How-to Article...
Learn how to make an easy and economical boat stand that will perfectly cradle your boat...
Is was building my I-Box by Zipp Manufacturing and got to a
point in the build where I needed a boat stand to 
carry on with the build. I
considered making one of my usual stands with PVC pipe and fittings, but then I
realized I could make one out of wood very easily and at a very low cost. I
decided to take a few pictures while making it. The complete stand cost me
about $20.00. This will actually vary depending on the type and price of the
wood used. In my case, this was much
less than it would have cost to make a PVC stand.
I went to the builders’ supply store and purchase a ¾” think jointed pine board and four 36 inch long 7/8” diameter birch dowels. I also needed some foam tape ¾” wide x ½” thick, which I happened to have already.
I cut two pieces from the ¾” pine board big enough to make the two end pieces of the stand. I then used the cutouts of bulkheads 3 and 5 from the I-Box kit as templates for the top shape of the end pieces. I traced the “V” of the bulkheads onto the two end pieces and cut them with a jig saw.
To have an idea of the length the stand should be I measured the distance between bulkheads 3 and 5 on the boat, and I the dowel the same length. I then drilled four matching 7/8” holes in the end pieces for the dowels. To make the holes match I lined up the bottoms of the end pieces and clamped them together prior to drilling.
I temporarily setup the stand on a flat table. At this point I put the boat on the stand to check its attitude. I found the boat to be a little bit too “nose up” for my liking so I traced the “V” in the front board ½” lower and re-cut. I test fitted again and this time the attitude looked fine so I went ahead and glued the dowels to the end pieces.
The final step was simply to add the foam tape to both end pieces to have a soft surface for the boat to sit on.
Note: you will have to cut a slot in the back board for the stuffing tube to run in. See picture below.
That’s it! Maybe not the fanciest boat stand out there, but easy and economical, plus it cradles your boat perfectly!
* You can build a stand like this for just about any V-hull out there using a protractor like this one to transfer the angles of the boat’s bottom to your end pieces.
Happy Boating!