lifting your boat

Soon for some of us the winterizing season will be here and some may want to hang your boat for bottom work or get the trailer out to work on it. I had posted the following picture on "the2001" because someone needed to work on their trailer. I thought that someone here may find it handy as well.

If you have a garage or a storage building and would like to use the lifting rings (for lifting and not pulling tubes!!!) along with a couple come-a-longs or chain hoists here it is. The load must be distributed across as many ceiling joists as possible. The 2 beams made up with 2x8's on the right will do this. The spacers between them provide the clearance for the 5/8" dia. fabricated eye bolts to fit between the 2x8's. It is always a good idea to check the books or with a good carpenter to make sure your garage can handle it. If you have a roof made with manufactured trusses, then you must check them out. The truss bottom cord is typically not made to handle much of a load. The 2x8's are 10' long and each will distribute the load onto 6 or 8 ceiling joists depending on their centers. If you are under the boat, always use some saw horses under it as a safety. The two beams on the left are made up of 4 2x8's each laminated together. I use them to span the wet slip of the boat house and set a boat down on them. The ropes through the ends make handy handles for two people to walk the beams into place over the wet slip.