wheels, dollies, aching muscles and a H 16

Hi everyone,

So I got my H16 on the water last weekend and solo'd for four incredible hours. (Seemed like about 20 minutes.) The only trouble was getting that sucker up the ramp and onto the trailer by myself when it was time to come in. I was tired, the concrete was hard and grindy on the hulls, the rollers on the trailer were high off the ground, and that old Caukins steel trailer with the boat on it was way too heavy for me to get up the ramp by myself. Especially after pulling the mainsheet for four hours. Without other sailors around, I probably wouldn't have made it up the ramp.

I know what you're saying... why not connect the trailer to a car, back it into the water and float the boat onto it. Might work, except cars are barred from this area. And once the boat's on the trailer, it's tough to pull it out of the water by hand.

So... I'm thinking I need a dolly, something lighter to move the boat on. But having never used one, I've got a few questions:

What kind of dolly works best. I read about the Cat Trax, and the Cateez and the Siedel (sp?) one. All two-wheel jobs. Haven't had a chance to use those, so those who have, please advise...

How much strength is needed to get a H 16 from the ground up onto the dolly?

Can one person (not Hercules) lift the boat end and roll the dolly and boat up a ramp by himself?

How much strength to get the boat from dolly to trailer for storage? Again, do you gotta be a Greek warrior, or can a mere mortal do it? How do people do this?

I'm thinking of putting some kinda rubber mat, or astro turf, down on the concrete ramp so my boat won't have to grind on the rock. Anyone do that? What's a good, grippy, but light material that won't hold water?

Also, has anyone tried getting some long, stiff hull-width pieces of teflon, or boards, to guide the boat up onto the trailer? Seems like someone ought to invent some teflon hull protector sleeves to keep the bottoms from wearing off when you're battling the boat onto the trailer rollers. Seems I always get a nick or small scrape when I do this.

Any thoughts from pros on dollys appreciated. It's all new to me. And this is my first post on this site!!

Thanks in advance,

Al
H 16 Seattle

What kind of boat ramp forbids cars?

Any of the solutions you mentioned would work.

for one person though, I'd recommend the seitech dollies. www.seitech.com

Why Seitech?

They've got those nifty handles that makes it easier to pull with only one person.

Hi Al,

I don't have any practical advice for you, I was just ondering what the metal piping that is running along the outside of your tramp is for?

John

I have moved my Hobie 16 on and off the trailer by my self, and it was rather tiring to do it, plus it was going on grass on such. Another option is after you get the boat on the trailer, you could check into one of the trailer dollies for moving the trailer on land with out the vehical. i know that they can move boats with reletive ease on level ground, and are rated for about 3 thousand pounds. The ones I have seen also have a handle on them for easier moving

They do range in price, i believe that they cost about $150.00.

The Skier

I have Cat Trax. They work great. Now, how hard it is to push your boat uphill depends on the surface. If it is a hard fairly smooth surface, you can push your boat up a hill to the extent that you can push around 400 lbs up hill. It is easy to load your boat off the Cat Trax. I roll the boat up to the trailer. The Cat Trax are tied to my shroud wires; this is the balance point of the boat. This lets you get your bows 3 feet or so forward of the rear roller. Then I hook my wench line to the Dolphine Striker, tighten the wench to take all of the slack out of the line...a bit tight. Loosen my cat wheels, leave them in place then wench the boat on the trailer. If you are worried about the rear of your hulls dragging, you can lift from the rear center of the tramp frame, and push your boat on the trailer; this maneuver will depend on how much your trailer wants to roll without a vehicle attached.

I am sure any of the cat wheels would be much superior than the process you described. Cat Wheels are expensive. There are several ways you can construct your own wheels. Our club, took one of those plastic 55 gal barrels, punched a hole in the top and the bottom with a hole saw, put a piece of 2" pipe through it with plywood supports screwed to the barrel to strenghten the ends. They cradles were made from a piece of pvc pipe cut in half. It works!

David

John,

If it's the blue thing, that's just the righting line. The mess by the dolphin striker is one of those cooler carriers, which broke on Sunday when I was moving the boat and accidentally grabbed that instead of the striker. Whoops! It fouls the jib lines anyway - it's history.

Best,

Al

Dave,

Thanks for outlining your procedure. Excellent ideas about the half-pvc tube and wench! I'll try to borrow a dolly and see if I can heft that 400 lbs up the ramp. I'll also move my trailer's mast support closer to the hitch and put a wench on it. The support currently hits my bridle wires unless I lift them over it, and on Sunday, of course, it trashed my new bridle fly. Ah, the joys of spring!

Meanwhile, I'm hunting for some good material to lay down on the concrete ramp to protect the hulls. I want something grippy, but light, that won't absorb water. Maybe lino or vinyl flooring or some kinda astro turf. Carpet will probably just soak up water, get heavy and rot. I'll let you all know what I discover.

Best,

Al

About your trailer.
Are the crossbars above the frame?
Most of us have moved the crossbars under the frame which lowers the boat by 6-9 inches and makes it easier to load.
The trade off is that it gives less space to put a sailbox or tube.
About wheels.
All of the brands are expensive.
Different ones work better under certain conditions.
All of them work good.
It sounds like the Seitech - http://www.seitech.com/m/_general/config15.asp - would be perfect for your needs because it functions like a hand pulled trailer and is easier for one person to control.

Al, As far as laying something down on the ramp, I think you should take a look at this post and its associated thread:
rollers and stuff

I am wondering if you can employ a long piece of rope to your tow vehicle. I am not sure of the distance you are talking about or if you can get the car in allignment. But if you can, I'd invite you to consider a concept I once came up with but never had a chance to try. Please take a look at the attached picture. Blow it up in your picture viewer for details. Let me know if you can make any sense of it.

This solo retrieval method might work with or without wheels under the boat.

GARY

I didn't think to mention this, but some of the guys at our club use pvc rollers. That is, they have 5 or 6 sections of 3" pvc pipe and roll their boats up the beach like the Egyptians did the big stones. You have to keep taking the one out from under the rear and putting it under the front of the boat. May not be a good idea, if your ramp is very steep.

Just another thought,
David