One of the selling points of this particular hull was that it had the "lifting plates" already installed. These are two plates that span the foremost and aftmost pairs of keel bolts (pictured on the left). A lifting strap can be attached to these plates and the boat can be lifted in and out of the water without removing the mast or using a sling system (which, even with spreaders, can place undue strain on the deck/hull joint).
These plates were made by the Tanzer factory as an aftermarket addition, especially for racers who would be trailering their boat to various regattas. They are still available at Tanzer Boat Parts.
Now all that was left was to find a lifting bridle to attach to these plates. This was not as easy, and I had a very hard time tracking down a used bridle. Lifting bridles can be easily made by rigging and splicing shops, but it is necessary to know the dimensions of the bridle. The T22 dimensions are a bit trickier, as the two legs of the bridle are not equal in length.
Finally, thanks to the kindness of someone on the Tanzer forum, I obtained the factory drawings for the bridle (after that kind soul spent some time digging through their garage for the drawings). I will link to the drawing below for anyone else who may find it useful.
The next thing to do was to have a new bridle made up. Thanks to some advice from members at my club, we found Bunning Splicing and Rigging in Toronto. They were able to make a lifting bridle to the factory specifications in a couple of days and for a very reasonable price.
One note, the factory drawings call for wire rope, however, we decided to go with nylon webbing for a couple of reasons. First, it is equally strong, but is better able to absorb shock, as it "gives" more than the wire rope. Second, it is much easier to store, as it can be neatly folded up (not possible with steel wire, which must be carefully maintained so that no stressful bends are made in storage). Third, I feel much more confident in the use of stitching versus nicopress swagging.
I have to admit, when we drove out to pick up the bridle, it was very difficult to believe that these little nylon straps were going to be able to lift 3,000 lbs. of boat out of the water. I even went back into the rigging shop to be sure there was not a misunderstanding. The owner assured me that the straps would easily support that much weight and that the shackles (pictured at the ends of the bridle legs) were the weakest point.
Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures of the bridle in "action" as I was too worried about the whole lifting process to bother (Angie was not with us when we first lifted the boat, she probably would have remembered to take a picture or two). On the left is a picture of what the bridle looks like in relation to the lifting plates. Basically, the bridle lifts the keel and the rest of the boat is obliged to follow.
That first lift was nerve wracking! My father and I had gone to Whitby Yacht Club to put the boat on the trailer and bring it to Toronto. We arrived early in the morning to unstep the mast and motored over to Whitby's big crane. A member was kind enough to meet us and oversee the whole operation. He was a very experienced sailor who actually lifts a Viking 28 out of the water in a similar fashion.
It was this experienced sailor's initial nervousness regarding the stretching nylon that sent me into a panic. As the crane's hook moved skyward, the straps just kept stretching as the boat remained content in the water. He said, "Wow, that seems like a lot of stretch!" After my blood pressure hit an all-time high, the boat finally began to come out of the water...crooked. We set it back in the water, adjusted the 3/16" lines that had been run to the winches to control side-to-side roll, and tried again. This time it lifted straight into the air and we were able to carefully place it onto the trailer. The bridle had worked beautifully! Hopefully the initial stretch was permanent and the ordeal won't be so heart-stopping the next time.
That first lift was nerve wracking! My father and I had gone to Whitby Yacht Club to put the boat on the trailer and bring it to Toronto. We arrived early in the morning to unstep the mast and motored over to Whitby's big crane. A member was kind enough to meet us and oversee the whole operation. He was a very experienced sailor who actually lifts a Viking 28 out of the water in a similar fashion.
It was this experienced sailor's initial nervousness regarding the stretching nylon that sent me into a panic. As the crane's hook moved skyward, the straps just kept stretching as the boat remained content in the water. He said, "Wow, that seems like a lot of stretch!" After my blood pressure hit an all-time high, the boat finally began to come out of the water...crooked. We set it back in the water, adjusted the 3/16" lines that had been run to the winches to control side-to-side roll, and tried again. This time it lifted straight into the air and we were able to carefully place it onto the trailer. The bridle had worked beautifully! Hopefully the initial stretch was permanent and the ordeal won't be so heart-stopping the next time.
tanzer_lifting_bridle.pdf | |
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