03 Sep 20:
Tide Tamer Swinger 1500 Pound Cradle Lift adapted for our Sorg Runabout 15. The lift is designed to swivel 180 degrees but we didn't need that, we installed pilings for a cover instead.
Video: https://youtu.be/Nya1lRmOxYs
Showing posts with label boat lift. Show all posts
Showing posts with label boat lift. Show all posts
Saturday, September 5, 2020
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
Sorg 15 Runabout WILLOW 12 Jul 20 Functional Check Float and Other Tidbits
12 Jul 20:
Air Temp 82F, Dewpoint 74F, Winds NE at 4 knots. Light swell.
We put a new lead acid battery in WILLOW and got some fresh gas with Merine StaBil added, time to take her out for a Functional Check Float (FCF). Lowered her cradle lift and headed towards the river looking for dolphin, they were either sleeping or were good at hide and seek. The motor ran great, water was flat once we left the bay and got into the river channel, so WILLOW stretched her legs and sped up to about 20 mph. We took a long sweeping turn past a townhouse we used to own and headed back to the pier. Florida outings are not lasting too long this time of year, heat index was already approaching 100F when we got everything put away.
The wooden lapstrake hull is holding up well, she needs a repaint some time in the next year as we are starting to see a few paint pops over fasteners that need attention. This paint was RustOleum Topside Oyster White, it's been our favorite Oyster White and it has been on the boat since 2014, with a lot of time in the Florida sun. I'm not sure if a more expensive paint would have held up longer, and I am not sure how many coats, primer, etc went on with this finish. So when it comes time to repaint we'll evaluate what colors are there and decide if we are going to use Topside again. We'd need a color just as beautiful to switch.
Bow lines. We like em. When we launch and retrieve I drive the tow vehicle and Skipper handles the lines. We have a nice long bow line, she grabs it before WILLOW goes in the water and then she can stand clear of the vehicle and trailer. At our ramp next door she has enough bow line to walk over to the dock and tug WILLOW behind her while I park the trailer, bow line is probably 18 feet long or so. We have also found a long bow line handy for different docks, plenty of room to get to cleats and some left over to act as a spring line. We also have 4 other dock lines on board, 2 aft and 2 amidships. We normally don't need them but don't like not having them.
We are also confused by the number of boats that we see launch next door that don't have lines, or boat hooks, people do some strange acrobatics to try and keep control of their boats next to the ramp and dock, many times dangerous stunts. We saw a young woman trying to fend a boat off the pier recently, no lines, no boat hooks, all she had was her arms and legs. She actually fell in and hit the boat with her head on the way down, luckily a glancing blow. ANd talk about acrobatics, you should see the lengths people go to to keep from getting their feet wet, climbing in and out of truck beds, over bumpers, across wet trailer tongues, up and over bows.....people, just bring a towel and some ramp shoes!
The Suzuki 25 still runs great. We are on the list to get some Preventitive Maintenance done in a few weeks, oil change, impeller replacement and we are going to maybe get an On/Off switch put on the battery box.
She's looking pretty good for age 61.
Log of WILLOW.
Air Temp 82F, Dewpoint 74F, Winds NE at 4 knots. Light swell.
We put a new lead acid battery in WILLOW and got some fresh gas with Merine StaBil added, time to take her out for a Functional Check Float (FCF). Lowered her cradle lift and headed towards the river looking for dolphin, they were either sleeping or were good at hide and seek. The motor ran great, water was flat once we left the bay and got into the river channel, so WILLOW stretched her legs and sped up to about 20 mph. We took a long sweeping turn past a townhouse we used to own and headed back to the pier. Florida outings are not lasting too long this time of year, heat index was already approaching 100F when we got everything put away.
The wooden lapstrake hull is holding up well, she needs a repaint some time in the next year as we are starting to see a few paint pops over fasteners that need attention. This paint was RustOleum Topside Oyster White, it's been our favorite Oyster White and it has been on the boat since 2014, with a lot of time in the Florida sun. I'm not sure if a more expensive paint would have held up longer, and I am not sure how many coats, primer, etc went on with this finish. So when it comes time to repaint we'll evaluate what colors are there and decide if we are going to use Topside again. We'd need a color just as beautiful to switch.
Bow lines. We like em. When we launch and retrieve I drive the tow vehicle and Skipper handles the lines. We have a nice long bow line, she grabs it before WILLOW goes in the water and then she can stand clear of the vehicle and trailer. At our ramp next door she has enough bow line to walk over to the dock and tug WILLOW behind her while I park the trailer, bow line is probably 18 feet long or so. We have also found a long bow line handy for different docks, plenty of room to get to cleats and some left over to act as a spring line. We also have 4 other dock lines on board, 2 aft and 2 amidships. We normally don't need them but don't like not having them.
We are also confused by the number of boats that we see launch next door that don't have lines, or boat hooks, people do some strange acrobatics to try and keep control of their boats next to the ramp and dock, many times dangerous stunts. We saw a young woman trying to fend a boat off the pier recently, no lines, no boat hooks, all she had was her arms and legs. She actually fell in and hit the boat with her head on the way down, luckily a glancing blow. ANd talk about acrobatics, you should see the lengths people go to to keep from getting their feet wet, climbing in and out of truck beds, over bumpers, across wet trailer tongues, up and over bows.....people, just bring a towel and some ramp shoes!
The Suzuki 25 still runs great. We are on the list to get some Preventitive Maintenance done in a few weeks, oil change, impeller replacement and we are going to maybe get an On/Off switch put on the battery box.
She's looking pretty good for age 61.
Log of WILLOW.
Wednesday, July 8, 2020
Small Boat Cradle Lift
06 Jul 20:
We use a 1500 pound capacity cradle lift to store WILLOW out of the water. It swivels also but we didn't need that, we preferred extra pilings instead. The main piling is tied to two other pilings with stainless all thread. 3/4 hp motor.
Video link: https://youtu.be/HMwV7Dj9Hkg
Log of WILLOW.
We use a 1500 pound capacity cradle lift to store WILLOW out of the water. It swivels also but we didn't need that, we preferred extra pilings instead. The main piling is tied to two other pilings with stainless all thread. 3/4 hp motor.
Video link: https://youtu.be/HMwV7Dj9Hkg
Log of WILLOW.
Thursday, March 19, 2020
PWC Lift for our Runabout WILLOW
19 Mar 20:
We picked a jet ski lift to handle our runabout WILLOW. 1500 pound capacity, plenty for her 600 pound hull. The bunks sit under the boat's stringers.
Log of WILLOW.
We picked a jet ski lift to handle our runabout WILLOW. 1500 pound capacity, plenty for her 600 pound hull. The bunks sit under the boat's stringers.
Log of WILLOW.
Thursday, November 15, 2018
Sorg 15 Runabout WILLOW 28 Oct 18 Low Tide
28 OCT 18:
Nice morning, light wind, warm temp, thought we'd take our Sorg 15 Runabout WILLOW out for a bit. Dropped the lift, hmmm, we had to give her a shove to get clear of the cradle, tide was down pretty low. The cradle bunks need 10 inches and WILLOW draws 8 inches, not much water in the bay. We motored out for a few minutes and decided we should check the tide charts on our smartphone. Ooops, tide was still going out and would be down almost another foot over the next few hours. So we made a U turn and returned to the beach. Skipper stepped out and she used the bow line to walk WILLOW back out the the lift, pretty as you please. She did put her coffee cup down though. We gave WILLOW a tug and got her back on the bunks, raised the lift, headed off to launch the Penobscot.
Log of WILLOW.
Nice morning, light wind, warm temp, thought we'd take our Sorg 15 Runabout WILLOW out for a bit. Dropped the lift, hmmm, we had to give her a shove to get clear of the cradle, tide was down pretty low. The cradle bunks need 10 inches and WILLOW draws 8 inches, not much water in the bay. We motored out for a few minutes and decided we should check the tide charts on our smartphone. Ooops, tide was still going out and would be down almost another foot over the next few hours. So we made a U turn and returned to the beach. Skipper stepped out and she used the bow line to walk WILLOW back out the the lift, pretty as you please. She did put her coffee cup down though. We gave WILLOW a tug and got her back on the bunks, raised the lift, headed off to launch the Penobscot.
Log of WILLOW.
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Willow's Boat Lift
The lift we had installed for Willow is working out great. It is rated up to 1500 pounds and makes launch and recovery easy.
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