Just ordered a wave and looking at trailers. Has anyone assembled the Trailex SUT-450-C? Is it a worthy trailer? Are most trailering with a mast stand or break down mast to the 2 pieces?

Also, busy work month ahead and considering having the wave freighted to me. Has anyone had any experience with having a wave shipped?

Take a look at

http://www.catsailor.com/forums/sho...sed&sb=5&o=&fpart=3&vc=1

Most of us Wave sailors do not use mast stands, and most of us do not take our masts apart for trailering. We just lie them down flat on the boat or under it or whatever, with appropriate padding.

However, if that trailer you are looking at has a pretty short tongue, you might not want your mast sticking out too far in the back. SO, in that case you might have to either take the mast apart or have a mast stand.

I'm not sure I would trust supporting the mast on a mast stand for trailering, since the two parts of the mast are not glued together -- I would worry about the sections working themselves apart when you are on the road.

Also, no matter how you trailer your mast, you should always make sure it is either on its side or has the sail track facing upward to prevent damage to the track (especially important for comptips).

Another thing to think about when you are spending a lot of money to get a new Trailex trailer: As people said in that thread Mike linked you to, a Trailex frame can last you a lifetime, so if you think you might at some point want to move up to a bigger boat, you might want to think about spending the extra money to get a trailer that will handle up to a 20-foot cat. If you sell the Wave, keep the trailer.

Plus, as I said in that other thread, if you have a big enough trailer frame, you can make it into a flatbed that can carry various sized boats and can also be used for transporting non-boating items. You can even put removable sides on the flatbed. We have one of the larger Trailex trailers (originally got it for a Nacra 6.0), with a triangulated tongue, and we removed the rollers and made it into a flatbed (two 4x8 pieces of plywood). We carry three Hobie Waves on it, two double-stacked and the other taken apart. The masts are all carried full-length, flat, on top of the lower-level Wave in the double-stack. We have the Hobie bob ends sticking out the back.

So what I am saying is that when you spend a lot of money for a trailer, think about all the possible uses you might have for that trailer, now and in the future, boats and other.

P.S. Another good thing about Trailex is that all the parts are adjustable and interchangeable (sort of like Tinkertoys). If you bend or break one part of the frame by hitting an immovable object (as we have done), you can just replace that one piece instead of having to replace the whole trailer or do major cutting and welding repairs.

And, of course, I am a big fan of Trailex because I can pick up the trailer, with boat on it, and move it around with one hand.

Gotta imagine that the Trailex is way more money than the trailer offered by Hobie (Page 34 of the 2006-07 catalog # 38650000 $720.00 / Dip galvanized), but ours is certainly heavier. We have had a few issues with broken tounges on the trailex aluminums.

We use the mast stand. Just keep the halyard tied off tight to keep the two sections together. Way easier than dealing with two loose parts and the halyard rolled up. The stand is #38650011 ($84.00).

Matt, when will the 2006-07 catalog be available for download?

Matt,
Were those trailers that had the one-piece, straight tongue? I don't trust those, no matter what they are made of.

I will put up the complete version now and the seperate sections later. Busy on a Kayak accessories catalog at the moment. The printed versions are at your Hobie dealers.

We have seen a variety of issues due to the aluminum wearing or fatiguing. Couplers, connections to the a frames. This on Cat, TriFoiler and Kayak versions. Not really sure the cause. Maybe loose fitting contributed?

I just never see that with steel trailers.

Thanks to all on the good trailer advice. Still looking for any experience or knowledge anyone has with having a wave freighted (still in original boxes).

In the box? Contact moving companies and freight lines. This is called LTL (Less than a truck load) freight. Being that it is in a box, it is somewhat simple and reasonably safe for the boat. The next thing is the freight classification. These ship under a classification for a product that is disassembled by a large percentage. Don't ask me why, but it ships cheaper because it is disassembled. Perhaps I can post the freight class number next week.

Where from and to?

Thanks Matt. Getting the accurate class will be helpful. Shipment from Mich to PA.

ray,
Can't you order through a dealer but have the boat shipped directly to you from the factory?

Reviewed the freight classifications with our shipping manager. He says Class 200 is more or less the standard we are charged. We have some agreements that allow us to use Class 125. He said they could charge at the higher rate 400 or so for a one time ship. You have to nail it down because it can double or triple the cost.

Yes, and get it in writing before it is shipped. We shipped something once by truck and they gave us one rate before it left the shipping dock and when it was somewhere en route to the destination, they decided to change the rate, which doubled or tripled the cost. But then, of course, they had us over a barrel, and we had to agree to pay it.

No kidding!! When we moved to Hawaii we got nailed with an additional "minimum" weight charge of $1000 after the container had been loaded on a ship. Rat [email]b@*%*@>s!![/email]

The Cat arrived today! FedExFreight calculated the class at 125, which made the shipping less expensive than making the trip myself. Overall, I believe I got a bargain for the whole shooting match. Unfortunately, I won't have time to assemble for a couple of weeks. Still need to get the trailex trailer, then off we go.
Thanks to everyone for the good advice.

rav,
Congratulations on getting your Wave!

When you assemble it, make sure you put the bob on the top of the mast (and don't put it on backwards, which we have done a couple times by mistake when assembling a large number of Waves ). The bob is not an option on the Wave, it is a mandatory safety feature, because if the boat turtled, you would not be able to right it.

Also, where are you located? Just wondering whether you are near any of the developing Wave fleets. It always helps people to help you when you put your location in your personal profile on this forum.

If you have any questions regarding your Wave, please feel free to contact Rick or me, rick(at)catsailor.com, mary(at)catsailor.com, and, of course, Matt Miller at Hobie Cat Company (send private message to mmiller, who has posted on this particular thread).

Mary,
Located in Western PA, not a great place for sailing but hope to get up to Lake Erie this summer for some better wind. I've never even seen a wave in these parts. I understand there used to be a nearby 16 fleet.

Western PA is really close to us at PIB (Put-in-Bay, Ohio) where we have a fleet of ten racing twice a week.

Also, there are some nice regattas. Bay Week is one of them where we will be having the North Coast Championships and in mid July OCRA is having a regatta in Port Clinton, Ohio and there will be fleet of Waves.

And for sure don't miss the NAs at Sandy Hook, NJ (We will be going there).

All on the Event Schedules Pages at http://www.catsailor.com/cs_schedules.html

Rick

Rick, just checked out a few PIB websites. Looks like a great place and a worthwhile drive this summer. I happened to see in the on-line store a pre-packaged set of pins and connectors, etc... for various hobies, but did not see one for the wave. Did I miss it? Also, does the store carry the quick pins for the backrest? I imagine there will be days where I want to remove the backrest...
Thanks

Bay Week and the Wave North Coast Championship is really a good one and a lot of fun. You will have to surgically remove you smile after getting back home. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />Hope you can make it.

Pins and rings also fit the Wave. Try http://store.catsailor.com/tek9.asp?pg=products&specific=jncrloepi4

Rick