Harold, this 7th pad idea must be a Sandusky thing! Our boat came from Sandusky and the cradle had been modified with the addition of the 7th pad. It was clear when I stripped the hull that they had been putting too much weight on the rear pads, there were spider cracks in the gel coat on the starboard side which I repaired. When the boat arrived up here the marina had loaded it on the cradle with oil canning quite apparent on that cradle pad. Wrong wrong wrong.

Our cradle is not a Catalina one, it was made by a shop that only builds cradles and it is considered one of the better units. We had a Catalina cradle for our 28 and while it was only a 4 post model it was fine, if the boat was put on correctly.

If the cradle is not sitting on level ground, I level it and I want a lot of support under the keel area of the cradle and every 3 feet anywhere the cradle is elevated. I shove 2X4s, 4X4s, 6X6s, and plywood under those areas where the cradle beams are not touching the ground until it is supported every 3 feet max. Otherwise, the main beams will just bend and the weight will end up on the pads.

Everyone has their own opinion on this, but for me, the boat is designed to carry all its weight on the keel. Therefore, I want the boat set down in the proper fore/aft location sitting straight up side to side and with a tiny bit of elevation in the bow so it slopes front to back. I want the the pads slack totally, not touching the hull anywhere while positioning it. When it's where I want it I then crank the pads up until they are snug. That way the boat is being held upright up but the weight is on the keel, not the hull. There is also a slight forward down tilt with the wing keel and that has to be allowed for when positioning the boat.

I understand from reading my owners manual that is the way Catalina wants it. There is no need for the 7th pad when its done like this. I think some people in the marine trades ought to read what the boat builders say now and then because there is a lot of misinformation out there. Properly leveled and blocked, you should not need more than 6 stands if you go that route, though I might use 3 on each side and one at the bow and stern to prevent rocking from wind.

I agree with Bud the keel should carry most of the weight. All too often marina employees don't seem to understand this and try to support most of the boat weight at the pads. This results in a very bowed cradle and pressure point depressions in the hull. If not too deep there is no problem except a bit of gelcoat crazing, but if too deep the glass laminate will break down.

The other issue I ran into when we bought our boat down in Lorain, OH was that it had been stored on its cradle backwards for many years. The cradle was labelled bow and stern, but they were on the wrong ends! As a result there was longitudinal gelcoat cracks around all of the pads because they were taking most of the weight. The cradle is an original Catalina cradle for a wing keel. See the attached picts for the right and wrong way to put the boat on the cradle.

By the way, the person on their back on the wing, sanding the bottom, is my lovely Admiral!! That picture shows how the boat should be oriented on the cradle. The second picture was taken when the boat was delivered to our marina and was placed on the cradle as the "bow" & "stern" labelling suggested. The marina had to add an additional stand aft of the cradle as the boat wanted to tip backwards.

Harold, These cradles, made by Catalina were originally shipping cradles. Many of us have since been using them for storage each winter.
As you have observed, many of our boats have developed a flat spot on the hull , usually under one of the rear pads. This flat spot is caused due to bowing of the lower structural members thereby transferring more load to the rear pads.
If you look closely at Toms cradle, you will see that he has raised the keel support boards with three additional 2" thick 12" X 48" boards. In my case, the cradle is also severely bowed and I now have a total of three 2" boards under the keel. I think I need another inch with the present bow.
When our yard sets the boat on the cradle, I make sure they also support under the keel. You also have to make sure the forward edge of the keel, where the Calalina smile is located, is 2-3 inches behind the front horizontal steel pipe member.
Next fall, purchase a 2 x 12 X 8' piece of treated lumber at Lowes, cut it in half and place one or both pieces under the keel when your yard transfers your boat from the sling to the cradle. If you decide to structurally modify your cradle, you will still need to find out the right thickness for your keel support boards.

Jack F Stewart
1993 C36 #1233 "Windancer"
Port Clinton, OH
Brands Marina

In my area, the vast majority of people use jack stands and they work just fine.... the intent is to balance, the boat rests on the keel. Stands offer the benefits that a) they are easy to store and b) you can move them one at a time to paint the bottom. The yard did put one extra just in front of the rudder this winter but normally I just have 3 on a side and a bow stand.