Trolley or transom wheels + bow dolly for transport + storage?

[denmark_sib]

Hello,

I am new to owning a sib (or any boat). We recently bought a Zodiac Cadet 350 Aero (42 kg + 6 hp mercury outboard), and I am looking for advice on transom wheels/trolleys/dollys for our use. I have read everything I could find here, which has been very helpful, but I still have some questions, so I hope you can help me.

The wheels/trolley will be used for:
- outdoor storage in the garden in the warm season without engine.
- Wheeling the boat by hand 200 m from the garden down a mowed wide grass path to the water. The path has some sloped sections so wheels only on the back doesn’t work well. Once by the water, the beach is very narrow (just a couple of meters) with a mix of sand and (mostly) rocks.
- The path has some narrow turns so any front wheel(s) needs to be able to turn.
- Ideally one person should be able to wheel it up/down the path. I am not strong and my husband has back issues.
- We are not handy so prefer solutions that work more or less out of the box.

We have used the boat twice and strapped it to a windsurf trolley to get it to the water, but it has worked very poorly - kept getting off balance and particularly difficult up/down the slope and around turns - this was without the outboard.

We won’t need to launch from different sites or getting it into or trailing after a car. It shouldn’t be a problem to leave a trolley on the beach once launched.

Options I have looked at:

1) Transom wheels + bow dolly
I had first looked at transom wheels (suprod or solution-sellers.de) combined with the TREM “articulated” bow dolly with turning wheels:

Articulated trolley for front transport of rubber boats wheel diameter 260 mm - Trem O0826110

Buying both transom wheels and bow dolly would then no longer be an inexpensive option.

2) Trolley
Alternatively, to get the center of gravity over the weels and since we don’t need to worry about packing/unpacking and carrying a trolley in the boat/car, I have looked at a Suprod folding trolley with air wheels:

https://shop.titaps.com/Foldable-Boa...-mm-black/blue

However, would this work better for our purposes, and are the supports large enough for storing outdoors for around 6 months each year or will it ruin the shape?

Between transom wheels + bow dolly and trolley:
- would both work for warm season outdoor storage?
- would both work for easily getting the boat down to the beach and launching for one person?

What do you recommend? Any other good options? Thanks in advance!

[Fenlander]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

You have clearly looked into this carefully and may have seen on the forum my transom wheel/bow dolly setup using the steering type dolly. Like you I wanted to be able to make turns so it had to steer.

For our use setting up out of the car each day they are ideal but if I was just launching near my house where I could happily leave the trolley next to the water I think that might be a better option.

The only comment I would make about the trolley is does the front wheel on that steer and is that front wheel large enough to run on sand and rocks? At least with the bow dolly the weight is shared between two large tyres.

[denmark_sib]

Thanks a lot for your reply and for the photo of the setup!

That is really helpful to know that you would find a trolley easier were it not for the need to set up every day! If you didn’t have to do that, would you feel comfortable leaving the boat like in your photo longer term for storage or do you think there would be too little support under the boat?

Good point about the front wheel in the photo, it does not look like it is able to steer, yet in the specifications it says “Swivel castor”. I’ve just written to them to ask. I’m not sure if the 16 cm will be enough, but since the stony bit is very short, it might work…

[denmark_sib]

They already replied! The front wheel does indeed turn. ��

[Fenlander]

Considering the trolley more I do think though on anything other than smooth tarmac/concrete you will have to lift the front wheel up to stop it digging in sand or catching on rocks.

Of course with a light SIB and smallish outboard as long as you haven't loaded up with kit it will not be much trouble.

In fact that makes me think... our 3.8m weighs 43kg and with no outboard on or fuel tank/kit etc it's really easy to move just on transom wheels with no bow dolly. It's still easy with our 26kg 9.8hp mounted as long as the fuel and kit isn't in it.

The only reason we use a bow dolly is we move longer distances with a larger OB, fuel tank and all kit in place ready for the water and that makes the bow really heavy.

[denmark_sib]

Ok, thanks a lot, I think given our light setup both would work for getting it to the water then. The transom wheel/dolly combination is much more expensive so I lean towards the trolley option…

However, that depends on whether any of the options can be used for outdoor storage in the summer months. I thought that given how light it is and that we plan on taking the outboard off when not in use, both solutions might work for storage…?

[Fenlander]

No doubt if you can storage indoors is best but if it has to be in the garden get a good cover set up so the rain rolls off well.

Neither solution gives great support as ideally you'd have bunks that support the length of the tube each side. Having said that you see inflatables in dinghy parks on such trolleys all the time.

[denmark_sib]

Yes, it will be stored in the shade and with a cover on. I’m actually surprised how hard it is to find a launching trolley with a turning front wheel and bunks for storage… or just any kind of inexpensive stand with bunks. When I search for it, I mainly find trailers….

[Fenlander]

I think it's that launch trolleys are intended for light boats and people who can lift the front and don't need the third wheel support. Where we launch there are probably 50 small sailing dinghies and surprisingly small kids are single handed hauling the boats up the slip and along the road to the dinghy park.

The more I think I reckon if you get the weight balance right you will hardly need that trolley front wheel to touch the ground.

[chipko]

Easy enough to modify launch trolleys like the Suprod folding one to take full length bunks. However, if not keen on handiwork and after something ‘out the box’ then some trailer manufacturers make them like this from Extreme Trailers, at a cost though.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223750940468

Wouldn’t worry about nose weight as boat can be positioned forward/back until you achieve a comfortable load on the handle.

[Fenlander]

That Extreme looks the business Chipko. If we lived a couple of hundred of yards from the slip that would be in our garage.

[denmark_sib]

Thank you - the extreme trolley is what I am looking for, but at £660 plus shipping, it is much more than we want to spend on it. (The link you posted doesn’t work for me, but I found it elsewhere at that price) Maybe we really should look into trying to modify the suprod trolley to make it look more like the Extreme - I have no idea how to do that, though 😄

[Peter_C]

I always like having my transom wheels on the boat for landing on remote beaches/shorelines. Anchoring out isn't always an option, and leaving a boat on a beach is risky due to rouge waves.

Flat and downhill I could move a 500lb (227kg) boat around by myself. Uphill out of the water it took two and on steep shores 3 people.

[mbits]

Peter is that bow trolley home made? Looks good!

[Peter_C]

Originally Posted by mbits

Peter is that bow trolley home made? Looks good!

I bought the wheels off Ebay and made the metal parts from stuff I had in my rack. I would alter the design if I was doing it over again.