Elling KB350 Owners update - who else?

[Gary S]

Originally Posted by chipko

Yes, generally prefer to sit on the floor or toobs at lower speeds. Surprisingly comfy, better control and with a low centre of gravity feels much more secure when hooning around or pushing on in challenging conditions.
In fact only ever fit a seat if we’re taking the chart plotter, which clamps to said seat.

Attachment 139976

Incidentally, big transom wheels may soon be redundant as currently looking at making a lightweight launch trolley fitted with mahoosive ‘Wheeleze’ wheels. This should literally float over soft sand. [emoji3]

Hi Chipko, any progress on the launch trolley?

[chipko]

Hi Gary S,

Funny you mention that.
Mahoosive WheelEEZ jobbies arrived this week, pretty cool methinks!
Early doors yet, and Elling remote from home but I have a plan (fluid) and started fabricating a few basic bits to get us started.
Will hopefully post more when all up and running. Good or bad. [emoji3]

[Gary S]

You can’t teach timing! �� We are obviously on the same wavelength! Be interested to see more as this evolves. Wheels look just the job!

[chipko]

Launch trolley or ‘moon buggy’ now more or less complete.
Unfortunately morphed from flyweight to more lightweight from conception to construction but definitely easier to pull over dunes and soft sand fully loaded single handed than the big yellow transom wheel set up. All thanks to the mahoosive 490 dia. WheelEEZY jobbies. Not cheap but impressive.

[Oldman2]

Very impressive. I bet thats easy over both sand and shingle now.
Where do you leave the buggy when your all at sea? With those wheels its value is almost as much as the Elling Chaining it down wont work cause they will just steal the wheels.

[Notebook]

Do NASA know you have that ��

[Sibfisher]

The wheels on my KB 350 when i bought it was the standard wheels fitted by Boatworld that I found too small so with a bit of modifications changed them for 14in solid wheels that I am very happy with.
Much easier to pull off of the trailer and into the water and the same when putting it back on the trailer as the back of the boat is higher off the ground.

[Old seahorse]

I’ve been considering getting a folding launch trolley for my takacat, but after seeing your lunar rover, I’m feeling my choice would be inadequate!
Brilliant idea, especially for shingle and soft sand.
I’m impressed

[FoxZulu]

I really like the ingenuity of that. Did you laser cut the parts?

[chipko]

Originally Posted by FoxZulu

I really like the ingenuity of that. Did you laser cut the parts?

Thanks but unfortunately not.
Rather more old school approach I’m afraid. Whittled by hand with a lot of help from the 18v DeWALT toys. [emoji106]

[Sibfisher]

I like the trailer chipko done a good job there, it must bounce along on sand or pebbles and looks like it makes easy to put the boat in and out of the water.

[TmMorris]

Does look very good. My first thought was whether it's going to float under the boat when launching?

[chipko]

Originally Posted by TmMorris

My first thought was whether it's going to float under the boat when launching?

Ha Ha! Not wrong there.

In my defence, only ever conceived to get us through the dunes, over soft sand and close to the waters edge, never goes in water. Boat launched/retrieved off ‘Fenlander endorsed’ excellent big yellow transom wheels.

Mahoosive WheelEEZ jobbies have so much buoyancy a boat is hardly necessary….just attach motor to trolley and off you go.

[chipko]

Managed to get out on the water most days this last week with the new trolley, and the big wheels seem to literally ‘float’ over soft sand.

The trek through the dunes now easily doable single handed even with boat fully loaded.

[TmMorris]

It looks like a lunar buggy built by someone who didn't understand the irony of the Sea of Tranquility. . Must have been very satisfying finding it worked so well?

[Oldman2]

Very pleased for you, looks the part and does the job. I wonder if with the balance right and just 2 balloon wheels it would skip over the sand just as well? Budget model perhaps

[Old seahorse]

I reckon you’ve made a major advance for launching in difficult terrain. There have been loads of sites where many of us would struggle to use our boats, especially single handed.
Can you ‘ break down’ the trailer for transport, or has it been designed to be kept at one location?
If it could be easily dismantled, that would double its appeal!
Either way, it’s impressive.

[chipko]

Thanks. Yes reckon even two wheels would be just as easy over the soft sand. They run at only 2psi and at 225mm wide have a massive footprint.

Although mostly bolted together, not quickly demountable as stays assembled for the season.

A simple folding ‘T’ shape, preferably aluminium, launch trolley fitted with some WheelEEZ jobbies would be a lightweight portable solution.

[Sibfisher]

By the look of it chipko it handles the sand dunes very well must make it a lot easier.

Good fought out trailer and with those balloon wheels for the situation you want to use it for

[TmMorris]

It is a very smart solution.

To make the concept collapsible one could consider a pair of used aluminium steps to act as side frames where the wheels were mounted via stubs through the lower bar and the ton bar acts as the bunk. The two steps are then fixed using a couple of aluminium tubes and scaffold fixings, likewise the tow handle.

The only problem with using scaffold components is that you'd need to have an old radio blaring during assembly and be swearing to a mate at full volume about a Lobe Island contestant and ultimately just stop half way through and go home.