Cradles: Something More Slippery Than Carpet?

My hull slid nicely on the carpet lining my cradles .... for awhile.

But now, not so well.

Probably a combination of sand/crud in the carpet and multiple sand scratches in the hull.

I'm thinking about replacing the carpet with something inherently more slippery and resistant to crud accumulation.

Polyethylene comes to mind, but begs the questions of source, type of sheet, bending to fit, and so-forth.

Anybody else been here?

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2015 AI in "Dune" - "The Grey Pig"
2017 Trailex 450 Trailer
Pre-September 2015 cradles
(anybody want to buy a slightly-used AI SpinKit?)
eMail: [email protected]

Hate to ask the obvious, is your current carpet indoor-outdoor?

It is primarily polypropylene, short loop design, doesn't retain sand and rinses off easily.

I bought mine at Home Depot, selected the type with the longest warranty and then the color. I did not have good success with contact glue and switched to the new Gorilla waterproof glue. So far it's survived weeks sitting on a Florida beach with the boat being winched on and off daily.

bill

No clue.... It is whatever Hobie put on there at the factory.

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2015 AI in "Dune" - "The Grey Pig"
2017 Trailex 450 Trailer
Pre-September 2015 cradles
(anybody want to buy a slightly-used AI SpinKit?)
eMail: [email protected]

Of course you could always get rid of the cradles, and join the dark side with the PVC rails (they really are way better).
FE

I'm with fusioneng. I just went to the dark side and is soooooo much better. The PVC supports the boat much better. The cradles left flat spots in the hull after just one summer and winter. The boat also sits lower which makes loading and unloading easier. Additionally the PVC seems to be easier to slide the boat on.

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

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2015 Hobie Tandem Island Hibiscus
"Third Normal Form"

• Trampolines
• Hobie cover
• Davis Spar Fly
• Kayakbob's Sprayskirts
• Spine Board Hakas

I have no doubts about that.... especially ease of loading.

But I did a couple of tests and in both cases measured some indentation after the hull had sat on the dummied-up bunks overnight.

Figured the cost of failure was too high to take a chance (i.e. going out after 3 months on the trailer and finding a whole new bottom shape) so I wimped out, decided to trust Hobie, and got the cradles - which, I have to say, *really* needed a rewrite of the installation instructions.

The retailer sent me the older cradles where the front does not support the amas, but is contoured to fit the hull.

I got all snitty and said that I had to have the latest-and-greatest.... so they sent me the latest-and-greatest and, guess what?.... Yep... the older ones were "Better". ..... Quotes because, again, the instructions simply did not compute measurement/placement-wise and also because it looked like the "upgrade" was simply a convenience issue for Hobie wherein they sent two copies of the rear cradle instead of separate front/rear. ..... i.e. the front cradle no longer tapers to conform to the shape of the hull.

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2015 AI in "Dune" - "The Grey Pig"
2017 Trailex 450 Trailer
Pre-September 2015 cradles
(anybody want to buy a slightly-used AI SpinKit?)
eMail: [email protected]

I used one of those polyethylene artificial turf welcome mats. The bristles are taller,stiffer and slipperier. and allow the sand and grit to settle away from the boat better. I attached it with 5200 adhesive.

I use nothing on the cradles--bare cradle and works fine.

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon

Same here. I find there is just the right amount of friction from the pads to hold my TI in place, yet easy enough to move it with a firm push/pull. Mind you, I do launch directly from the trailer, meaning that the rear of the hull is lifted up slightly due to its buoyancy, and on retrieval, the hull bottom is wet. I never need my winch...

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker