Turning the hull (2014)

At last the time had come to turn her over. First, I had to decide on the method to turn her around. Hull turning is a subject on its own and depending on the size and weight of the hull, can be done in a number of ways. For bigger boats using a crane would probably be the best. Previous builders of the Didi 34 and Didi 38 used a scaffold tower with a block and tackle. Because of space constraints, I decided on using a rotisserie method I came across on the Internet. In South Africa, we do the so called "spit braai" using a rotisserie device equipped with a rotating spit on which a lamb, pig or ox can be roasted. To me this was the way to go. Almost like a "traditional way" of doing.
 I first had to make a turning spindle for the transom and the bow. These were then fixed to the hull at about the water line. It was important to get a balance point so that the hull would be manageable in any position (I used a calculated guess with a little more weight to the topside). The spindles were raised with block and tackles high enough so that the hull would turn all the way around. Then by using a down haul on the one side and a up haul on the other to control the turning, she was turned around. To our amazement we could actually do this by hand, so well balanced she was. Building the spindles and setting the rotisserie up took quite some time (37 working hours). The turning process in itself took only a couple of minutes (see video).

Spindle mounted on the stern.

Spindle mounted on the bow.

The hull had to turn around in this confined space.

The strongback had to be removed as well.

Waiting in anticipation!

We better make sure this is going to work!

More measurements!

One can see the uncertainty in their faces.