Hi I currently sail a Wave but will be sailing a Hobie 16 soon. I want to get a trailer that I can use to transport my Wave now, but one that can also carry a H16 when I eventually get one.

Does anyone have the Trailex TX-416-HC? I hear this works great for the H16, but can it be used to carry a Wave too?

On the website photo I see the grooves on the side that carry the hulls of a H16. Can these grooves be moved in to accomodate the 7-foot beam of the Wave?

thanks!

-Will

P.S. here's the link to a picture of the TX-416-HC from Trailex's site... http://www.trailex.com/photos/full/tx-416hc.gif

I'm not 100% on this but I think Trailex bolts their trailers together. So the cradles for the hulls are mounted using u-bolts and/or bolts through the crosspieces.

Email trailex and find out for sure.

Trailex trailers are like Tinkertoys - with a 9/16" wrench, you could reduce it to a pile of extrusions and bolts within 20 minutes.

They are infinitely adjustable - the bolts don't go through the extrusions - they have "T" shaped heads that lock into slots in the extrusions.

Great trailers.

Get a trailex and you can put anything on it.

I have a trailex and move the cradles for my HT and then move oneside in 4 inches for my A cat. Easy as pie. The bolts slide in the extrusions and can be adjusted to anyspot along the extrusion.

Best trailers on the market.

Bill

I have intended to write an article about trailers. The crux of it all is simply make a flatbed trailer.

I have several trailers, mostly Trailex. I started off with a Hobie 18, Nacra 5.5, Mystere, 6.0, Nacra 6.0, Taipan 4.9, Taipan 5.7 and now a Wave (3 of them, actually)

I was constantly having to adjust padding, rollers or whatever.

Finally, it came to me. I stripped all that stuff off the trailer, bolted on two 3/4" Marine Plywood 4x8 pieces to make an 8x8 flat bed.
Went to the local carpet store trash container and pulled out some really cushy stuff and padded the trailer.
Voila! (a little french lingo there) a trailer that can handle any boat any time.

I can also load 4 Waves on my biggest Trailex which was designed to handle 2 20' cats with a total weight of close to 1000 lbs.

Another use of this idea.., just build some framing for siding and you can haul all kinds of stuff while you are not hauling a boat.

Rick

Be aware that the axle is not designed for a lot of weight. If you carry a lot of heavy loads above the axle's weight rating you may be passed by one of your wheels while crusing down the road.

Either:

1. Order a Trailex for a Hobie 16. Then you can shrink it down for the Wave. Trailex is great but be careful what you ask them for. If you mention the Wave you might get a trailer where you have to buy more pieces or longer pieces to make it fit a Hobie 16.

2. Buy an 8.5' wide aluminum snow-mobile trailer.

hmm a snow mobile trailer... i bet i can find a few of those in florida. haha yeah i guess i'll go with choice # 1.

Rick - here's my concern with a flatbed trailer. With just a piece of carpeted plywood, what prevents a 16 foot cat from inching its way off while i'm howling down the highway at 65 mph? it doesn't seem very secure, but i've never tried it. how do you get the Waves to stay still and sturdy?

and that brings me to another trailering question - how fast can you drive with a trailer? is 65 the max? I've never driven with one on so this will be new for me. any other trailer-driving tips are appreciated.

it's good to hear about the flexibility of the trailex though. I emailed them yesterday (monday night) with the question and specified the TX-416, so they shouldn't get confused. Man these things are pricey... if I get one it'll be worth more than the boat its carrying! ha.. wow. i guess its worth it though.

thanks again for the response.

With the flatbed, just as any other trailer, you have to tie the boat down. I use those ratchet type tie down and criss cross from starboard beam to port frame of trailer, and vice versa, front and back.

I am usually pulling them with my diesel RV. While I can go about 85 with it, I usually travel at 60. Otherwise, the boats get covered with diesel soot and my mileage drops drastically. At slower speeds I get over 10 mpg.

With the car, I pull the trailex at whatever speed limits are + 5 mph. No problems yet.

Rick

You don't have to get an aluminum trailer - a galvanized trailer will be about 1/2 the cost. I'm sure there are dealers around you but you might try www.Sailmax.biz to look at that option.

It can't be good to have the hulls of a 6.0 or f18 on a flat surface trailering though, right?

So, butting in on another thread with another newbie question:

I have an EZloader galvanized trailer which I just got with my boat. I'm pulling it with a Ford Ranger.

The question I've got is this: bringing the boat home, I was doing only about 60-65mph on turnpike/interstate, but up around 65 the wind effects boat appeared to become noticeable, I expect this to get worse at higher speeds. I had some concerns about trailering with the tramp installed, believing it might provide some wing/sail effect making the trailer even more squirrely back there. What says the collective? Should I never go these speeds, tramp or no tramp?

Just came back from Daytona (I-4) doing about 75-80 mph. I was admiring how the boat/trailer really could handle the speeds.

I think the tramp' DOES provide some sail (lifting) ... In fact I don't think my tires even saw the pavement over 70 mph <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Now if I could only keep the "pointy" side up on the water like on the trailer ........

There are all sorts of ways you could cushion the hulls, or you could use cradles. Be creative.

have you checked the tongue weight?

Heh...yeah, I'm more likely to stick to ~72...the troopers around here in the mid atlantic are a little tougher on that. I know your stretch of I-4 though, so I'm not surprised...



You know, I haven't really. The tongue weight is actually quite low, because I can lift the tongue move the trailer, with the boat on it, by myself without much trouble. I expect the tongue weight is about 50lbs, perhaps a little more. I think of squirelly behavior when there is too much weight, but I guess too light would do that too.

This trailer used to have a platform screwed to it - looks like some old OSB - that rotted out and was just yanked off. I was thinking of replacing that with marine grade 3/4" ply and putting astroturf on it. I need to build a sail box anyway, so I can put that up front to increase the tongue weight. Thanks for the tip!

Too little tongue weight can certainly make the trailer fishtail a little. As far as I have learned- about 7-10% of the trailer weight should be on the tongue. I experimented with mine and eventually figured it out.

There is another thread about trailering and tongue weight here: http://www.catsailor.com/forums/showflat...&PHPSESSID=

Thanks for the pointer to the thread!

Rick has an interesting idea with a carpeted flat bed trailer. Why would this arrangement create more damage to the bottom of the hulls than that with cradles or rollers? On a flat bed trailer the boat weight is evenly distibuted over a larger area as opposed to cradles or rollers.

In the near future I will upgrade my galvanized trailer to cradles or possibly to another configuration. I was considering purchasing recycled plastic decking boards (2'x8' if available) and bolting them to the trailer crossbeams so that the boards run under the hulls length wise. The boards could be covered with marine carpet. I could even make a lip an the outer part of the boards to limit side movement. Any comments?

If your boat has a considerable amount of rocker (most of them do) then only one small area of the curved bottom of the boat will contact the flat board. It works well for the Wave because of the skeg keel.

Like I said, with a flatbed, you have to be creative in how you cradle, support, or cushion your hulls. Lots of possibilities.

And, who knows, if you have a hull with a lot of rocker and you flatten it out in transit, maybe it will go faster on the water. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
But is that legal? <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

My husband says my StreetPilot clocked me doing 98 while towing our I-20.

Fiberglass boats do not like to sit on wet carpet on flat trailers. The gel coat will blister on the bottom.

Jake, what exactly would I be loosing if I got a galvanized instead of an aluminum? I know aluminum is lighter and won't rust, but is this all? Can the galvanized trailer be painted or cured with something to safeguard it from rust? How severe is the rust anyway?

I'm getting a Hobie 16 really soon, within the next month I hope, and I'll be getting whatever trailer comes with that. Should I just use the trailer it comes with? <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> I'm just wondering if it's worth it to get another trailer.

This, of course, leaves out the unprobable possibility that a H16 actually does come with a trailex! that would be nice... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

A galvanized trailer is usually dipped and coated with a layer of zinc (the whole thing!). The zinc provides really good rust protection (better, usually, than paint). It will be a good bit heavier than an aluminum trailer and you'll really notice the biggest difference while moving it around by hand with a boat on it. You might notice some increased efficiency while towing with the aluminum trailer, but my experience has been that the mileage difference is pretty tiny.

Are you buying a new boat? They should be able to tell you what trailer it comes with - often, however, trailers are optional items.

If you can keep the trailer out of the water then rust becomes a non-issue. If you launch at a ramp, back up just enough to get the boat into and out of the water but keep the trailer dry. I did that for eleven years with my last boat/trailer and never saw any rust. H16s are fairly light so, at the worst, you use a winch to haul them back onto the trailer.

Just an idea, but why don't they dip and coat galvanized trailers in aluminum? or is zinc more rust resistant than aluminum? looking at my periodic table i see how zinc would work, but aluminum is tough to rust too. Just a thought

OK well when I go to launch my future H16, it'll be my first time launching a boat from a ramp. Will I need cat trax or some sort of wheels to get the cat from the trailer safely into the water?

I know the H16 is pretty light, but is it light enough so that I could load it off and on the trailer alone if I go sailing solo?

A winch is a good idea... I'll look into that.

I don't believe the aluminum would bond well with steel...another benefit of the zinc is that it acts as an anode and protects the steel electrically from galvanic corosion. (hence "galvanized"). You can read more about it here: Wikipedia - galvanized

I have 4 trailers.
Two Galvanized Steel, One Steel (painted), one aluminum (2 position snowmobile). My boats are on Glavanized trailers and neither has rusted although admittedly I only put them into fresh water. The Aluminum Trailer is the greatest. Light and VERY versatile as Rick pointed out. In addition to towing two snowmobiles with it and towing around a Hobie 16 I had for a while, I use it almost every weekend for something...... getting mulch, or bringing brush to the recyling center etc. etc. It's great for carrying odd size things like mattresses too.

A friend had a steel trailer sprayed with the bedliner stuff from LINE-EX. That is one great system and completely impervious to weather I think. I will watch and see how he likes it and report back at some point.

This is exactly what our H20 hulls are riding on, 2x8's with a close nap carpet. Basic standard cat trailer without rollers or cradles. As far as rocker goes, not much to a H20 but the exterior grade wood flexes enough to match the curve. The carpet remaining wet I don't see as much of an issue. The trailer has simple, non-tapered, 10 inch, vertical rollers, on the INSIDE, at four points, attaching at the crossbars (bottom) and an "arm" to support from the sail box at the top leaving a 1" gap between rollers and hulls. These are guides for loading, do not support any load, and also prevent side movement (don't recommend flying a hull with boat on trailer <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />).

CatTrax will last you a lifetime (and many boats). I'd invest in one RIGHT NOW and forgo dumping money into an aluminum trailer. You'll get far more value from CatTrax ... and save maintenance on your hulls (and trailer) by not dragging your boat around on the beach or shore--or dropping your trailer in the water to launch your cat.

I'm with Rick and the Trailex-Admiration society. Mine is 30 years old and holds my new A-cat with a smile! After 25 years of TheMightyHobie18 and H20 racing, I put a beam support system on the Trailex so that the A-class carbon fiber hulls ride in the air. My back says, "Thank you very much!" everytime I lift these things. Heavy boats? BOOOOO! Sooo 20th Century! All obsolete! Run 60mph <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> and save some on drag. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I've had painted, galvo, and Trailex. The painted ones are no good after a few years of fresh or salt water. They just don't hold up. Galvo are much better, but will eventually rust, especially in salt water. The aluminum is by far the best for a few reasons.

1)Weight. My trailer for my TheMightyHobie18 with the axel, wheels, and tires shipped to me with a weight less than 200 lbs.

2)Corrosion. Aluminum trailers will not rust. The only problem I have is with any glavo hardware attached to it. i.e. the bolts used to bolt the thing togeather. They may need replacing every decade or so. This depends on how well you wash the trailer down after submerging in slat water. If you sail in fresh they will last as long as the aluminum.

3)Ease of attaching accessories. The extruded aluminum pieces have a track on at least 2 of the faces of each piece that accept T bolts. You can bolt almost anything you want on them without haveing to drill holes in your trailer.

4)Longevity. They will probably last longer than your trailer.

These are just my opinions, but if you plan on being in the sport for a while, I would invest in one. Especially if you will sail in salt water.

Nick, you offer a very convincing argument to get a Trailex! My budget however, maxes out at 2 grand, and that's paying for first a H16, beach wheels (if not included), and then anything that needs replacing, like standing rigging, trap harnesses, tramp, tiller/rudder apparati, etc. Also later on I want to do a snazzy paint job and maybe get some good classic sails, like Carumba or something. I'm here in Florida for one more year of high school and then I'm off to college for 4 years, so I don't want to spill too much money into getting something that I'm only going to be using for a year and a few summers. Will I stay with sailing after college? I definitely hope so! But for all practical purposes, I don't have a job, and financially, things won't be better in college.

After that though, like 5 years from now when I'm the CEO of a S&P 500 company, a trailex will be on my wish list for sure! If I have a galvanized trailer, I'm definitely willing to take care of it by washing it down if it gets salty, which it will a few times I bet. As for the light weight of aluminum, my back is only 17 years old, and I can use the workout anyway. As for longetivity, heck, I might be sailing a Nacra 6.0 or something of larger caliber with my future wife on the French Riviera. Plus, I'll have to survive college first.

The one thing you say that is really benegicial to anyone, though, is the easiness of how things attach together like tinker toys. definitely good for adjusting between carrying a Wave one day, H16 another.


I have a trailer that we never use for a 10-year old Sea Doo jet boat (boat, not ski). The trailer is 5'6" wide and about 10 feet long with two 2 x 4's in the middle to support the boat. It turns out the trailer is 3 inches too thin to hold a Wave. I measured the distance between the bottom of the hulls (bottom of the V) of the Wave, and they're 5'9" apart.

what kind of structure can I build on that would hold the sailboat? I was thinking putting down a few 2 x 4's and then putting two sheets of 4' x 8' plywood, just like Mary's design, but the wheel wells protrude 5 inches up on the side. How can I build over the wheels? any ideas? I'll post a pic of the trailer when I get the chance. thanks again!

Will,

I understand where you are coming from. I bought my first cat when I was a super-senior in college (had to do the extra year, co-op). I had no money but wanted something fun to do on the weekends. My advice to budget cat sailors is to not worry about the aesthetics of the boat. Those can always be improved at a later date as the do not keep the boat from sailing. Invest in new rigging for safety issues. Don't let your trailer condition slide. I did this when I owned my H16. On the way to my camping/sailing vacation the front cross bar of my trailer failed. Fortunately it was only on one side and the boat was stiff enough to keep from dragging on the road or getting gouged by other parts of the trailer. I took some 4x4's and lashed them onto the cross bar to get me through the week and back home.

Speaking of that, attaching 4x4's to the trailer for cross beams works well for light boats like the Wave and H16. You can then attach roller or cradles to the 4x4.

As for using the sea doo trailer, the suspension is designed for a much heavier load. Most cat trailers are rated for about 1000 lbs. If you underload trailers they tend to bounce alot and beat up your load. So keep that in mind.