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PostPosted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 6:46 am 
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Location: Perth West Australia
Great idea sun E sailor.

I was reading through the first page and thinking now where woul dI put that on my trailer and wouldn't it be great to have it built into the front or rear of trailer. Then got to the last page and you have done it already.

Fantastic.

I have an AI and the Hobie cart has been one thing that I have never liked for dragging a fully loaded kayak on soft sand and then getting it off the silly plug in cart.

Now I am about to get a TI and have been concerned about if I will be able to get it over the beach.

When I get my new TI, I am going to have to pinch your idea. My trailer is a bit different but I am sure I could make something fit like you have. Thanks again.

Image

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PostPosted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 3:12 pm 
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Location: Palm City, Florida
Hello Geordie,

Glad you like it. It was definitely an improvement to the whole system. Post us a picture when you've got yours done.

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Ezra Appel
Palm City, Florida
2014 Tandem Island


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PostPosted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 4:53 pm 
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Geordie that is a great trailer set up.
Is it a trailer tent?
I had wondered if some did this:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/t ... -AT-Chaser
with and AI/TI and yours looks the closest.

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PostPosted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 5:14 pm 
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Location: Perth West Australia
Thanks sun E sailor and Fly4v.
I will post some photos when done.

Fly4v, yes this is my off-road camper trailer. The tent and bed are built into the flip over lid.

I also have an old boat trailer for when I'm in the city to cart the AI down to the local marina and back.
I want to be able to set up so it is easy to swap the cradles and the cart from camper trailer to boat trailer and this cart from sunEsailor looks like a great way to do it.

I also love how easy it looks to get the cart under the TI without having to lift the boat and struggle to get the cart in or out.

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PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 3:51 am 
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Location: Perth West Australia
sun E sailor wrote:
Hello Geordie,

Glad you like it. It was definitely an improvement to the whole system. Post us a picture when you've got yours done.



OK I have almost finished with the new trailer just for the TI and a trolly fitted to the front of the trailer.

Image

Image

Image

I have ordered a second set of cradles so that I can have two mounted on the trailer and a third mounted on the removable section for the dolly.
The wheels are heavy duty brickies wheelbarrow wheels mounted on a 1" heavy wall alloy tube (25mm with 3mm wall), which runs inside the rectangular section. At the moment I am still working out an easy quick release bracket and bolt.

Image

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PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 2:25 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 18, 2010 2:31 pm
Posts: 3068
Location: Kailua 96734
AUSSOME! 8)

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PostPosted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 11:28 am 
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Location: Palm City, Florida
Recently a friend asked me to build a different kind of Appel Cart for him; a sort of duel purpose, shorter version of the original design. He wanted the wheel and axle to be removable and to still have use of his forward cradle on the trailer to support his TI for transport, and for the Cart as well.

This picture shows the Cart with the axle out. Note the SS Spring Clip and the small Axle Spacer which will keep the wheels away from the framework and the axle locked in place when needed.
Image

Upside down you can see the part of the framework that also allows him to lock the Cart to the Cradle/Channel that is bolted to his trailer. The SS bolt is where he attaches the web straps for pulling the TI on and off the cart; just like on my original design.
Image

The Padded Cradle/Channel before I bolted it to his trailer.
Image

Close up view of the end of the Cart now set inside the Cradle/Channel with a removable Master Lock.
Image

Outside with his TI on the trailer, the Cart is now resting inside the Cradle/Channel and nothing is sticking out beyond it.
Image

Close up view from behind with the wheel and axle inserted into the Cart's framework. The removable SS Spring Clip holds the axle and wheel from sliding out.
Image

His TI can now be pushed back off the trailer, the Cart will come out of the Cradle/Channel to be placed behind the TI for rolling it down to the beach.
Image

My friend Marc, with a little assistence from his boys :lol:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g7dTKly ... e=youtu.be

So easy, even a 7 year old can do it! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA7G1e7fsPg

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Ezra Appel
Palm City, Florida
2014 Tandem Island


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PostPosted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 12:01 pm 
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Location: Central Florida
VERY NICE! (and the kids were cute too!) :)

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 1:37 pm 
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Location: Palm City, Florida
Thanks Bob glad you like it and yes, these boy's have got the "sailing bug" in them thanks to their Dad :wink:

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Ezra Appel
Palm City, Florida
2014 Tandem Island


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PostPosted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 4:28 am 
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Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2010 8:44 am
Posts: 159
Location: Boynton Beach, FL
I really appreciate all these mods that Sun E Sailor of the "The Island Clinic" performed on my boat, trailer and beach cart.

The ability to quickly clip/unclip the beach wheels and axle onto the cart was a requirement for me so the trailer can continue to roll into my garage without consuming additional space.

Now I have the perfect beach cart for my needs. A lightweight beach cart that leverages my trailer’s front TI cradle and seamlessly integrates into the Trailex trailer. All without increasing the width of the trailer.

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Marc K
2010 Hobie Tandem Island
Boynton Beach, FL


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 9:17 pm 
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Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2008 7:57 pm
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Location: Western Australia
sun E sailor

I was wondering why the appel cart has the pool noodle 'arms when the Hobie cart just uses the cradle, is the Hobie cart cradle deeper than the ones supplied for fitting to trailers?

would it be possible to use the Hobie cart in a channel as the front cradle for trailer transport as you have done with yours?

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 6:22 am 
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Location: Palm City, Florida
jms2756 wrote:
sun E sailor

I was wondering why the appel cart has the pool noodle 'arms when the Hobie cart just uses the cradle, is the Hobie cart cradle deeper than the ones supplied for fitting to trailers?

would it be possible to use the Hobie cart in a channel as the front cradle for trailer transport as you have done with yours?

Hello jms2756,

Looking at the Hobie Catalogue it appears that the shape on the bottom of the cradle for the Hobie Kayak Dolly, is different from cradles used on trailers themselves. I'm not sure about the width, or how they would work in a duel purpose situation.

The two aluminum pipes covered with the pool noodles on my cart serve three purposes:

1). Gives Extra Support to Distribute the Load - Some people put a lot of things on their boats i.e. fishing and camping gear. I didn't want the cradle itself to carry all that weight alone. I've seen my cart used on a TI with over 100lbs. of extra stuff on board. I believe my design with this extra support, is safer and easier for the TI to handle.

2). Guides - Assists the user to position and slide their boat on and off the cart.

3). Kickstand - Keeps the cradle and cart from moving or spinning away from you when loading.

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Ezra Appel
Palm City, Florida
2014 Tandem Island


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2012 10:22 am 
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Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2012 11:09 am
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Location: Lake Macquarie, NSW, Australia
I love your work sun E sailor, very professional and functional.

As another customisation, could you not just substitute the rear rack/cradle on your trailer with the appel cart such that the rear of the TI remains in position on the cart (ready for a faster launch next time) while the front of the TI rests on a fixed-in-position front cradle? The front cradle could be elevated to keep it level with the appel cart height if desired.

I use the hobie scupper cart in this fashion for my AI on my flatbed trailer. The trolley stays in position under the back while the front actually rests on my gear box which is mounted across my drawer bar. I only travel a few hundred meters to the ramp so I'm not worried about stressing the scuppers but this worry would be removed for longer journeys if I had the better support under hull of a trolley such as the appel cart or other hobie cradle-based trolley.

It is very easy to wheel my AI up onto my trailer flatbed using my detachable/retractable ramps, but if I had a PE skid strip across the back of my trailer I could probably do away with the ramps and just slide the AI along until the scupper cart reaches the back of the trailer and then lift it up onto the flat bed manually.

I've just bought a TI (today) and now I need to tweak this trailer to suit. I prefer to retain the ability to easily use my trailer as a flatbed as well and am interested in others' thoughts on ways to achieve this.

One other thought for the next generation appel cart - extend if necessary, the noodle-covered support tubes that run along the hull, so that they line up with the scupper holes. You might also need to enlarge the diameter of the tube. Then drill holes down through the support tubes large enough to receive a redundant Hobie HD scupper cart inserted upside-down through the scuppers to lock the appel cart in place. You could perhaps even use/modify the HD cart locking pin to connect the two together so that it all remains in place when/if you need to lift it off the trailer onto the ground for example. Perhaps just a single piece of tube down one scupper would suffice instead of a whole scupper cart. Just some more thoughts in case they haven't already been mentioned.
Thanks for all your great ideas and discussion.
regards.


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 3:32 pm 
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Location: Palm City, Florida
Cam,

Thank you, and Congratulations on the purchase of your new TI, you're going to really enjoy it I'm sure. If you could post some pictures of your trailer, I might be better able to understand your questions but I'll try to answer to your immediate concerns for now.

The weight and length difference between a TI and AI are significant factors as to how we transport these boats, as is the types of trailers we have available to us. The height of which your boat sits on your trailer also plays a big part in what angle it travels when sliding on and off.

That being said, I've found that on my SUT-350-S Trailex Trailer, I must have the rear saddle fixed to the trailer to have support back there for the entire boat when launching and retrieving from either a boat ramp, or on and off the Appel Cart.

Sounds like with your "flatbed trailer" you may already have that rear support covered and could possibly make a detachable cart for the back end. I'm sure there's a way you can work this out.

The aluminium support tubes covered with the pool noodles on the Appel Cart cart are in line with the scupper holes, but not for that reason. There are two parallel channels running down the underside length of a TI. They were molded into the hull to help the boat track in the water and to give it more strength underneath. The spacing on my support tubes conforms to these "tracking channels" because it's a strong area to support the boat.

The balance point for the TI is forward of the scupper tubes. There's no advantage having a locking down tube holding the cart in this area because you must place the cart directly under the balance point to move it around comfortably - similar principal to the fulcrum on a see-saw.

Hope this helps to answer your questions, have fun with your new boat, post some pictures when you've got your trailer worked out :wink:.

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Ezra Appel
Palm City, Florida
2014 Tandem Island


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 6:25 pm 
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Location: Lake Macquarie, NSW, Australia
sun E sailor wrote:
Cam,
Hope this helps to answer your questions, have fun with your new boat, post some pictures when you've got your trailer worked out :wink:.


Thanks for your comments and well wishes.
I am happy with the system I had for short distances with my AI as well as for on-trailer storage. But it does not leave sufficent room for the TI, which for now is on the ground in my back yard. I hope to find a way to store both rigged kayaks (AI and TI) on the trailer in a way that my wife can single-handedly load/unload either one at times when I am not around to help. This requires a no-lift solution. I also prefer vertical stacking to avoid widening my trailer.

Back to the thread topic (sort of) - storing each kayak on its cart is desirable because it will enable choice of loading/unloading at either a ramp or on land.

I know this sounds ambitious, but I have to start the process somewhere.
It will take me a few weeks to get to this but when I do I'll post some photos, perhaps in a trailer thread though (sorry, I did not intend to hijack).
Regards.


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