Posted by Eric W. on June 18, 2003 at 21:40:24:
In Reply to: Re: Cradle/dolly for Console Skiff posted by Dan on June 18, 2003 at 14:47:46:
Glad they helped. The plywood is A/C Douglas Fir that I got from a lumber company in St. Louis. It was about $18 per sheet for the 3/8" if I remember correctly. A little more than the Home Depot stuff but better quality.
Regarding the position of the supporting arms - I just got them to where I thought they would be close and then snugged up the bolts semi-tight. Then when I put the hull on the cradle they pretty much conformed to the hull shape. This is easier in the aft section because the hull angle is pretty much linear. For the forward support arms, I just pulled up on them a little to contact the hull better while tightening the bolts. I was a little worried that it might deform the hull at that point but it seems to be fine.
Also somewhat visible in the second photo are the 6' long 2"x4"s that are screwed to the aft section of the hull to keep it in alignment. The instructions strongly recommend installing these and I'm glad I did. They overlap the aft cradle support arms with a half-lap joint (half the cross section cut from each board).
Feel free to ask any more questions that you have. I'm certainly not the most knowledgeable CS builder but anything I can do makes me feel that much more important (ha ha).
Eric
: Thanks for the pictures! They are very helpful. Did you fix the position of the supporting boards (contacting the boat with carpet on them) or did you allow them to swivel and conform to the angle of the hull section it is supporting?
: Also, what kind of plywood did you use? It looks like fir. I am trying to determine which plywood I should use.
: Thanks!