Smith's Marine Railway, how does that work?

https://www.google.com/maps/place/S...ee809ac73904877!8m2!3d37.181778!4d-76.4243337

I was going to haul out in 2018 and they are extremely close to my marina.
Is it about the same prices compared to a travel lift?
Can the boat be blocked on land or does the boat stay on the railway?
I usually haul out for a month or more before going back in. I do my own work so anyplace I haul has to allow that.

I cannot comment on Smith's for sure but there is a ways at Walsh Marine in Blaine Harbor where Libra is moored. The boats that are hauled on the ways stay on the rail up on the hard while they are being worked on and then back in on the rail. That is to say, if the boat is on the ways for a month, that is the only boat that can hauled during that whole period. It is a pretty cool thing to watch but pretty limited in volume per year. Generally very big working boats use it only.

I saw a yard many years ago the used a railway system. Quite neatly done.

Each boat was pick up by a cart on rails. Pulled out of the water on the cart and then shunted to the side and eventually to other rails in another part of the yard for work to be done.

The boat stayed on the cart for however long it was out of the water. I
remember because when my boat was surveyed it was hauled at that yard.

It won't help you directly as it was near Victoria, B.C. But maybe a railway type yard near you has a similar system rather than the typical single boat at a time railway so check it out .

I have no idea if that yard is still operating as this was thirty years ago. It may have gone to condos by now as it was in a prime area for boating but also residences.

No, boats don't have to stay on the rails, but that depends on the yard.

Usually getting the boats off is labor intensive, so less frequent at railways, and the reason for travel lifts.

As a kid, the yard I hung out with did all their winter pulls..... but boats were smaller and the railway car if I remember corectly could be partially dismantled under the boat after a temporary blocking, then the boat moved on a yard trailer.

Went to the link, looked at the overhead view, that's a "one boat at a time" traditional railway, no switching yard to shuttle boats to make room for more.

Here in Ft Lauderdale Bradford Marine has what's called a synchrolift. Its a railway with an elevator instead of ramping down into the River, but once up there is a switching yard to move boats around, even undercover. They accommodate quite a few boats at once here, link has a video showing the lift and switching a yacht around:

Lift & Haul Out - Bradford Marine

There's a unique and interesting railway like Smiths in Spanish Wells in the Bahamas. They actually dismantle a portion of the street, haul the boat up the railway, and if the boats small enough put the road back. If its a larger boat the street stays closed until the boat is launched.

Many older yards simply has enough carts to hold the winters worth of storage.

Cross rails allowed the blocked boats to be moved into a shed or anywhere in the yard.

The boats , mostly wood, could be brought into & out of the paint shed if the snow was cleared from the tracks.

Yes, there was more capitol outlay and labor , but the boats could be stored much closer together so the yard or storage shed would hold more boats.

The Travelift is preferred today as a 12 year old can operate it , so low cost labor can be hired.

Annual Winter repaints on GRP boats is not a requirement .

Many years ago I worked at a yard in Port Washington NY that had a rail haul of system. Movable cable tuggers, portable rail systems, rail mounted dollies and smarts permitted all the vessels on moorings in Manhasset Bay to be hauled each winter. This type of rail and handling system was/is common in Northern climates long before travel lifts were dreamed of.

There was a time that things got done in a way that puzzle our imaginations. Now about those pyramids.

Here's a couple of interesting videos about Smith's that I found on youtube:

history

carrie b

Jim

Try dandy haven...

sdowney717 said:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/S...ee809ac73904877!8m2!3d37.181778!4d-76.4243337

I was going to haul out in 2018 and they are extremely close to my marina.
Is it about the same prices compared to a travel lift?
Can the boat be blocked on land or does the boat stay on the railway?
I usually haul out for a month or more before going back in. I do my own work so anyplace I haul has to allow that.

Click to expand...

Dandy Haven charges $9 a day while on the hard and is the most helpful yard around. Andy, the owner is a pleasure to work with.

Gordon

Thanks for those videos Jim.I will call them and see what they offer. I think would be cool to experience the railway haul.

Gordon J said:

Dandy Haven charges $9 a day while on the hard and is the most helpful yard around. Andy, the owner is a pleasure to work with.

Gordon

Click to expand...

Hi Gordon, I have hauled out twice at Marina Cove Boat Basin, right next to Dandy Haven and hauled once at Belle Isle on the other side of Dandy Haven.

Marina Cove is now I think $150 per month, last time for me was $100, so $5 per day unless he has gone up. They have good gravel packed repair yard and 2 travel lifts and is a DIY marina if you want. So a good deal. Erlin manages the place.

Dandy Haven won't haul my boat as it is a wooden 37 Egg, and they are prejudiced thinking it might fall apart, since made of wood, yet it is in very good hull condition.

Marina Cove and at Belle Isle I did considerable amount of work, but regardless they have no issue hauling out wood boats. A closer opportunity for me is Yacht Haven Marina on Poquoson river.

Dare Marina, right across from me from Thomas Marina, on their web page does not allow DIY work.

Wormley creek will haul wood boats and allows DIY. I had the boat at Wormley Creek for a year and it is a nice place too., Doug manages the place.

Another consideration is driving time. I cut my drive time to 20 minutes from 45 minutes by docking at Thomas Marina in York County, AND York County has dropped all boat tax starting 2017! Plus very peaceful there, no industrial setting. And very nice water views on Chisman Creek.

There are several rail systems operating in this area. As far I know these only haul the boat out of the water on a car/rack and hold it at the end of the ramp while work is being done to the boat. The yards are small and don't have a track system except on the ramp down into the water.
I don't know how they are sure the car/rack supports will not damage a through hull or other part of the hull as they pull it out and the full weight of hull settles on the rack?

Rock Hall Marine Railway still uses their railway and additionally has a Travelift. Theirs is the type that has an extensive layout of tracks, storage sheds and transversely-moving tracks. Each boat had its own cradle in a cart which would be pulled along the tracks.

The best pics I could find by Googling: aerial: the tracks leading from the water are running side to side and you can see the bluish gantry there and in the second pic. The grassy area running top to bottom has the transverse tracks. Five peak-roofed sheds to the left; five similar sheds to the right with outdoor track space, too. Clearly for powerboats/workboats.

The ell-shaped building near the curve in the road is their marine store; many wondrous things in bins! And, they'll order anything for you.

If you're in Blaine, you might look at Canadian yards with the exchange rate.
Marine railways are much easier on wood boats.

Smith's simply pulls up the boat and it stays on the rails. They also don't allow DIY. And are more expensive than the travelift. I typically stay out more than a month and am a DIY person. They have worked on my boat model, but mostly work on much larger wood boats.

This one is still active, one boat at a time.
Silva Bay Shipyard - Comprehensive Marine Services