Beachmaster type wheel users - Question

[sturaffs]

Hi Jon, I found the copies to be of inferior quality compared with the originals.
Everything just seemed to move around a lot more.
The stainless pins were loose, I had to file down the little cut outs that locked the wheels in the down position, the little box sections that cover the springs move around and clash with the bottom transom mounting studs when fitting the wheels.
As for the quality of the aluminium, seemed to be not as good as originals.
Like I said in my previous post, I sold the new copy wheels with my old sib, and have kept the old wheels for my new sib.
I feel much happier using them with my Volante 390 and 20hp as there is quite a bit of weight there.

[sturaffs]

The originals cost a lot more, but are worth it.
Buy cheap buy twice !

[Steve509926]

Give me the next two weeks of hopefully decent weather and I'll give you my honest opinion of them.
Since fitting, I've used them twice. So far so good, but that's been fresh water launch and retrieve.
2 weeks, salt water, beach hopping, we shall see. I very much doubt they can be any worse than the sh1te I've had before, so perhaps my opinion may be a little bit biased.

[Tonus]

I'm not so convinced here... at least for my needs. Like Steve I've struggled in the past with badly made wheels that are not suitable for the job - bending brackets (twice) have left me feeling a bit picky about what I'm fitting.

After drilling another 8 holes in my aluminium transom to fit the 'Beachmaster style' wheels I'm not convinced of them to be honest. They sit super low compared to everything I've fitted before - I knew this in part because I have a small All Rib with a very V-shaped hull and transom, so the clearance is not as high as on a SIB. The smallish wheel in the deployed position behind the transom make carrying the boat (with engine) feel loads more cumbersome and sluggish. Having the outboard tilted all the way up is a must as otherwise the skeg of the engine will scrape on the ground, so there is more weight on the wrong side of the wheels to counter balance the rig.

Also one of the wheels keeps pitching way over to the side as is quite loose on it's axle - not the sort of loose that can be tightened - but loose inside the wheel itself which is a bit worrying - don't know what can be done about that.

I'm going to move on yet again to something else - Seamax Deluxe 4x4 from Canada (£££) or the Trem Zodiac style wheels with the slide-in pins (££) - these have bigger wheels, the centre of which will sit a bit closer to being under the transom...

That being said the Beachmaster type wheels seem good and the mechanism is great - ingenious actually... they would work so well if I had a lighter/smaller boat and engine.

More holes in the transom to come then - not so bad as it's aluminium - thank god for epoxy...

[Blankton]

Originally Posted by Jon B

Does anybody know the difference in materials used in the originals and the copies? I’ve emailed the company that makes the originals about materials used, but to no avail, yet.

There’s a few things I don’t scrimp on: shoes, beds, chairs & of course wheels. You’re always on one of those! Boats now come into that.

I've noticed that all the fasteners are a2 stainless, which is grade 304 and not considered to be a marine grade. Usually a4 stainless would be considered marine grade. I strongly suspect that the genuine wheels might have a4 / 316 fasteners.

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by Tonus

I'm going to move on yet again to something else - Seamax Deluxe 4x4 from Canada (£££) or the Trem Zodiac style wheels with the slide-in pins (££) - these have bigger wheels, the centre of which will sit a bit closer to being under the transom.

Why? Looked online and there is nothing I saw that would convince me about the Seamax.

The Trem are a different matter. But from what I understand (Fenlanders transom wheel post) they are best used to launch, then removed when underway which isn't what I want from transom wheels.

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by Blankton

I've noticed that all the fasteners are a2 stainless, which is grade 304 and not considered to be a marine grade. Usually a4 stainless would be considered marine grade. I strongly suspect that the genuine wheels might have a4 / 316 fasteners.

Whilst I can appreciate the difference in stainless steel quality, we are talking about something that will be in contact with salt water for a minimal amount of time and which should be washed with freshwater and dried before being put away until used the next time. We are not talking about something which will be exposed to a maritime environment for most of its life.
If your sib (could be a small rib, however a sib in the main) is on the water for most of its life, swinging mooring, then I would agree A4/316 would be preferable. However, surely for our use, 20 - 50 hrs a year, isn't A2 more than acceptable?

[Tonus]

Originally Posted by Steve509926

Why? Looked online and there is nothing I saw that would convince me about the Seamax.

The Trem are a different matter. But from what I understand (Fenlanders transom wheel post) they are best used to launch, then removed when underway which isn't what I want from transom wheels.

The Seamax look really substantial - the brackets are very big and chunky and from what I've seen and read online they seem really well made. They're also rated to 600lbs (272kg) which is reassuring compared to the 150kg/120 kg wheels that have been failing me.

The Trem wheels - it looks like some of the weight would be spread across the length of the arms because of the pin below the brackets. Anything that takes the weight off of the bracket is of interest to me!

I think one of my oversights with the Beachmaster style wheels was that I have a v hull and most SIBs have a very horizontal bottom of the transom.

[Steve509926]

I agree with everything you have said Tonus, but I think I'd want real world evidence with regard to the Seamax before I invested even more money into buying some (between you and I we've spent more than enough)
Obviously I haven't given much thought about how the "Beachmaster" type wheels fit on anything other than a SIB, but I have seen vids of them fitted successfully to other kinds of boats. Perhaps a fitting similar to that suggested by chipko would help?

[Tonus]

Agreed - I wish I could find someone on here who has used them!

I think if I went for Seamax or Trem or Excel or with anyone's wheels there's always a degree of faith and luck involved as to whether they will 1. Fit your boat properly despite your measurements 2. Last more than a season.
I'm leaning towards these Seamax wheels just because they look so substantial... I've not seen any on the market that look as chunky as these to be honest.

[Steve509926]

They do look like a substantial piece of kit.

Isn't it a shame that we spend more time talking about bloody wheels than boats or being out on the water!

[Tonus]

The other thing I liked was that they are guaranteed for 2yrs - I haven't seen that before.

shame that we spend more time talking about bloody wheels than boats or being out on the water!

... true indeed! I love this forum for all the transom wheel discussion, everyone's needs being so different!
I spent so much dough on this boat and engine - I just need to get the wheels right! I would have paid top dollar to have got them right first time!!

[Blankton]

Originally Posted by Steve509926

Whilst I can appreciate the difference in stainless steel quality, we are talking about something that will be in contact with salt water for a minimal amount of time and which should be washed with freshwater and dried before being put away until used the next time. We are not talking about something which will be exposed to a maritime environment for most of its life.
If your sib (could be a small rib, however a sib in the main) is on the water for most of its life, swinging mooring, then I would agree A4/316 would be preferable. However, surely for our use, 20 - 50 hrs a year, isn't A2 more than acceptable?

I've used A2 stainless on some little projects (fitting railblaza to bench seat, Transducer mount) as its what they have on the shelf at Screwfix. Despite being sealed with sikaflex the bits in the wood have corroded badly in only a year. The bits on the external surfaces will be fine, but anything in a crevice or in wood will be at risk of corrosion.

I replaced the fasteners through the transom with A4 stainless as those are the ones I'm most concerned about. I'll keep an eye on the others, but wouldn't be surprised if they corroded.

[Trello]

Originally Posted by Tonus

I'm leaning towards these Seamax wheels just because they look so substantial... I've not seen any on the market that look as chunky as these to be honest.

Yep - agreed. They wouldn't look out of place on an armoured vehicle.

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by Blankton

I've used A2 stainless on some little projects (fitting railblaza to bench seat, Transducer mount) as its what they have on the shelf at Screwfix. Despite being sealed with sikaflex the bits in the wood have corroded badly in only a year. The bits on the external surfaces will be fine, but anything in a crevice or in wood will be at risk of corrosion.

I replaced the fasteners through the transom with A4 stainless as those are the ones I'm most concerned about. I'll keep an eye on the others, but wouldn't be surprised if they corroded.

I've never noticed any corrosion on Redneck but I will definitely take a closer look now.

[Fenlander]

>>think if I went for Seamax or Trem or Excel or with anyone's wheels there's always a degree of faith and luck involved as to whether they will 1. Fit your boat properly despite your measurements 2. Last more than a season.

TBH never had a problem fitting wheels unless I've made a self-inflicted rookie error buying a type and not noticing the fixing dimensions. Unless you have a drive to be different the Trem range will suit almost every need, look good and are well made. I've had them that have come already on SIBs and are obviously years old but still fine.

If you don't need them to fold up and stay on then the medium duty and heavy duty Zodiac models are simple, strong and have very neat fixings. They have been our preferred type for over a decade.

Of course if you want fold up but don't like the Micky mouse ears then the Beachmaster type is the obvious direction to look.

[Tonus]

Thanks Fenlander, that’s good to know. I trust the build quality of Trem products, and the under-the-boat style pitches the boat into a nice balance with the outboard. Good to have some real world feedback, cheers. Tony

[lightning]

Originally Posted by sturaffs

The originals cost a lot more, but are worth it.
Buy cheap buy twice !

My Beachmaster copy wheels are fine, not loose and no filing of brackets etc required.

They came with a fitting kit including stainless steel bolts and the wheels work perfectly, they lock securely both up and down.

Maybe there's different makes of copy wheels? l guess with the original Beachmaster wheels you at least know they are going to be good.

[Steve509926]

So just for chipko's benefit, I thought I'd finish this thread with my observations after using the wheels for a few times in Scotland.

The wheels worked great, easy to fit, easy to deploy and retract from inside the SIB. Beached quite a few times and didn't have any problems.
However, a couple of the stainless steel locking pins did become a little wobbly.
When I got home I contacted Chas Newens who sent out some new pins, which they said are slightly bigger in diameter (haven't got a micrometer so I can't say if they are or not) The pins are knurled at one end and are an interference fit. I knocked out the old pins and fitted the new ones with a blob of loctite, they are definitely a much tighter fit and now feel rock solid.

[Brinormeg]

Originally Posted by Steve509926

So just for chipko's benefit, I thought I'd finish this thread.

Yipppppppeeeeeee it’s back

No no no ……you can’t end it steve.

Can you post some more videos…

Some more photos…..

Come on Steve….pretty please Steve…