Here are photos of the AHPC factory set up (A-cat shown; F16 would be the same.

2nd photo--very clever "no tie down" fixation for the front--a custom fabricated T-nut is tightened down on the mast base--end is male (A-cat) or female (Taipan) of the cone/socket.

3rd photo--rear beam fixation (similar to Gary's set up) but with only a central cup.

Wouter, I too like Eric Poulsen's ideas, like the capture of the striker rod (or strap), but I think the beam rails make it hard to ramp launch and load. I see that there are rollers down below so there must be a way to have it work either way, hull carrier or beam carrier. Can it be loaded using the rollers and then be shifted up onto the beam rails?

I also appreciate Kirt's comments, "According to Jim the worst "working" (he called it "racking") the beams/hulls go through is when the hulls are strapped down tight to trailer crossarms (regardless of whether you use rollers/cradles/etc.) since the trailer will flex while under way and this will "work" the beam/hull connection much worse

Pete Pollard, i'm thinking that it will be done this week or early next, then some over night letters and packing and shipping. I think i'll have it by the 23rd or 30th.

Yes.

The trailer was originally a very stout steel Hobie 18 trailer I revised. Also, the beam rail supports can be adjusted if needed (eg stacking). I love the Trex material the rails are made of--it's that deck material made from ground up plastic and wood. It has the strength and workability of wood but the weather-resistence of plastic. And best of all, it is low friction--so the beams just slide across it without abrasion to the dolphin striker or beams.

Hi Tom,

the system I use for Altered, would require having the crossbar between the two front uprights lower, but if you lifted pole ropes over the front uprights you could leave it rigged up I think, as long as you where clear of the mast support which is easy to fix.

Regards Gary.

I found putting all the pieces together a big job. Of course I'm the most mechanically challenged male in the U.S. At any rate, if you have ANY questions, let us know.

And don't worry about asking stupid questions, I already did that!

See ya on the water.

Not to hijack but I need to vent. I ordered the Blade in January with an April ETA. This shifted to Mid-May. Then it was being crated on June 5th. Now it is the 14th and with Matt non-responsive to emails/faxs/voicemails I had to phone the receptionist today to find out that the boat hasn't been shipped yet. So that officially puts me down so far for 1/4 of my 2006 sailing season.
Don't I know that customer service will be peachy if I need anything. I am starting to feel like the guys in the Mystere forum.

Eric and Kirt,

Are the transoms of your boats resting on the beams or the cat trax? If so, why? I am working on some modifications to my trailer to allow me to "hang" 712. I am pretty close (almost exactly like Eric's, but no beach wheels).

Not related to trailers, bu how do the smaller wheels do in sand?

Kirt, are you going to Island Hop (back at OSYC)?

I don't think Eric uses rails and sliders at all. He uses the rollers while holding the boat by the ows. That is how I do it on my normal trailer. We far enough on the trailer he puts down the mainbeam on its rests and then lifts the boat at the rearbeam putting the cat tracks in their rests.


Wouter

Tom-
I have front cradles on my trailer to support the boat as I slide it forward (by picking the boat up at the stern, wheels and all and pushing forward until wheels "seat" into their "L" angled spots, then go forward and lift front beam into their "slots"- this puts the hulls above the front cradles slightly. Then the rear mast support is pinned in (this traps the wheels down) and the wheel ties loosened so a line is then used to slightly lift the rear beam into contact with an inverted "L" angle where the beam is lashed into place. Again, the boat is now entirely supported by 3 points so the trailer can pretty much flex all it wants (actually the front beam support is quite substantial and flexes very little) and none of this flexure is transferred to the boat.
Loading the boat on the trailer can all be done with the spi pole in place IF the front mast support is far enough in front of the front beam supports that the boat gets seated in the slots before the spi pole hits the mast support. This is NOT the case on my trailer so I take pole off before loading the boat. Alternatively you could have a swing away or pinned front mast support that would be removed/folded down while loading the boat.
Would love to go to Island Hop- When is it?

Kirt

I understand the trailer part. As I undertake the modifications, I will snap some photos, so you guys can tell me where I screwed up <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Island Hop is 7/1 and 7/2. I am cannot promise anything, yet. I'd try harder if the T4.9 was going to be there, but it is pretty poor timing for me.

I spent last weekend with my 8 year old as he was learning to sail Opti's. He had a good time. Crew in training.....

Did Edderer get the T4.9 or A? I thought I saw somewhere that he got the A.........

Did you see the JPOR photo? A guy had 3 little ones aboard, all looked younger than 8 to me.

Sure they are. But, at the rate I go swimming "she who must be obeyed" forbads it until THEY know what they are doing - not me. One day.....

Wouter, don't confuse Eric's posting about AHPC trailer setup to his own set up. He definately has rails, look a few pages back. The rails would let me slide the boat on without taking the spi pole apart (remember, I sail off a boat ramp and not a beach - yep like motorboats).

Tom,

If you're launching straight from trailer to water off a ramp, I would suggest making the uprights shorter and thus the rails lower than my set up. (Only downside is that the boat will have more exposure to road debris on long trips.)

BobCat,
Thanks for the "heads up". Did you pre pay the full amount, and if so, when?

I was thinking of only raising the hull height by a few inches and maybe making some "socks".

My biggest problem is (I think) that the box of the trailer frame (the rectangular rear part of the trailer) is not long enough for rails to properly support for the beams. I may have to get creative. Example: length from outside rear beam to outside front beam is 86 inches, but the outside of the trailer from rear to where it starts to turn inward to the tongue is only 59 inches. meaning my rails would overhang the end supports by 13.5 inches on each end. And hang off the back of the trailer.

I may have to go back to Kirt's plans, but put the front crossbar (that goes between the beam supporting uprights) low enough so that my spi pole clears it.

Once I get back from vacation, I'll put some more thought into it.

Thats sort of the funny thing. I flew down to Florida in January with my checkbook. Matt didn't seem too interested in a deposit. Two weeks ago I was finally able to force my credit card on him. Last week when I was a little perturbed I managed to force my way out of the voicemail system and threatened to stop my credit card. They told me they hadn't charged it yet and, oh yeah, the boat should be shipping in a day or two.
Well, I still haven't received shipping confirmation so I guess my club's Open regatta this coming weekend is out of the question.
I received a lot of moral support from my fellow forumites and thank them for that.

Personally I don't think there is any ill will on the part of Matt and VectorWorks Marine section of the Vectorwork company. Hence the reluctance to charge you. Matt and VWM is really trying to do their best to get stuff done properly. But sometimes the Gods really do seem to have other plans. Sometimes it is even a bit tragic. I really do hope the stuff is sorted out soon as the boat I test sailed this weekend is definately worth it. It is also time to cut down on the order listing.

I also really wish for you to have the boat soon Bruce, it is definately time for that. I feel it is a real pitty you got what seems to be the full broadside of the mishaps.

If it is any consilation, I just fully rigged up my boat yesterday (didn't get to sail it, no wind) and hence haven't sailed this year. Halve my season is over. Back at the beginning I only needed to replace one bolt and have an eye in my trampoline repaired. Not even an imported eye and the bolt had only a rusty nutt on it and I could have continue sailing like that. But I decided to do things right and get these things sorted out. Although I really did need to improve on spreading the bolt loads on my hulls, so I decided to do that at the same time. Minimize the boat-out-of-order time so to say. Well the end of the story you guys know. I rigged up my boat only yesterday and haven't sailed it this year. Actually yesterday I manually repaired the trampoline after it was "repaired" by a professional sailmaker who had it for weeks. It was the only way to get the boat ready now and not have to wait another two weeks for the repair to be repaired professionally.

I'm expecting the last ordered items to come in this week and then she be fully race ready. Sometimes little things (and suppliers) can really hold you up.

Wouter