Boat shelter

[Brent]

Well the snow melted :-)

I am now building frames for a shelter so I can get some real work done on #66 (see the attached picture).

I need some advice on how to erect these frames. I have two ideas:

1) Join them two-by-two (as shown in the pic), pull them up and "walk" them to the desired location over the boat. The problem with this method is that a ridge needs to connect the frames and I'm not sure how to get it up once the frames are up.

2) Connect all or most of the frames on one side to a ridge, then pull the whole side up and into place and then secure the frames on the opposite side. The problems I see with this method are, a) actually holding the side in place (I can see propping it up via the boat) while the opposite frames are secured, and b) pulling it up in the first place (it will probably be pretty heavy).

Would anyone like to comment?

[Brent]

...here's the pic:

[Brent]

Yet another try...

[Brent]

Anyone know why this happens?

[Bill]

Can't help without more information. Check the fax on uploading photos and see if that answers your problem. If not, drop us an E-mail with details.

[Brent]

Yet another try...

[Brent]

Wow! It finally worked! Well, those are the frames.

Since I wasn't able to get the pic posted originally, I did some brainstorming (with a little Newcastle Brown for brain food) and came up with this idea:

I assembled the frames in pairs to form a complete arch. Then I joined two such arches as shown here:

[Brent]

#66 came with a number of old blocks. I used several with the "A" frame to help pull the shed frame up as shown here. I probably could have used the winches, but I had already removed them.

The "A" frame was secured to the stanchions at the sides and a line ran from the stemhead to a cleat at the stern.

[Brent]

The hard part was getting that first frame set up and over the pulpit. I actually had to secure the frames to the pulpit and readjust the line before I could get them vertical.

But, voila!

[Brent]

Once the first frame set was up, I secured it to the "A" frame and proceeded to raise the rest of the frames. I used the shed frames from that point on, since they were both taller than the "A" frame and closer to the frames being raised.

You'll notice that the horizontal stringers are lower here than in the previous pic; the first frame was a little high (I had overestimated the amount of headroom I needed) so I cut them down by 18". The ground here was pretty level, so aligning them wasn't too difficult.

[Brent]

It took a few days over the course of a few weeks, but I finally finished.

The frames are about 3' on center; the whole shed is 33' long x 12' wide. The ends overhang the boat about 3' at the front and 5' at the rear. There is only about 2' of space at the widest point of beam, but it is not a squeeze. With the shape of the Ariel, it rapidly opens up as you move fore and aft.

[Brent]

A nice frontal view...

[Brent]

From the side you can see that the rear of the shed did not go together as well as the front.

The ground here is relatively flat, so I opted to just rest the frames right on the soil. Some ended up hanging in the air an inch or so--it isn't perfectly flat. I'm going to go back and attach some short support pieces to the bottom of these frames so everyone supports the structure.

At the rear, the ground slopes up enough to throw everything off. I struggled with the last set of frames--it was 3-4" too high to line up properly. I ended up digging shallow holes under the frames to get them level with the rest of the shed.

It doesn't look as pretty as the front half, but it is sturdy and stable.

[Brent]

No shed has any value without a roof :-)

I bought this tarp for $50-$60 at Ocean State Job Lot. I'm not sure how long it will last, but I did get it up just before the rain this weekend, so #66 is dry for the first time in decades...

Now I can get to work on the deck core, the hatches, the windows...

[Bill]

Very impressive. Appears almost permanent . . .:)

[Tony G]

Holy Cats, Brent!!!! That thing's a cathedral. Feels good to get her inside something doesn't it? ...simply messing about in boats...Hats off to ya, brent.

[Brent]

Thanks Tony; it does. :-)

This has been too long coming; we purchased #66 about 1-1/2 years ago and she still hasn't touched the water.


You know Bill, I've thought about leaving the shed after it's all done as winter storage. However, I purposely avoided the use of anything resembling a permanent foundation so that I wouldn't be tempted to let this project drag on for years!

The frames are standard 2x4's resting right on the ground. I'm not certain how long they'll last, but a year is all I need. I think ;-)

[Mike Goodwin]

Looks great!
Do you guys have termites in that neck of the woods? Put something under the feet like a couple of layers of tarpaper or you might find out the hard way.
I wish my boat was in a shed instead of in the water , haven't set foot aboard in over 2 weeks. The shame of it all!!

[commanderpete]

A regular New England barn raising.

The Amish couldn't do better.

[Hull376]

Brent, come work on my house for me. Forget the boat!

[Brent]

Mike,

We do have termites; never thought of tar paper--I'll give it a try.

BTW...I'd be willing to trade ya--#66 hasn't touched water in over twelve years :(