Launching Hobie Wave--solo

Getting a Hobie Wave...central Ohio on lake with shale shores. Plan on leaving it on the beach in a launch dolly or Cat Trax..any thoughts on what would make it easiest for a solo person to get in and out of the water? Sailing Grandma

I never owned a Cat Trax but I'm guessing it still takes some effort, solo, to get it centered on the axle of the Trax but your probably golden after that.

Alternatively, I built some ladder like, sliders from lumber and PVC tubes for the less slippery section of my shore as I didn't want to mess with a Cat Trax for such a short distance. They work quiet nicely. I built two sets so you walk back and get the first set and move it to the front, as required. My Wave slides like it's on ice when it's fully on them.

Useless story......
We built a makeshift cart for a dingy in my youth out of front lawn tractor wheels. The small tires worked OK because our twice a year trip was actually 95% paved street through our town to the shore launch.

One year, on a launch day with almost no wind, we had a good laugh. Once we got past the last last overhead lines, we put the mast and sail up and ran it down the final street to the launch sight with one guy in it shouting like a pirate, just to see the reactions on peoples faces.

Sorry for the digression. I hadn't thought about that day in many years.

Grandma (you GO girl!),

If the slope of the beach is slight, you might be able to go really simple and get away with using two 10ft long pieces of 2" PVC pipe. Lay them both down perpendicular to the boat, one pipe at the water's edge and the second one 4 - 6ft away from the water. You should be able to easily drag the boat up onto the first pipe and then the second. If you need to go up further you can move the first pipe up in front of the boat after the stern moves off of it - or use a third piece of pipe.

If the slope is steep, Trax with the big inflatable tires is the way to go. The solid wheels are cheaper but they don't work as well in deep sand or a rough, rocky surface.

Sliding the boat into the water is pretty easy - gravity helps you out. But you might need to enlist a passerby to help you pull the boat up onto the beach.

Welcome to the Wave!

_________________
JT Cole
Clermont, FL
'03 Getaway
'05 Wave

If your boat doesn't have a front crossbar, you can make it easier to handle by getting a piece of 1" PVC conduit (slightly shorter than the space between the bow-eyes), then run a rope through it with an S-hook on each end to attach to the bow-eyes. It makes a lot easier to lift the bows together and pull the boat up onto shore, or raise them for draining the hulls. You can also hook it onto the rear laces if you need a better grip to pull the boat backwards.

I also use the PVC rollers when the lake level drops.

_________________
What - Me Worry?


2006 Hobie Wave 7358
"Ish Kabibble"

Thanks for the input..The lake we are on can have a steep shoreline by the end of summer, there is a concrete boat ramp 2 lots down that I can use to bring it up the slope and then bring it about a 100yds back to our property....still on the shale shore

Just a thought since you mentioned you will be mostly solo. The bravo is a heck of a fun boat as well and it's smaller size & that missing 50 lbs can make it a lot easier to move around. The Wave will give you more confidence when the wind picks up but that all depends on your intentions. Iv'e owned both and for me and my wife the Wave is the better choice but I miss the little Bravo some days as it's closer to the true dingy experience.

That being said, sounds like a set of CatTrax will be just the thing for you to move the boat around on the shale. I'm not sure i'd solo a boat on wheels by hand on the slip. Of course, I'm used to salt water where slips are all slimy and slippery (or as is properly said here on PEI, "Slippy.")

Hope you have a blast!