DRAGONFLY Trimarans User Forum

I will be keeping my DF 800 in a marina berth and will need to antifoul the hull and floats. My local yacht club has a travel lift - the type with large slings which support the hull whilst moving boats to a hardstand area. Has anyone had experience lifting a DF 800 with a travel lift, and if so where have the slings been placed. I assume that it is best to lift the boat with floats folded? With the floats unfolded the boat is too wide to fit in the pen where the travel lift does it's job. Once in the hardstand area, where is it best to support the main hull to allow access to paint the bottom? I thought of doing the job on a beach, but there will always be a section on the bottom of the main hull which is inaccessible to antifoul. Any suggestions?

Another topic, the previous owner of the boat had rig failure and the mast came down. The mast step was torn from the deck and it is obvious that the area has been repaired around the mast step. There is a crack about 12 inches long about 6 inches forward of the mast step in the gelcoat, running across the deck from port to starboard. I assume this area is built to take the high loads of the mast, and assume that it is a stress crack in the gelcoat only. There is no damage to be seen when viewed from below decks just forward of the compression post. Any comments appreciated.

Hi Paul

The manual tells that the slings are to be - on the main hull and befor the front beam, and after the aft beam.

I allways lift my boat folded. (Without mast! /.-) If the slings can’t be mounted outside the beams – the crane at my marina has a small square-sling holder. The slings are quite close – they use it mostly for lifting motorboats. So I have to put the front sling after the beam – it works to.

When you have your boat in slings – have a look at the centerboard. Sailing in a rocky archipoelago made quite an impact on the centerboard. The front was flat! It was easily fixed – but you have to have the boat in slings when fixing the centerboard. I’ll usually put some support under each ama when working. (And the main hull.) Makes things a little bit more stable.

/ Christian

I built a carport for my camper and the boat. I used two chain hoists, with slings in front of the forward and behind the aft beam points. (Beams and floats are off). Then I got the trailer out from under it, and let it down on wood stacks. I also used 2x4's to brace the beam mounts so it doesn't rock back and forth. In rest the weight is 50/50 between the slings and the wood stacks. I can briefly let all the weight on the wood to move the sling, or hoist it up to move the wood. As you can see the stripping has begun. 7 layers.....

I'd assume the support points on a DF800 are the same as a 1000.
My DF 1000 factory original cradle supports the boat at four points, just behind each waterstay on the hull flare. That's immediately below both fore and aft bulkheads. This allows all bottom paint areas to be accessible for cleaning, sanding etc.


Steve B.

Thank you DF owners, now that I know where to place the slings I will use the yacht club travel lift and support the boat as per Steve's suggestion for anti fouling. When it comes time to "pay the cash before the splash" the travel lift operator will let me antifoul the bits where the main hull was supported whilst he wanders off for a coffee.
Nice set up there Oscar, perfect for the refit you are doing.
Today I repaired the crack in the gelcoat near the mast step, it is solid glass in this area as I thought. Planning on raising the mast on Saturday, hope to have the first sail on sunday. YEEEE HAAA !
We have had a lot of rain recently, it is the end of our wet season in tropical Australia, half a metre in the past 27 days! I found that the boat, which is still on its trailer, was tilted too far toward the stern so water did not drain from the cockpit. Result was a flooded storage compartment in the aft end of the cockpit. Lesson learned. Also there was around 4 buckets of water in the main hull which I removed by sponge via the inspection hatch on the cabin floor just aft of the centre board case. Now to track down the source of the water ingress. Oh well, new boat and lots of things to learn.

Forgot to say thank you to Christian for the information on sling placement. Hope to experience that "special feeling " you spoke of very soon Christian!
cheers,

Paul

Hello all

I have a DF800 fixed wing which I have antifouled on the trailer the last two years. Never again!

Can anyone tell me the weight of the main hull + mast please?

Also would the Pulpit be strong enough to lift the front of the boat + mast if the stern was supported?

Regards

Ken

Do NOT attempt to lift the boat by the pulpit you WILL rip it off the deck.

A sling in the proper position as described above is IMHO the only way. A large cargo strap and a chain hoist off a big tree or beam in a commercial structure will work.

Ken wrote:Hello all

I have a DF800 fixed wing which I have antifouled on the trailer the last two years. Never again!

Can anyone tell me the weight of the main hull + mast please?

Also would the Pulpit be strong enough to lift the front of the boat + mast if the stern was supported?

Regards

Ken

Don't know the weight but the published specs on the current model 800 should give you a rough idea.

The pulpits should NOT be used as lifting points. They don't have adequate backing for that in any boat I've ever seen. You should sling it as described above or use the lifting eyes at the 4 beam bases, if provided by the builder.