Blocking Height

[Peter3607]

Anyone have an idea on the height difference between stern and bow to block a 1989 Carver 3607 for the winter?Hoping that it will provide sufficient angle to allow any draining of bilge water toward the garboard but maintain a respectable even keel for winter work and engine room cleaning. Will need to find some blocks soon as haul out is only 6 weeks away
Also, how much distance should be between the blocks?
Thanks

[bud37]

Will you be doing the lift and blocking yourself ??

You could put an angle finder on the swim platform with the boat in the water, take a reading.....if it drains back to where you want that way then you will know what angle to set the boat at in the yard....well close to it anyway.

[Peter3607]

Source of the post Will you be doing the lift and blocking yourself ??

You could put an angle finder on the swim platform with the boat in the water, take a reading.....if it drains back to where you want that way then you will know what angle to set the boat at in the yard....well close to it anyway.

The lifting and blocking will be done by my marina.
I have stands for side support, I just need to measure up wooden blocks for the keel to sit on.

[bud37]

Usually assorted 10x10,8x8,2x4,2x6 all set according to the ground level......your marina should have all the blocking and will know how to set the boat......just ask nicely, put the angle finder on the platform and some Tims and all should be good

Minimum of three sets of blocks for your boat...Imo.

[tomschauer]

Not sure if "angle finder" is Canadian for level. But ask them to put a level on the swim platform. Starboard / Port should be level, bow / stern you want about a quarter of the level bubble towards the bow. That should be plenty to make sure everything drains out the stern.

[km1125]

I have an older 3607 ('83), so I'm not sure if everything is the same to an '89.

Is your garboard plug right at the stern?

If so, then I would not even remove it. I removed mine the first year to two, but since the engine room bilge is much lower than the stern, you'd still have quite a bit of water in there anyways. Plus, you'd have to remove the plugs between the engine room and aft cabin so the water could flow. It will also NOT empty any of the water forward of the engine room, as that bulkhead is solid with no pass-throughs.

Pump the bilge dry and make sure there's no way for water to get inside the boat when it rains and it will be dry when you go look at it in the spring.

My boat gets blocked with a slightly positive angle (bow up) just to make sure the deck always drains. Mine usually has 4 sets of blocks, evenly spaced. Then there are two sets of stands... one set right at/near the transom and the second set at/near where the forward sling would be.

NOW... BIG CAUTION.... Check the last few feet of your keel to see if it's solid or hollow!!! Just tap on it for the first few feet and see if it sounds any different. The last two feet my my keel is hollow and WILL NOT support the boat weight, so you CAN NOT block under this area. For the first ~20 years I had my boat this was never an issue (I had noticed this one of the first years I had the boat, so I reminded the marina each year). However, one year they put a block on there and it cracked the fiberglass when they lowered it down. They had to do the repair and it took the boat out of service for a couple weeks.

[Viper]

The marina should be looking after all this for you! They should know how many sets of blocks to lay down and where, and supply the blocking and stands. The angle of the resting hull and placement of the blocks will depend on hull design though the goal is for the decks to shed water easily if she'll be uncovered. This may not necessarily drain the bilge though and one might need to do that manually for different areas of the bilge as it's not always a clear path from one end to the other. It's pretty common to set blocks near the sling marks as that's typically where the bulkheads are with an additional set at the transom for your particular model. To minimize stress on the aft quarter, I would just ensure that the transom set doesn't bear more load than the center set. Though some considerations are taken into account for larger and smaller vessels, this is a pretty typical setup and starting point. Using a level is a sure thing but realistically few if any bother to use one, it's usually by sight as it doesn't have to be perfect.

BTW, the above assumes reasonably stable ground and adjustments to blocking must be considered based on ground conditions. Your marina should be familiar with their space. It's also imperative that the stands be checked periodically throughout the winter, especially as temps vary considerably at the beginning and end of winter.

Will she be shrink-wrapped?

[buster53]

Agree with others...the entire hauling/blocking process should be handled by the yard including making sure the boat is properly leveled. I use a yard in the very low rent district and he handles everything and for a very reasonable fee.