painting the underside of the keel

[comfortably numb]

Ok, read some threads on bottom painting, including jacking up the entire boat just to paint the underside of the keel fully. Why cannot one just lower the trailer keel rollers one at a time, paint , then raise them back to original location by marking their position prior?  Maybe that is the catch, but it seems as though that could be accomplished with a jack at each roller bracket if necessary. Ok, maybe a day for each would be needed for drying, but I am retired.  What am I missing?

[brackish]

Lower the keel rollers with the boat on them?  I don't think mine would lower with the boat on it.  Each tapered roller is on a shaft that is run through two angles welded to the frame with snap caps to keep the shafts in place.  To remove them you would have to pop off the caps, drive the shafts out to drop the tapered rollers.  If the boat settles just a little I don't think I could line them back up to get the shafts back, they are pressed hard against the angle frames and the tapered rollers deflect just slightly.

I have to say it did it by painting everything between the keel rollers then putting scissor jacks fore and aft on the keel and the process of jacking the boat up took about 20 minutes.  I had to do it twice because it came off of one of the bunks but stayed on the other because of my slight driveway slant, but still just another 20 minutes to get it up.  What you are suggesting is inviting disaster if your trailer design is anything like mine.  Of course if you want a little more room under the keel you could jack first then take out the rollers one at a time to sand and paint.  Then you could put each one back and leave it jacked up to let it dry.

[Salty19]

Bill,  I would go with Brackish's recommendation of just jacking up the keel fore/aft when the time is right to paint underneath the rollers.
I just tie lines from aft trailer frame up to jib sheet cleats to stabilize it before dropping the bunk boards, clean/prep/paint everything in sight, then jack it up, clean/prep/paint under rollers then reinstall bunks once paint is dry. I have also done under the rollers first, then the rest of the boat..either way works.

FYI, I've found that a good sized drill chuck will fit the end of the scissor jack rod. Cranks her right up and very quickly to boot.

Since we're neighbors and all, if you need a place in the grass to paint (or borrow the scissor jacks/jackstands, I have several of them I kept from old cars), lemme know, you're welcome to either/both.

[comfortably numb]

Thanks guys for the input, was thinking my idea was plausible since on my trailer each non-tapered roller is held in place with a bracket which is bolted to a crossmember. Three rollers would always be supporting the keel while one is down as well as having support from the bunks.  A backup jack could be slipped in near the vacated roller in at a previously painted void.

I will consider your responses, which will be quicker and proved, but the part that makes me a little nervous is having the boat suspended without the support of the bunks, even though the keel is supported by jacks at each end. I would be adding of a couple of 2 x4 props fore and aft from the gunnels to grade in addition to the two aft lines to calm me. Thanks for you offer Salty, my yard is a mile away from home so I will do the deed from there.

[Salty19]

Interesting about your roller mounts. I suppose you could do it that way if you think you can get them on and off easily. It might be more work to fiddle around with them than just jacking it up and down.  But if you think you'll need three phases of removing rollers and painting then I just just jack it up as it's only two phases and the job will go a lot quicker.

Mine is the same as brackish, the rollers aren't something you take off with the boat on trailer without jacks/jackstands. Crawling around down there doesn't sound like fun either.  I put the spiced end of a dockline on each side around the mid point cleats, down to trailer frame, back up to cleat and tie off.  Then drop the bunks, loosen bow winch and side lines slightly, jack up keel fore/aft a little, loosen lines again, jack up more, etc until I can under to prep/paint.  The tension triangle of bow winch and side lines keep it pretty stable and the 3/8" double braid lines are very strong. I had it jacked up for days the first time painting due to waiting on several coats of barrier and paint to apply/dry and it was just fine. And usually for at least two days each time I repaint.  I don't like using poles to support as they can fall out and if your boat sinks in wet grass it could damage the rail. Can't be trusted...use lines or a ratchet strap arrangement.

So you might be able to tie off, unbolt them, paint, then rebolt and untie. So easy you'll have time leftover to come over and paint Island Time!