E25 trailer to boat stands without gantry

[klb67pgh]

I'm prepping for fall and winter projects, including sanding, barrier coating, and painting my E25's bottom. I've studied Roscoe's blogs on getting his E25 from his trailer to stands and back. He had the benefit of a gantry crane to lift the bow of the E25 using the bow eye.

I have 8 boat stands and all the blocking I need. I believe that I can lower the tongue to the ground and get a keel stand (or blocking) just to the rear of the CB slot and stands farther outboard much like Roscoe did, and then using a bottle jack on the tongue, raise the trailer tongue high enough to get stands just forward and either side of the CB pin, and another pair farther outboard for stability, and lower the trailer back down and have the trailer free (other than jockeying it forward and placing more stands, etc. to be able to extract the trailer completely). Without having a true keel, I'm unsure if I can fully support the bow portion of the boat on two stands on either side of the CB pin, without using a gantry on the bow eye. I have 2 taller stands I could add towards the bow to help take some of the weight. I know the hull is fairly thick but I obviously want to make sure I'm not trying to carry too much weight in the wrong place. I need to be able to extract the centerboard. I could place a temporary keel stand forward across the centerboard slot while I'm extracting the trailer but I'll eventually need to be able to remove it completely.

I could build a wooden gantry and buy a chain hoist if I need to - I'm just trying to work out whether I can use what I have.

I'd appreciate any thoughts or prior experience. For reference, I've attached one of Roscoe's pics of his E25 - he has a gantry and hoist supporting the bow at the bow eye. Thanks.

 

[Mblace]

I’ve been pondering the exact same thing - am waiting for some construction on my home to be done and pave my driveway, then I’ll be doing the same thing this winter, including pulling the centerboard. I think you’re right on track. My plan was to use a floor jack to temporarily lift the trailer tires up onto a few 2x10’s on each side to get extra height (4” is a meaningful gain, 6 would be better), lower the tongue, put a cradle under the keel aft, crank the tongue up, put a cradle or blocks under the keel fwd., lower the tongue, lift each wheel at the axle and pull the lift boards, then do a trailer crawl to pull it clear. I figure with it sitting in the aft cradle it should be stable, and since my boat rides on the keel on the trailer already carrying hull weight on it (with the weight spread over a foot of blocking) it should do fine. The trick will be extracting the trailer - that’s what the gantry facilitates. I have an engine crane that can get high enough, but it’s only rated to 2000# boomed out to clear the trailer. I saw one guy do it with a big oak tree - threw the chain hoist over a sturdy limb and lifted the bow. My neighbor has a tractor with a bucket that could get high enough - might be worth a try to sling a strap on that and lift while I pull the trailer clear. A 3-ton floor jack or high-lift bottle jack should make it possible. Just need find a way to distribute the load on the ground and keel.