Buy or build

[Hutchy36]

Got my excel 365 sib but need a suitable trailer to move it and launch it , tried launching trolly and found it hard work on the sand so now going to launch off of a slip , should I buy a new trailer with bunks etc off of extreme or build a custom fit one fabrication is not a problem as I have all the equipment necessary thanks in advance for any thoughts

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Hutchy36

Got my excel 365 sib but need a suitable trailer to move it and launch it , tried launching trolly and found it hard work on the sand so now going to launch off of a slip , should I buy a new trailer with bunks etc off of extreme or build a custom fit one fabrication is not a problem as I have all the equipment necessary thanks in advance for any thoughts

This is just my personal view:- if I was going to have a boat on a trailer & only launch using slips, then I’d use the RIB. The attraction of a SIB for us, is being able to launch “off the beaten track”. We have a relatively heavy Volaire, which we can only handle for short distances when fully built. We split down the weight & do the final assembly at the water’s edge. We have a trolley for the outboard & take the loose stuff down by hand. It can be a faff depending on how close we can get the van & box trailer to the water. We transport the SIB in a box trailer, simply because we use the SIB when abroad & it’s easier & more secure than trailing the RIB.
Just my 2 penneth.

[Steve509926]

Hi Hutchy, I tend to agree with PD.

I have the Excel SD360 which I got because I have a caravan, if I didn't have the caravan I would have a 4m+ rib.
I do use a trailer to move the SIB about when I'm on holiday (the trailer is dismantled and taken with us in the caravan) but I very rarely use the trailer to launch prefaring to launch using the transom wheels be it from a slipway or from a beach.
If I'm using the SIB just for the day (not on holiday) it's blow & go from the back of the car, again using the transom wheels if it's on a slip or a beach.
Have you got/used transom wheels? Are you launching at Millport Cumbrae?

[smallribber]

If I were you I would buy a trailer from extreme. They are quite low price and very good and of course certified legal for road use

[Peter_C]

Although fabricating a trailer would be fun, you either need to use aluminum or find a local company to hot dip galvanize the entire thing which is very expensive. Best is to buy a small used trailer that is already galvanized, and save money.

As to moving a load across soft sand, these wheels get the job done, but will take a special axle and leg setup.
https://wheeleez.com/wheels/

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by Hutchy36

Got my excel 365 sib but need a suitable trailer to move it and launch it , tried launching trolly and found it hard work on the sand so now going to launch off of a slip , should I buy a new trailer with bunks etc off of extreme or build a custom fit one fabrication is not a problem as I have all the equipment necessary thanks in advance for any thoughts

Just a thought Brian, may be a bit simplistic, but why can't you use your launching trolley on the slip?

[Hutchy36]

Hi Steve, yes I fitted railblaza ones to it , but found it hard work over the sand with the launch trailer, maybe adapt the trailer , better wheels all round , first time out was a lot of faff getting it to the water then back to the road at the Kames bay slip , the proper slip is round next to the ferry slip at marine studies but that's 3 miles from the house so road trailer needed to stay legal , thanks for the reply

[Steve509926]

Trailblazer c-tug? Been there, done that and they are now consiged to the bin. Worked on concrete and tarmac, but I found them useless on anything else especially sand. They eventually snapped and to be fair Excel did replace them but only after I pointed out that the recommended working load is 100kg and my SD360 and Merc efi far exceeded that.
If you do go down the transom wheel route, Beachmaster type work very well for me, however others have had problems. Some members are trying the Seamax wheels, which look substantial and very good. I would personally change the wheels/tyres on the Seamax to the big yellow wheels/solid tyres.
One thing to remember, it is easier to pull a sib on transom wheels rather than push it.
Unless you are going to launch on different parts of the island or tailer your sib onto the mainland, IMO a fully fledged road trailer is a bit of overkill, especially as you live so close to the beach.
Would it not be possible to modify your launching trailer and change the wheels to something bigger and wider so it's easier to handle across the beach?

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Peter_C

Although fabricating a trailer would be fun, you either need to use aluminum or find a local company to hot dip galvanize the entire thing which is very expensive. Best is to buy a small used trailer that is already galvanized, and save money.

I wouldn't say "very", although it is an additional cost. For my boat, I bought an old trailer (for the price of the new axles it had) and replaced all the cross members and then had the whole thing shot blasted and re-galvanised.

I reckon, building a copy of the trailer I have, I could build the entire frame of a new one in a weekend with a mate, albeit I'd spend a bit of time upfront doing a decent cad drawing to get all the measurements set up.

[Matt]

I didn't know how to weld upside down then - so lifted the chassis from the roof:

[Matt]

Although, back to Hutchy's original question - I'd be quite tempted to stick with launching trolley and maybe try different wheels on it. I have one of these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/235158685196
And ditched the tyres in favour of sand wheels - seems to do the job OK.

[Hutchy36]

Thanks Matt the more ideas the better, going to ditch the railblaza wheels for something else links and ideas would be great , going to alter the launch trailer also different wheels and Jockey wheel maybe a twin wheel Jockey again ideas much appreciated guys and if anyone has photo of there launch trailer setup could you post so I could copy lol

[Matt]

As a lad when I did loads of dinghy sailing (and I guess they had roughly the same all up weight as your sib + engine) - somewhere about 120-140kg for the heavier dinghies I think, matching the wheels to the type of surface you were launching from made a huge difference. Was still usually a 2 person job to recover, though - 3 if it was a wayfarer on a steeper slipway.

[Hutchy36]

Originally Posted by Steve509926

Just a thought Brian, may be a bit simplistic, but why can't you use your launching trolley on the slip?

I would Steve but not got road legal wheels or bearings , would prefer towing it in round the corner than towing it the 3 miles thanks for helping

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Hutchy36

Thanks Matt the more ideas the better, going to ditch the railblaza wheels for something else links and ideas would be great , going to alter the launch trailer also different wheels and Jockey wheel maybe a twin wheel Jockey again ideas much appreciated guys and if anyone has photo of there launch trailer setup could you post so I could copy lol

One thing that we’ve noticed when hand launching, is that it’s not the effort of pulling/pushing the boat that’s the problem, it’s physically lifting the nose weight. We remove the bow bag/anchor/tools/gubbins etc. It makes life much easier.

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by Hutchy36

I would Steve but not got road legal wheels or bearings , would prefer towing it in round the corner than towing it the 3 miles thanks for helping

Probably didn't explain myself well. I meant adapt the launch trolley so that you can fit bigger wider wheels on it to hand launch from the beach or slipway. Not to tow it behind a car.

A few links to help with your research :-

https://www.rib.net/forum/f50/beachmaster-type-wheel-users-question-89002.html

https://www.seamaxmarine.com/products/seamax-deluxe-boat-launching-dolly-with-14-inches-wheels-4-positions-and-4-stages-removable-and-adjustable-legs-1

https://www.screwfix.com/p/walsall-universal-puncture-proof-wheelbarrow-wheel-350mm/498hf

[Matt]

For beach launching, not a fan of those wheelbarrow type pneumatic wheels - used to find they'd dig quite a bit in sand unless it was really hard.

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by Matt

For beach launching, not a fan of those wheelbarrow type pneumatic wheels - used to find they'd dig quite a bit in sand unless it was really hard.

They aren't pneumatic Matt. They work well for me and others including Fenlander and chipko.

[chipko]

Are you hand pulling a short distance to launch site?

We have a 300 metre hand pull over grass, undulating dunes and soft sand so built a custom trolley using the large WheelEEZ jobbies mentioned previously by Peter C. The fully loaded rig is easy enough to pull single handed all thanks to these wheels.

Would have thought most launch trolley axles could be modded to take WheelEEZ as they run on either 20 or 25mm dia. axles, just a tad longer at around 200mm

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Steve509926

They aren't pneumatic Matt. They work well for me and others including Fenlander and chipko.

Fair enough. I clicked on some of the linkys above and a number of the suggestions did look like that.

Those moon tyres ^^ are probably pretty effective though! Nice bit of carpentry too.