Old CP23 cradle for winter storage

[rip]

Well I can't find an answer and I don't want to bother Gerry sooooo, Just bought a 1982 CP23 from a fellow it was given to about five years ago. He was not a sailor and never sailed it. He is not much help with questions. There is a cradle in the boat yard that doesn't seem to have been used for a long time, but has the boat's name on it as well as "MAGIC TILT" . I am repairing it cause it is in rough shape and has been kicked around the yard a bit. There is a steel kinda beam(shaped like l_____l , only upside down) that the keel must sit on and it has been bent in the middle(maybe broken) and welded back together. But there is a bend at the weld. I am thinking of putting a 2X6 (real dimensions)Honey Locust board under the beam and supported by the cross pieces at the ends, and then making sure there is support blocking at the center.  I can't afford the $300 a local steel guy wants to replace the beam. I hope this device is sufficient for storing the boat. Any advice and information would be greatly appreciated. Thank You! rip

[Bob23]

Rip:
   I'd be more concerned what put that bend in the steel? Maybe they adapted this cradle to fit your 23. The boat doesn't weigh all that much...heck my trailer has much less supporting the keel and nothing has ever bent even though my 1985 23/2 sits on it all winter. I have a plain old 2 x 10 (nominal measurements) treated Southern Yellow Pine under my keel.
   Can you send a picture of the cradle?
Bob23

[rip]

Thanks for the get back Bob, I went to the Magic-Tilt web site and didn't notice a trailer made for the 23, but I guess this cradle might have been part of a trailer at some point in the boat's almost 30 year history. I will try to get some pics taken and up on this thread(still learning how to operate on this site) for you to check out. The cradle is on top of my old mini van right now as I was hoping the steel guys would just deal with it, and it is a bit of a bear for me to get it up and down from there. I would appreciate any pics you or any other Com-Pac sailors have of trailer/cradle rigs too. Gonna stack some firewood before the rain hits today, and by then it will be light enough to take pics. I hope to find a decent trailer set up next year as winter storage is nearly half the price we paid for the boat, and I have lots of room on my place. By the way, I just love this seaworthy little boat. I spent a couple of years on a wooden Atkin double ended gaff cutter in the late 90's and grew to love it's forgiving ways which I am reminded of in the 23. Thanks again, rip

[rip]

Here we go Bob, the preview tells me I have lift off, well, in a sense....I have since learned that my "cradle" was part of an original trailer sold by Hutchins. Again, any help appreciated. Phew!

C'mon man!
Here we go Bob, the preview tells me I have lift off, well, in a sense....I have since learned that my "cradle" was part of an original trailer sold by Hutchins. Again, any help appreciated. Phew!


broken center beam


whole thing

Boy would this be cool if it works! Thanks to gjferg and David and Mike, ralph
PS That's one of my Hobie 16s in the background, actually you can see a little bit of them both. Boy do I need to get ready for winter!
broken center beam

[zimm]

Here are pictures of my 83 on that cradle

[rip]

Neato! Thanks Zimm. That completes the story. Pictures are worth a million words.

[Tim Gardner]

Zimm,

I altered your post to allow the photos to be shown within the forum.  Hope you like the change.

Tim Gardner