John,

One thing I have done that worked well was to just place large pieces of dock styrofoam on top of the existing pads. Make sure they are all about the same size then place them on the pads. When you hoist the boat out of the water just place it on the blocks and you will now have about a foot underneath the keel. I wouldn't drive the boat too far but will certainly work sitting at the club.

-Jason

:: I want to build a cradle with two fiberglass shoes to
:: support the hull while the keel hangs above the ground
:: in order to repair some sounding damage.

:: I'm looking for suggestions as to the best location for
:: the aft shoe.
::
:: I'm guessing the forward shoe should probably be under
:: the mast support bulkhead - between the keel and depth
:: sounder. But aft of the keel there isn't much structure
:: inside the hull until the semi-bulkhead under the aft
:: end of the cockpit which is 13' from the forward shoe.
:: I'd like to make the cradle collapsible, like a builders
:: scaffold, and smaller than 13' long. Do you think a
:: fitted shoe say 9' back from the forward bulkhead would
:: provide adequate support for the hull?