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I need some advice on how best to block up the boat while I work on the bottom. I don't want to move the boat into the garage so I have to contend with a gravel pad alongside the house that's sloped to drain water away, such as there is in the desert. The book and forum advise says get the boat level side to side and make sure the stem and transom are plum and properly aligned on the center of the boat. What's the best way to do that given my site problems? Can I muddle along on some trashed tires or is something more elaborate required? I'll build whatever I must to do it right. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Bill, I asked Andreas about this last year when I thought I was ready to flip my boat. My plan was to build a "rack" out of 2x4's for the boat to sit on. I figured I could level the legs of the whole unit with shims or adjustable feet/casters.

The obvious reason to have everything plumb and level is to create a situation where you can take accurate and repeatable measurements during repairs.

My boat is going to be upside-down very soon!

Evan

That makes sense. Will your rack span the length of the boat or ?? I'm thinking a rack where the boat rests on a 4X4 near the transom and another just aft of the deck would be adequate and if somewhat elevated would allow space to get inside the boat if needed. The elevation implies a movable stage or two a short guy like me could stand on to reach the centerline.

However, I'm challenged by a lack of space between the house and a fence, about 12'. It's hard to picture how I can offload the boat, slightly wider than 6', from the trailer and flip it onto the stage. Perhaps the stage could be something like 2 sturdy saw horses that can be slid in under the boat whilst a bunch of strong guys lift it after it's flipped. I have a couple of bottle jacks I could use to level the saw horses for shims then I could tie the saw horses together with a board longer than the boat on which I could establish a centerline.

My master plan is to have the boat upside down with the equivalent of 4 sawhorses that go full width from side to side. I want to secure them together to end up with a flat plane to sit the boat on, kind of a ladder formation. Ill screw/clamp the boat to the rack to hold it in place.

I have a similar problem to yours in that my garage floor has a huge slope that I will have to compensate for. Ill bet one end of the rack ends up being 8" taller. I am going to roll the boat over, and using an engine hoist on the stern and a few strong buddies.. sit it in place. I suspect this is one of those times you just have to figure it out as you go along.

I would really like to do adjustable height legs so my back isn't killing me when I am working on the low parts etc..

Evan