on the keel rest all the way to the front. In the interim I am using a 10,000 lb nylon ratchet strap between the 2 front uprights and under the front of the keel to support it better while trailering. I don’t believe this would be necessary while just sitting on the hard. (Note: The ratchet strap front keel support has worked well enough that I have not felt the need to rush into building the adjustable metal front keel support, although I will eventually)
*Since the original construction, I have re-thought the keel rest. When I first built the cradle, without the benefit of the boat being where I could put a tape measure to it, (she was in Seattle, I was in Minnesota) I used a six inch channel for the keel rest. I thought that the keel could sit down between the sides of the channel iron to keep it securely centered, side to side, in the cradle while trailering. I found, upon loading the Flicka the first time, that the keel was just a bit too wide to fit between the sides of a 6 inch channel. At this time I had to put a 2 x 6 board (these don't quite fit and must be ripped down a ½ inch or so) in the channel, so the keel could sit above the channel sides. My thinking then was that I would simply remove the 6 inch channel and add an 8 inch channel instead. After further investigation, I decided that it would be better to leave the 6 inch channel in place, continue to use the ripped down 2 x 6 inside of it and add 2 “wings” of 1 ½ x 1 ½ x 3/16 angle to the top of the sides of the channel for the keel to sit between. My thinking on this after seeing everything loaded and in place was that lowering the boat the extra 2 inches or so, would put the rudder too close to the bed of the trailer. This probably wouldn't have made much difference on the trailer, which is perfectly flat, but may have been a problem when using the cradle on the ground, which may be more irregular. This does not change the need for the additional front keel rest I referred to above. If one wanted to use an 8 inch channel instead of the 6 inch, this could be done and still maintain enough ground clearance by using a 2 x 8 rectangle for the front cross piece and 2 x 4 rectangle tubing for the rest of the pieces of the base of the cradle. This would add a substantial amount of weight to the unit though, making loading and unloading of the cradle to or from your trailer by hand, more challenging.