hull removal verses boat flipping

I just got my H18 home and am ready to start some repair work on the hulls. I was going to flip the boat over but now that I look at it there seem to be only two bolts per corner (eight in total) holding the hulls to the cross bars. Since I have wings I would have to remove those before flipping and that is four bolts.

I was wondering what is involved in removing the hulls and reassembling them? It just seems so simple that it is better then flipping the boat. Am I missing something?

I figure it would be simpler to have one hull the manipulate in case I want to flip it multiple times.

Any thoughts?

Adrio

just flip it over, dont take it apart unless you are going to paint or gel. you can do by yourself just lift and walk the other side then lower.

Pad the hull which will be on the ground with old blankets, cushions, or some good bubble wrap before you roll it. I'd get about two more people to help..don't try it alone.

i've done both. i had to do a lot of glass work on my 89' hobie 18 and i found that, since i was painting it, that taking it apart was easier in the long run. if you are just doing a little bit of work on the bottom it might be easier just to flip it. i would not flip it sideways because of the pressure on the pontoons. i would get a friend and flip it log ways.

just to clarify. I had already removed the tramp for winter storage and the worrk I need to do is to repair three holes where the rollers of the trailer went through the hull. So I will be doing lots of work and gell coat as well.

I think removing them might be the way to go. I am still interested in your opinions now that you know the full story.

Is it hard to align the hulls when you put it back together?

if the boat's still together, I'd leave it that way... unless you have a reason to tighten the crossbars up some more.

get a couple mates over, and have her turned over, blocked up of course.

I had my 18 up on saw horses today, polishing and polishing the port hull,
a whole lot better than down on the ground.

_________________
Chris
'88 H18SE Arís

Flipping the boat is the easiest, but disassembling the hulls from the crossbars isn't too hard. You are correct, there are eight bolts total that must be removed- an inboard and an outboard bolt at each end of each crossbar.

Remove the trampoline, all shrouds/bridal wires, rudders, righting line, and possibly the jib blocks. Leave the hulls on the trailer and strap them down individually. This should prevent them from falling over once you remove the cross bars. You will need a socket wrench, an allen wrench (sorry, I don't remember the sizes, around 9/16"), and possibly a pair of vice grips or a large flat blade screwdriver. I like to start by loosening all of the bolts a little bit at first. Then once they're all lossened you can completly remove the bolts. You may need to hold the bottom outboard nut from spinning either with the vice grips or by wedging the flat blade screwdriver between the nut and the steel anchor bar.

Reassembly is a little tricky. It's easiest to lower the crossbars onto the inboard bolts. Make sure you clean all the threads. It's helpful to have someone assist you with lowering the crossbars down, but not absolutely required. So get all inboard bolts started first and then do the outside bolts. After sailing, you should go back and re-tighten all the bolts.

Having the crossbars apart also gives you the opportunity to inspect them for any cracks under the normally covered outboard ends.

sm