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Post by DreamWeaver on Jun 11, 2013 7:55:18 GMT -5
Got an idea for building a beach dolly for the wave on the cheap as I refuse to spend $500 on one. I have an extra set of 25" atv wheels. Going to use 2 sizes of galvanized tubing. Inside tube will be what the cat rides on. Outside pieces will be the hub attached to a flange(welded) to bolt the wheels to as well as collars welded on each side to hold the hub in place. The hub will have a small hole drilled in it with a nut welded to the outside to accept a grease fitting. Once I get it figured out I will post pictures of how to do it. It must be light. The wave doesn't weigh much. Not much more than I do. Shouldn't cost much more than 20-30$ as I already have the aluminum wheels and tires. We'll see!
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Post by Thunderstruck on Nov 14, 2013 21:39:43 GMT -5
I'm looking forward to seeing your progress on this
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Post by DreamWeaver on Nov 15, 2013 8:04:43 GMT -5
My original intention was to head to RI and be able to launch from the beach last season. I scrapped that idea as I just couldn't break away for the time needed to make it worth going down. Where I sail here, I launch from the trailer on a ramp so I don't need the beach wheels. This season, I really want to get down there so this project will come to the front burner again. We'll see. I would love to build it out of aluminum, but I don't have the setup to weld aluminum or stainless so I am stuck with galvanized tubing having to grind the galvanizing off before welding. Done it before and works fine. One concern would be that the weld areas would have to be treated with something to prevent extreme corrosion from the salt water. The dolly would have to be washed good after dunking it in the saltwater anyway. The biggest thing in my mind is what wall thickness should I go with on the tubing. Given the light weight of the Wave, I would like to go as thin as possible. Also, been thinking about some form of cradle for the keel to set on but I think just taking some carpet and zip tying it to the tubing would be adequate. Thanks TS. Now you've got me festering again about this possibility.
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Post by Hammbone on Mar 30, 2015 17:25:48 GMT -5
Here's the dolly I recently made for my Wave. Those are plastic dock wheels on a galvanized pipe, with some pipe insulation and foam for protection of the hulls. Muffler clamps (U-bolts) hold the wheels in place, and galvanized flanges at each end of the pipe hold the pipe insulation and foam in place. You don't see it in the pics, but I have now run rope through the axle, and I tie the rope to the crossbars to hold the dolly in place under the boat (keep it from moving frontward or backward). I've also put duct tape around the pipe insulation to strengthen / firm that up. It's pretty simple. I took me about 45 minutes to put it together. I think I have about $125 invested in this dolly. That's a lot better than $500 or more for a CatTrax! I'm hoping that since the wheels are hollow, maybe it will float? That would make it real easy to slide under the boat while the boat's still in the water, then just roll it onto shore. Jim
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Post by DreamWeaver on Apr 1, 2015 7:30:32 GMT -5
JIm, KILLER! Great idea and be sure and let us know how it works. I bet it works great. So glad you posted that here. Thanks, now I have another project for spring! S
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Post by Hammbone on Apr 1, 2015 18:16:05 GMT -5
Used it today. It floats! :-) It worked just fine. It's a little difficult getting it in position under the boat while lifting up one end of the boat when on land, but I think that's how it is with all CatTrax type dolly's. Once the boat is on it, it's very easy to move the boat around.
Jim
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