Vertical Spacing on Boathouse Racks?
Rob Reali
vertical spacing. Does anyone have some good number for vertical spacing
for Boathouse Racks. Bear in mind we don't have a rolling system just
straight wooden arms.
Thanks
Rob
Hampton Roads Rowing Club
robin_d...@hotmail.com
It really depends on what boat class you are talking about - roughly
speaking, each increases in vertical height at the middle by the order
of 2-3 inches per class, fin-base to top nut.
http://unistrut.com/literature/index.php?horizon=1&doc=H34
Even though the above is for rolling shelving, the drawing provides for
an adequate gap between shelves for all boat types such that topnuts of
rigging (suspended below the level at which the shell sits on the
shelf) are still clearly above the highest point of the shell beneath.
If you have a suitably-high building and shelving system to give
spacing equal or greater to that, you should find it easy enough to
bring the boat out, even with fixed shelves. At the very least, if you
give yourself 6 inches of clearance between the tip of the fin and the
shell above, and the topnuts and the shell below, then getting the boat
out should be a piece of cake.
Based on the above, I've recently installed a full-rolling system for
middle shelves within Vancouver RC's Edwardian 4-high steel
boat-storage racks using Unistrut tracks cross-bolted onto our existing
fixed shelving, with bearing-rollers and sliding shelf units as
described in that literature rolling within them. All-told, to give 24
inches of pull-out on 8 shelves (6 4s, 2 VIIIs), we spent around 1500
pounds (maybe 3000 CDN dollars). Spaced 18 inches shelf to shelf
vertically. It still takes manoevering, because with 4 shelves
vertically and the earthquake-proofing frame constraining vertical
space above that, topnuts are 2 inches below the high point of the
shell below, but with 2 feet of pull-out, getting the boat into space
is now a lot easier than lifting it from the storage position with
fixed shelving as previously because everyone is able to get underneath
the shell to lift it.
If you need photos or more info on our design, just ask me to Email
them to you.
Paul Lindsey
original message, so I don't have your email and you're not listed on
the Hampton Roads R.C website.)
I've measured various boathouse racks, with particular emphasis on
vertical spacing.
For 8+ and 4+/-/x, the general consesus, which I agree with, is 24"
from top of shelf to the top of the next shelf up or down. This leaves
2"-3" clearance between the top nut and the deepest point of the hull.
For 1x, you can go as tight as 18", for 2x/-/+, 20"
A boathouse with a mix of wing-rigger and conventional
(side-of-gunwale) mounted riggers adds additional complications.
Because the gunwale height on a wing-rigger boat is lower than on a
conventionally rigged boat, the top nuts of that boat are going to be
approx 2" lower in relation to the top of the shelf. Therefore the
top suts are 2"closer to the hull of the conventionally-rigged boat
below. Your choices are to either store all wing-rigger boats on the
lower shelfs with conventionally rigged boats above them, segregate
wing-rigger boats on entirely seperate racks from conventionally
rigged boats, or have 2" adapter blocks on shelves used for
wing-rigger boats in order to raise the hull upwards. (Pocock boats
will be an exception to this, because the gunwale height is higher
between the wing-riggers,)
The issue of trying to get a tighter vertical spacing is primarily a
question of what risk of top nuts hitting hulls do you want to allow.
In a multi-club boathouse, especially with juniors who either are
either barely able to carry an 8+ with 8-10 people (think junior
girls) or often don't think about careful boat handling, you could
quickly get into a finger-pointing exercise about "who scratched my
boat" (or worse).
With small boats, you may have a mix of club- and privately-owned
boats. Private boat owners will be VERY sensitive to damage to their
boats. Talk to Hunter, San Diego RC Captain, about this. They are
building a new bay (it should be finished by now) and he was
considering putting all privately owned boats in the new bay in order
to seperate them from club-owned boats for exactly this reason. If you
are going out the Crew Classic, that boathouse is a good example of
rack usage.
Even with sufficient vertical spacing so that the top nuts and hulls
do not overlap, many clubs have (require?) some sort of foam pad on
the oarlocks. I've seen inexpensive closed-cell foam kneepads
typically sold in home improvement stores, lightweight open-cell
kneepads from a medical supply company, and even cut-open tennis
balls.
One other thing to consider when looking at reducing the vertical
spacing is whether it will get you an additional rack shelf. There is
no standard boathouse ceiling height. The length of a sweep is a good
starting place, but I have seen boathouses with the sweeps sticking up
in between the ceiling joists (i.e. Indianapolis Rowing Center) and
boathouses with three-foot deep sumps that the oar handles sit in
(i.e. San Diego RC). If the usable height of the boat bay is such that
compressing the vertical spacing does not allow creation of an
additional rack shelf, then I personally would question the benefit of
gaining a little easier access to the highest boat on the rack versus
the risk of boat damage.
Paul Lindsey
Lou Lindsey's Movable Shell Racks
plin...@zianet.com