Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 7:53 am Posts: 254 Location: Palm City, Florida
I first started thinking about building some sort of a boat dolly soon after I purchased my TI last October. I personally was not interested in a scupper/plug-in type cart because of the problems that have previously been discussed. I live in South Florida and I really wanted to go sailing in the ocean. I wanted a way to get my boat from the trailer, down to the beach and back again, by myself and hopefully without getting a hernia in the process! The cart I've built is working quite well for this purpose, I've even made a second one for a friend.
There is a real need for a suitable wheel cart for the TI, especially if you're trying to go over sand. Recently there have been some excellent designs, submitted by very talented people who have contributed a lot of great ideas to the Hobie forum. (Interestingly enough, it appears that we're all headed in the same direction). I think there are benefits and limitations in every design though, and there's probably no one "perfect" wheel cart for everyone, it just depends on what you're looking for.
My cart is 70" long, it is made from lightweight aluminum (23lbs.) yet very strong. For transporting purposes, the Quick Clip Pins allow the wheels to be easily removed. The cart can then be placed on top of a TI, carried on a roof rack of a car, or attached to a trailer. A Hobie saddle holds the Hull and Amas up, and the aluminum pipes (covered with a pool noodle) help to add support along the TI's tracking grooves. I use one short strap to secure the cart to the TI and two longer ones to pull the boat on and off the cart.
I chose the Wheeleez 42cm Polyurethane Beach Wheels because they have a 353lb.capacity and they work extremely well in allowing a fully loaded TI (including mast, drives, extra gear etc.) to roll quite comfortably over soft sand or harder surfaces. As you can see in the video, the TI is riding very close to the ground. This design makes for loading and unloading by one person possible. Once it's down on the sand, I just slide my boat into the water.
Now I can go sailing in the ocean whenever I want. I am no longer dependent upon the assistance of friends or bystanders. It's really very easy and simple to use.
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_________________ Sun E Sailor Ezra Appel Palm City, Florida 2010 Tandem Island
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 7:53 am Posts: 254 Location: Palm City, Florida
mmiller wrote:
Funny... very similar to what we are working on.
Matt, Thank you very much, I look forward to seeing what Hobie comes up with. I have been building the equipment we use in my roof cleaning/pressure cleaning business for the last twenty years. In thinking about this challenge I began by reading as much as I could find on the topic of wheel carts for kayaks and small boats. I had a few prototypes prior to this one. This design just seems to be the simplest and easiest to use for one person.
_________________ Sun E Sailor Ezra Appel Palm City, Florida 2010 Tandem Island
Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:25 pm Posts: 1735 Location: Central Coast NSW Australia
Very impressive sEs! Great design and innovation. I really like how easy it is to remove and replace the cart. Thanks for the informative post. Here in Aus that 42cm wheel is AU$169 each (plus postage) and the Hobie cradles are AU$400/pair (don't think they're available separately) so it's an expensive mod downunder!
Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:14 pm Posts: 1369 Location: South Florida
Looks like a great design, perhaps putting an end to the scupper-hole carts. Amen!
Keith
_________________ I sail: S FL, Key Largo, Everglades, 10,000 Islands, Cape Romano, Cedar Key
"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
Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 5:06 am Posts: 1294 Location: Lake Macquarie NSW AUSTRALIA
Well done. Good original design. And I noticed that you didn't even break into a sweat throughout the whole process. Looks like minimal effort needed, and that's always a good thing.
_________________
Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 7:53 am Posts: 254 Location: Palm City, Florida
stringy wrote:
Very impressive sEs! Great design and innovation. I really like how easy it is to remove and replace the cart. Thanks for the informative post. Here in Aus that 42cm wheel is AU$169 each (plus postage) and the Hobie cradles are AU$400/pair (don't think they're available separately) so it's an expensive mod downunder!
Stringy,
Thanks you! Because the cart rides so close to the ground it is easy getting the TI off and back on to the cart. My first design was too high and I almost gave up, but after a good nights rest this design came to me and I couldn't wait to make up a new prototype. I'm sorry about the cost for these parts where you live, perhaps that will improve.
_________________ Sun E Sailor Ezra Appel Palm City, Florida 2010 Tandem Island
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 7:53 am Posts: 254 Location: Palm City, Florida
Slaughter wrote:
Well done. Good original design. And I noticed that you didn't even break into a sweat throughout the whole process. Looks like minimal effort needed, and that's always a good thing.
Slaughter,
Thank You, Coming from you I take this as a real compliment! I've admired you're ideas and imput to the forum for some time. As for not breaking into a sweat, didn't you notice the strong winds that were keeping me cool? I was doing my best not to look like the fiftynine plus year old man that I am. I can't tell you how surprized I was using it for the first time. It really is just as easy as it looks.
_________________ Sun E Sailor Ezra Appel Palm City, Florida 2010 Tandem Island
I am an avid South Florida, blue water, fisherman and have been fishing off the tandem island now for 9 months. One of my biggest problems when I got the TI was getting the boat from the trailer across the soft, sandy, beach to the water. The boat plus fishing/safety gear weighs in at around 300 pounds. I initially and naively bought a Hobie Trax cart with the 24cm wheels. They lasted less than a month before the tires were destroyed. With no good options available to me (and more dollars than brains), I went back and tried 2 Hobie Trax carts (now looking at $600 investment). The two carts worked but rolling it across the soft sand in 95 degree heat was grueling. The scupper carts also require 2 people to getting the carts off/on while on the beach. I was also vey concerned with the weight of the boat resting on the small surface area around the scupper holes.
And then I met Sun E Sailor (affectionately called by all who know him, F’in Genus). I tried his beach dolly and had him build me one right away. This cart is without a doubt the best cart I could ever imagine for transporting the Tandem Island on a soft beach. I am very meticulous person and all I can say is that the cart is built to survive anything short of a nuclear bomb. Size is the only downside I can see for those who do not own a large car or trailer. I mount mine on the tongue of my trailer, so it is not a problem.
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