Hobie Cat Forums

I have a pretty good trailer for the H18 that I got and refinished last summer. It has single rollers on the front and back. I have read that the 18 could really use cradles up front.

Question 1. Should you put cradles or double rollers on the rear crossbar?

Question 2. How do you end up mounting the cradles to the front cross bar and how do you end up mounting them to the rear crossbars so they can pivot for loading and unloading the boat?

Question 2. Do you need any special hardware to mount the cradles to a set of cat trax?

I made my rear cradles out of UNUSED 10" PVC sewer pipe, lined with astroturf.

I have flat 8"x8" bunks up front.

My cradles are 24" long, with a 2x4 on the bottom. I used 4 carriage bolts countersunk into the PVC. 13" from the rear of the cradles I cut a slot for the roller axle to pass through.

There is a LOT of friction loading and unloading the boat, so this winter i will reinstall the rollers, and notch the 2x4's to sit on top.

Loading will be accomplished by winching the boat on using the rollers, and then lifting each stern to slide the cradle in. Unloading will be the reverse.

_________________
Jeff
1986 Hobie 18 #13031
1977 Hobie 16 (As soon as I can get it out of a field...)

I recently went through this decision process and ended up making custom-fit rotating cradles out of 10" PVC, pressure-treated wood, and stainless pipe brackets, and PEX tubing. It was a fun project. The only drawback is that the boat doesn't slide very well on them when loading/unloading. I think the ideal setup would be pivoting double rollers on all four corners for loading/unloading ease, and then you put 10" carpeted PVC sections (1/3rd of the diameter is about right) between the rollers and hulls for travel. As beefy as the H18 hulls seem to be, your single rollers would probably be fine for loading/unloading and then just add the carpeted PVC cradles for trailering. Here's a few pictures of my cradles. Contact me if you want details.

_________________
1989 Hobie 18 Magnum "Rhapsody"
2007 Hobie Tiger

I've seen your post on the cradles before. Btw beautiful boat. You did a great job restoring it. The problem is I have been looking for the PVC for about 4 months now and the conatruction yards/projects won't sell me any and at over 150 a stick around here I would rather just buy them.

I got mine as scrap from a plumber.
What part of the world are you in?

_________________
Jeff
1986 Hobie 18 #13031
1977 Hobie 16 (As soon as I can get it out of a field...)

Ditto on making the rear cradles removable. It is much easier to use the rear rollers when removing or replacing the boat on the trailer. Double rear rollers are probably the ideal solution since they will distribute the hull load and don't require lifting the boat.

In a pinch, a piece of 2x6 or 2x8 resting on top of the rollers with some heavy carpet/padding will go a long way towards protecting the hull and is really all that's needed on a Hobie 18. The boats are tough, so anything other than a single roller should do the trick.

sm

+1
I've made up removable cradles from a piece of carpet, backed up with fiberglass and formed to the hull shape. I place them directly on the rollers and remove for launching.

BTW. Anyone knows where to get double-rollers for a reasonable price?

_________________
H17

Spraying the cradles periodically with silicone spray / McLube will greatly lessen the friction when loading the boat. So will keeping the boat waxed.