Hi all. I am somewhat new to hobie sailing. I bought a hobie 16 last summer and stored/sailed it at a friends house who lived on the water. I am poor engineering student and the boat didn't come with a trailer. So, i either have to buy a cat specific trailer, or buy a standard trail ( a lot less expensive) and modify it to meet my needs. Has anyone done this? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Also if anyone knows of a cat specific trailer in the Hampton roads area that they are willing to part with, I don't care what shape it is in, i can fix it up ...... Thanks

You should be able to find a used trailer.
They're out there.

You don't have to get a cat-specific trailer. You can find a utility trailer or something that you can mount some plywood on and make it into a flat-bed. Works great, and then it will fit most any size cat.

Take a look at a cat trailer. You'll see how simple they are. If you have access to a cheap trailer you could buy channel or tubular steel for the cross pieces. You'll need some u-bolts, rollers, and rubber for the front cross piece which you can get from a boat dealer. I actually seen someone use 2x6 wood. Cut out some V's for the hull and that was his trailer. After buying the wood or steel it may end up costing as much as one already done. However, here on the midwest I think it would be nearly impossible to find a trailer without a boat. Especially now that you're looking for one.

I'm kicking around building a new trailer for my h16. I was going to rob all the rollers, winch and axle off my old one, but I think I might try to sell my old one instead. Its aluminum, and all the lights work. I have no clue what its worth though.

Is it a trailex? I am looking for an old trailex in as is condition. Email me at h16bill@bluefrog.biz

cheers
Bill

I don't know what brand it is. It's aluminum, but weird, everything is bolted together. It's not a real great trailer in my opinion, the whole trailer flops it seems like. I was going to build a new one out of aluminum, and over build it. But I'm in minnesota so probably not worth the trek from New York.

That sounds like a Trailex. The old ones had 45 degree corner castings that get real loose. What kind of shape are the tounge and cross bars in? You are 1000 miles away. Kinda far. Do you ever come east? How much would you sell it for?

cheers
Bill
h16bill@bluefrog.biz

I rarely travel more than 50 mile radius from my home. Its a scary world out there! (hehe) Where the tounge connects to the rest of the trailer has been welded together, and one of the angled corner pieces has been welded into place. I don't know why the previous owner didn't just weld the whole mess together. Its in reasonably good shape, I haven't seen any spots that show stress or anything, and I'm not sure what happened in the first place. My only complaint with the trailer is that the boat seems to flop around alot when you hit bumps going down the road. Probably due to all of the places that it bolts together flexing or pivoting just a bit. I have no clue what the value of it is, and I haven't started on welding up a new one yet. I may design something that can acomidate a wider beam so if I change to a large cat down the road I can keep the same trailer, ie. H20.
Karl