Hey Carl,

You would do a great service if you'd post some good detail pix of that 4-side cart. I think that would be the ANSWER for the Sq.

sea ya
thanks in advance
tami

I built a couple sets of beach wheels using busted off stop signs- 2 1/2 inch aluminum tubing. NO I didn't break them off myself. Its a little heavy tho- great for 440 pound Hobies!
My new A-class Eurotrax beachwheels have an aluminum tube handle. Simplest possible- a smaller inner sleeve (stainless steel) on its end goes right thru the axle, and gets a machine screw pin stuck thru it to keep her on.
Remove and stash with the boom etc, for transport.
Why mess taking the wheels off to put on a T-coupling?

Repair question: I got a free set of commercial beach wheels , and they never worked: the nylon rod bearings are ok, but the inside of the axle (bonded to the tires) was apparently steel, badly rusted and very lumpy.
Did anybody ever try to clean-up and epoxy-glass inside?

Hi Tami

It will be a couple of weeks before I can take pictures. But you can come to GBCC and see it.

The problem you are going to have is the same problem you always have with the Sq, it wide. The first problem you are going to have is finding 11-12 ft al tubing. With a little 7.5 ft wide boat, mine is made of thin walled al. You are going to need the thick walled stuff like they use for axles for Tornado wheels.

Let me describe it.

1) Simple wheels, Plastic bushings for bearing. They fit over the axles and use clamps on each side of the wheels to keep them in place.

2) Structure, It is nothing but a square made out of ~ 1 1/2" al tubing The tubes are joined by 90 deg elbows at each corner. The elbows are pop riveted to the side tubes, not the axles. The axles just slide into the elbows ( very important)

3) Attached to the elbows are al plates for the cradles to sit on. The plates are inline with the axles. The cradles are blue foam glued to the plates


4) Taking it apart The axles just slide into the elbows. There are no fasteners. So what holds it together. Attached to the inboard edge of each Al plate there is a hose clamp. The axles sides through the hose clamp into the elbow. Tighten the hose clamp to keep everything in place. Release the hose clamps, pull the side tubes off and strap everything to your trailer.

It is simple. I think I could find all the parts except the elbows. They are flat on the top, big (3 in on a side), SS and look like they were custom cast or ground down from something else.

Come to GBCC or I will take pictures when I can

Carl

We get over there when we can, 8 hr is a bit of a drive. How about you and Cyndi come visit for Memorial Day and take the island trip to East Ship?

Regards
Jay

Hi Tami,
Most of us up here used the old style Roleez on our 18sqs.
The type with four wheels, one on each side of the hulls.
They can even be used without a connector section in the middle.
I know of one person who built an old-style set with the new style wheels.
The new wheels are larger and made of a different rubber/plastic which is much lighter and tougher.
They improve the design of the bearings also and the new type can be fitted to the old type wheels.

Back to the original question.
For single-handed use I like the Seitech design, configuration 15.
http://www.seitech.com/m/_general/Config15.asp

I want to build a set with a similar design using the Roleez wheels.

Thanks Sam! Howaya?

That will work.

Y'see, I have a set of wheels, which are just fine if I have help (or patience) but I've been thinking about that Acat cart.

I seem to recall someone from Europe saying they launch, anchor the cart in the water, and when retrieving the boat, sail right up on the cart left in the water. Sounds good to me.

I'm gonna have a look at the Seitech - that may well work for us, indeed.

sea ya
tami

I've had both the CatTrax and EuroTrax. The best of those 2 for singlehanding is the CatTrax, IMO. I have Euros now and the bead on the plastic rim continues to leak. I could take them to a tire shop and add tubes but wanted the product to be able to hold air without any 'outside' additions. The alum rim on the CatTrax is far superior and I'll be ordering a set of those with the inter style cradles and launching handle soon!

Bob

Bob, thanks for that feedback. Any difference in weight between the Cat Trax and Euro Trax? Also, do you have the handle for the Euro Trax and if so does it hold the cradles upright without any modifications/drilling?
Thanks, Jerry

Weight is about the same with the edge to the Euros. No handle on my Euros; know how much that is needed to keep the cradles upright!

Bob

Would love more info regarding the Marstrom 4 wheeled A-Class cart.

Thanks,

Paul

Hello All

We are the US distributor for EuroTrax.

This is not a sales pitch but I thought that I should point out a few things about the EuroTrax, they may be misconceived.

The rims are not just plastic they are a composite plastic, fibreglass reinforced, UV resistant and have been tested to withstand loads in excess of 1400 lbs without failing. The rims cannot corrode.

The EuroTrax method of "setting" the wheels on the axle is with stainless steel reinforced clamp rings. You do not have to drill holes in the axle and can easily reposition the wheels in seconds for different width Cats. The downside to this that the rims will of course slide off the bearing if the clamp is not tight enough.

The tires that all the manufacturers use (except Roleez) where made in Taiwan(the factory has since moved) and there were occasional times that we had reports that a tire would lose air after a while. Unfortunatly all manufacturers had to deal with this issue. Since the move we have not had reports of this problem and we continue to mount the rims with a special seating compound. The rims we use are precision made in Germany and the bead mounting is molded to the exact specification for tubless tires. If a customer has an air loss problem we supply tubes free of charge.

There is a Tee handle bracket available for the EuroTrax. We can also supply the shaft but have found that individual users prefer to get their own locally where they can decide on the optimum length.

Key to the EuroTrax units are the Thermoformed Polymer cradles. They will not damage any hull, are rigid but have enough flex to "give" a little when loading a cat in surf or other difficult conditions. Fibreglass cradles by their very nature don't have that same "give".

Hope this helps.

Bede

Marstrom 4-wheel carts:
Biggest disadvantage- The foam pads squeek when pushing the boat on dry.
Biggest advantage- they sit happily on the bottom til you come back from sailing and need them again.
Conclusion: 4 wheels make them quite nice- tho at Daytona Beach if left in the surf they might migrate north.
Wish I had some!

Dave (or anyone else familiar with Marstrom's 4 wheel cart)-
I've heard of that and it sounds like a great idea. More like loading a boat onto a trailer so you don't need to worry about TWO things bouncing and floating around while you try to line them up singlehanded.

What I'd like to know is what kind of wheels it has and why it doesn't float? Is it weighted or does it use solid wheels? Regarding squeaking, what foam pads are you referring to - does it use foam pads in place of or in addition to cradles?

Thanks!

Jerry

Re: Marstrom 4 wheeler-

Uses large foam bunks and NOT fiberglass cradles.
Yeah they sink. Made of large Aluminum shiny tubing in big arcs- I saw Carla on one side (female person) and Clive Mayo (quite large non-female person) lift her boat still on the trolley and put it in position on the trailer.
Lemme see you do that with a Hobie- or F18!
Carla and John Schieffer, Coconut Grove Sails and Canvas, Miami may sell them.

Thanks, Dave. Do you know anywhere online where there's a photo?
Sounds like an ideal cart for an A class.

Jerry

There is a picture at:
http://user.tninet.se/~zdt420t/acatstuf.htm

Here we go...

I have put together a home built set that are not quite as good as some of the more expensive types I have seen but for 100$ they still work amazingly well. The design is different with two separated strap on wheel sets so I can single handedly pull the boat of the trailer with the wheels preattached. The wheels arn't as big as most cat haulers but there is 4 wheels instead of two giving enough weight dispersal for moderatly soft sand.
I haven't had a chance to test them in very soft sand yet. The Wheels are 10$ each with bearings from Super Cheap. The Axles 40$ from a steel Company.. The Hull Shaped supports cut out from a large White Bucket 17.50$ from Bunnings which is then coated with a 5$ rubber carpet from Para Rubber. The axle passes through a aluminium square tube 10$ which the bucket mouldings rivit onto... 2 adjustable straps with clip in buckles 10$ A few Split pins and washers to position the components on the axle 5$..
Because the axles are only 2 feet long they are light weight and fit happily inside your sail bin.

By strapping the wheels to the end of the hulls you can easily wheel the boat off the trailer single handedly. Then shift the wheels further up the hulls to take more load.

Guys:

Try these. They have been tested and proven to work fine.

http://dgaleana2.proboards56.com/in...action=display&thread=1143785090

Doug Snell
Hobie 17 "Stress Free" #007

However, this thread is about beach wheels for singlehanding. It has been my experience that if you are trying to get the boat on the wheels by yourself, you really need cradles, too -- and it helps if the cradles are weighted so they stay right side up.

I'm sure cradles could be added to those beach wheels.

Silicon spray fixes the sqeaking. The axle style tracks need either a triangle made from the inside of each wheel or a handle strait from the middle of the axle either of which tie off at mast. This has the advantages of enabling them to be pushed to the boat while still standing. One hand on boat, one hand on trax to set them in place. Once the handle is tied to mast base there is no problem with the trax trying to re set themselves as the whole is pushed up the beach.