Sling Grady 232

[Rlash]

New to site and grateful to be a member!

I just purchased a new Grady 232 Gulf Stream and will be pier-launching from a crane in Northern California. Any experience or advice would be very helpful on stringers or sling techniques. I’m currently working with Grady to see if we (they) can engineer the boat to be better suited to three-point sling through additional hull strengthening as it’s scheduled to line built later this month. I’ll let the group know how the discussions go but Grady has been fantastic in customer service!

 

[seasick]

Are you asking about a three point connection using the aft rings and the bow lifting eye ( It would have to be the lifting ring option). You may need some sort of spreader bar to keep the straps spaced far enough apart to avoid
excessive compression forces on the hull sides / transom etc. The more vertical the lifting straps are, the less the 'squeezing of the hull. It may be sufficient to just use relatively long straps to reduce the angle..

 

[Rlash]

Thanks, I am trying to communicate with Grady asking if the bow and stern points are adequately designed for lifting. The salesman stated "that's where we lift the boat when unloading from the truck". The transom looks beefy and angled for just this reason? There is an aftermarket bracket that could be installed but I'm not sure i want to add this to a new boat.

I will continue to research but if you find more information please forward or comment...

 

[Tuna Man]

Rlash, above you wrote; "I just purchased a new Grady 232 Gulf Stream and will be pier-launching from a crane in Northern California." I am not familiar with this method of launching a boat, but is this a common method in your area? Around here they sling boats often with roughly ten inch wide slings that go under the hull. I suppose the idea is to distribute the weight over a large area (some boats even have "sling here" labels on the hull). On my thirty foot Grady they use two slings on a travel lift, I'm pretty sure they use more slings for bigger boats (and bigger travel lifts).

I can only imaging the looks on people's faces as a brand new fully fueled and loaded for a long trip Gulfstream is carried by a crane from the stern and bow lifting rings! (lol) Although I must admit, I believe Grady did and perhaps still does advertise "lifting rings" on many if not most of their models.

Good luck with the new boat. Please keep us updated with the engineering details. I never realized the bow lifting ring was designed like it shows in your drawing.

 

[seasick]

Some models have an option for a lifting eye/ring. The lifting ring has some sort of rod that runs down to the keel area as I remember. The question to ask Grady is whether your hull is optioned with the 'lifting' ring.
That said, I prefer the hull straps either on a travel lift or a crane that has spreaders to make sure that the major forces are against the keel and not the freeboard area.

 

[Rlash]

Rlash, above you wrote; "I just purchased a new Grady 232 Gulf Stream and will be pier-launching from a crane in Northern California." I am not familiar with this method of launching a boat, but is this a common method in your area? Around here they sling boats often with roughly ten inch wide slings that go under the hull. I suppose the idea is to distribute the weight over a large area (some boats even have "sling here" labels on the hull). On my thirty foot Grady they use two slings on a travel lift, I'm pretty sure they use more slings for bigger boats (and bigger travel lifts).

I can only imaging the looks on people's faces as a brand new fully fueled and loaded for a long trip Gulfstream is carried by a crane from the stern and bow lifting rings! (lol) Although I must admit, I believe Grady did and perhaps still does advertise "lifting rings" on many if not most of their models.

Good luck with the new boat. Please keep us updated with the engineering details. I never realized the bow lifting ring was designed like it shows in your drawing.

Ha! The "look on the face" that would be best would be mine for this first crane launch. This harbor has a tall-pier crane launch only and has a max 6 ton launch limit which is a big boat for sure. The closest trailer harbor along Hwy 1 is about 50 miles away so this is my best option. The suggestion for this style launching (using the bow and transom hooks) was made by an un-named person who said he watched a 33 foot Grady being lifted t the factory with the bow eye only showing the extreme hull construction designed and built by Grady. Depending upon the model this is between 9,000 and 11,000 lbs load. I am checking with the factory now to better understand their suggested method and don't want to be the village idiot as I'm new to this style crane launching. Keep the feedback coming please as I'll do the same

 

[Rlash]

Some models have an option for a lifting eye/ring. The lifting ring has some sort of rod that runs down to the keel area as I remember. The question to ask Grady is whether your hull is optioned with the 'lifting' ring.
That said, I prefer the hull straps either on a travel lift or a crane that has spreaders to make sure that the major forces are against the keel and not the freeboard area.

Thanks, this harbor would require me to supply the spreaders and slings which is my fallback if the factory does not support the use of these factory points someone suggested. I have been rigging items for years (some much heavier than this) but this in new to me for launching a boat!

 

[DennisG01]

You'll be absolutey fine using the two stern eyes and the bow eye (what the trailer attaches to) to lift the boat. Between myself and the others at the marina, we have lifted LITERALLY hundreds, if not thousands, of boats like that. I wouldn't even hesitate for a nano second to do that with a Grady. You won't need a spreader bar for the aft since there is zero chance of compressing the transom. The bow, most likely, isn't wide enough to need one, either. I'd have to see it to say for sure.

It sounds as though you may be looking for emprical data on this... which most likely does not exist. What does exist, though, is your dealer's expererience and those of us that have done this. This is a no brainer and an everday occurence for some of us - just do it.

 

[seasick]

Dennis,
I have seen bow eyes pulled out of the hull but to be honest I don't think the hulls were Gradys. I also know that on my model year Grady, there was an option for a lifting ring which is the same forward ring used for trailering but beefed up inside with a metal rod and footing. I do not have that option and personally I would not lift the boat using that point. We do often use the bow eye to lift/re position hulls on trailers but in those cases, the stern is still supported by either stands or the trailer.
I still think that Grady should be able to either nix or give the OK for the proposed lifting.

 

[DennisG01]

I don't doubt that type of thing has happened. I've never personally seen it, but of course that doesn't mean it can't happen. However, I think there would have to be extenuating circumstances, you know? Either shoddy build quality or rusted/corroded hardware, for example. I have the lifting ring option on my boat where a metal rod ties the center deck cleat to the bow eye - however even without that option, using the bow eye is perfectly suitable to lift the boat. The advantage of the lifting ring option is one of convenience as it's easier/faster to clip into the deck cleat than trying to stuff a lifting strap through the bow eye and possibly needing a spreader bar.

The keel of the boat - where a bow eye is through bolted to - is the strongest part of the boat. Under normal circumstances, there's no way a bow eye is going to pull out. Plus, a good portion of the 'stress' is upward to the hull, thereby putting even less stress on the bow eye.

But certainly slinging it is a perfectly acceptable way to do things and is pretty straight forward for anyone with experience, as well. I will say this... if the company launching the boat has questions about either procedure or wants you to get information for them... find another company to launch your boat.

 

[RussGW270]

It never happened if we do not have pictures.. and a video

R

 

[Uncle Joe]

Damn! Brand spanking new! Congratulations and good luck!
Joe

 

[Rlash]

Update from Grady in NC;

The guy I spoke to today from Grady stated from that the bow eye and transom hooks will be fine to lift the boat with no issues. I will visit the factory in August to see the actual boat build and will send more information on how they recommend the boat be lifted from the trailer. Many thanks for all the feedback. Its been super helpful!

R

 

[DennisG01]

will send more information on how they recommend the boat be lifted from the trailer. Many thanks for all the feedback. Its been super helpful!

R

Nothing new there, either. It's all been done before (according to BNL, anyways). Hook up the straps to bow and stern eyes... lift away. 5 minutes and done.

 

[Rlash]

guys, through my diligence, I was able to better understand the structural lift points (sling positions) for the newer Gulfstream 232”. I will NOT be lifting from the transom points nor the bow eye even though they sound adequately strong