How far do you move your SIB on transom wheels?

[Fenlander]

Ha ha... that's neat!

[JA1000]

Probably shouldn't state this but I tow mine on launching wheels down the road to the slip way and back again - I can walk it down but the hill is too steep to drag back. I just rope it round the tow bar.
To continue the lazy theme I also leave them down in use as it is just a tender - but have mastered approaching beach at speed to drive it in to very shallow water no wet feet- mini sealegs😜

[Fenlander]

>>>I also leave them down in use as it is just a tender

Ha ha... I've seen a RIB ride outfit do that in Scotland with their tender.


>>> I tow mine on launching wheels down the road to the slip way and back again - I can walk it down but the hill is too steep to drag back. I just rope it round the tow bar.


We will be faced with two weeks on holiday needing to do a similar trundle. I'm modding a bow dolly at the moment but the sneaky 100m "tow" up a very quiet hill road does have appeal!

[Firstrib]

Hi Fenlander, how do you convert Rooteq to a front trolley for Aerotec

[Fenlander]

Hi Firstrib... hope you are getting nearer being out again.

I'm making this up on the fly but how about taking a length of rope tied quite tight from the end of the bit that holds the skeg up to the section where the outboard clamps go. Before tying it form a loop about 1/3 to 1/2 way up the rope and then attach the bow handle to this loop with a shackle.

Get the loop in the right place so pushing down on the handle will lift the bow off the floor to trolley along?? Or perhaps put the loop high enough so you lift the bow handle to it then attach with the shackle??

Actually you could have two bits of rope... one from each side of the trolley foot to each side of the transom bracket then with a loop/shackle on each to the bow handle for a more secure job.

[JA1000]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

>>>I also leave them down in use as it is just a tender

Ha ha... I've seen a RIB ride outfit do that in Scotland with their tender.


>>> I tow mine on launching wheels down the road to the slip way and back again - I can walk it down but the hill is too steep to drag back. I just rope it round the tow bar.


We will be faced with two weeks on holiday needing to do a similar trundle. I'm modding a bow dolly at the moment but the sneaky 100m "tow" up a very quiet hill road does have appeal!

Took the turn too quickly once watched it tip on to side bounce back up again - made me laugh

[Fenlander]

The other day someone asked how I was getting on with modding my bow dolly as started in posts #51,57,58,59. That was back in mid May and other jobs had pushed it to the back of the shed but with it needed for hols in 3wks I'm going to finish it now.

So today I roughed out construction of my version of Chipko's idea in post #45. The only change I've made really is I decided to make a tongue at the front of the pad that would slip through the bow handle... so the weight will be supported by the pad but the pull distributed between bow handle and straps or ropes going back to the D-rings.

Pics below are as far as I've got this morning.

Also I've fitted the solid wheels that were briefly on my transom wheels to the dolly. They give a tiny bit more height which helps my design but mainly their width at the axle bore (not the overall width of the trolley, the width of the wheel itself at the axle bore) is almost half that of the original wheels so I've been able to cut down the axle width even more as it was quite excessive for this purpose. Just helps with storage in the shed and fitting in the car on a sibbing day out.

[Fenlander]

Bolted the pad together to trial fit and it's looking OK.

I set in a cut down large coach bolt head at the top of the recess as a bearing for the tow ball to bear on... it will make for a more natural movement on undulating ground as the tow ball can ride on the curve of the head... and it'll save wear on the wood too.

Just got to tidy the bolt ends, carpet the top and sort the straps to the D-rings and it's done. In fact I'm not convinced it will need attachements to the D-rings with the way it engages with the towing/lift handle.

[Poly]

Does your towball stick that far out behind the car?

[Fenlander]

Ha ha no towbar fitted... or I probably would do a crafty tie to the bow handle and let the car do the work... as it is this trolley is really just for that first pull up the Carsaig turn to get the SIB to its overnight storage.

[Poly]

Ah sorry I was being a bit thick! Are you pulling the boat out every night? That seems like an awful lot of effort now the pontoons allow overnight stays... Which house are you staying in?

[Fenlander]

My insurance doesn't cover tidal waters for overnight mooring (or on a pontoon) so however much I'd like to think the area would not have any crime I couldn't bear to leave it out... particularly with the shiny new outboard.

It's not too much trouble to pull out though and we were fine with the short hill last year but if my crew were reluctant or targeted by midges it was a hard ask single handed. Hence the trolley.

PM'd re cottage.

[Fenlander]

Finished job pics. I've had a test trundle around the drive and the pad does seem to stay firmly in place even over bumps and without the D-ring straps.

Ground clearance is 6" under the V-floor which is plenty if you avoid full height kerbs.

Thanks again to Chipko for the basic idea.

Sorry if my upholstery skills fall a bit short of Gurnard.

[simonafloat]

I have sneakily tied the aerotec to the rear of our car a couple of times now and driven it a quarter mile or so to the slip on its transom wheels. Bit of gaffer tape on the brackets to stop them jumping out of their lugs. Anyone else done this? Yes it's a no no but I've kept to side roads and the chances of bumping into Devon and cornwalls finest these days is virtually zero.

[Fenlander]

After a baptism of fire with a bumpy slipway, couple of kerbs, steepish hill and undulating garden to negotiate on holiday I cursed not taking straps back to the D-rings as the pad kept skewing round threatening to twist the bow handle off.

So I just used an odd bit of rope to take between the D-rings which transfers the main pulling load to the dolly towball just leaving the pad to support the weight and that's totally sorted it.

Note: The bow rope just happens to be tied off to the grab rails and isn't part of the arrangement.

[Fenlander]

Low priced that it was after that one 2016 holiday we hardly used the bow trolley above as it was heavy and clunky for our daily setup use... and on turns the bow kept falling off the pad. I guess I could have modded it but lost interest.

Now three years on doing without a bow trolley I feel it in my shoulders doing a long trundle from setup location to launch point with the combination of lifting and pulling along.

After loads of searching I found Trem do one I'd never seen in the UK and that's rarely listed by any UK dealer.

If only I'd known it was called a "Front trolley for the transport of rubber boats" Google would have found it ages ago.

No luck trying to order from the UK so I slightly nervously ordered from YachtShop EU in Italy. Needn't have worried they were quick to answer queries in English... website has an English version... it keeps you informed where you are in the process and delivery tracking detail was excellent.

YachtShop European Store

So this arrived today. Being tubular it's loads lighter than the caravan mover I'd modded above. Also it supports the sib at the bow as well as hooking on the bow handle which is all many do. Most important for me is that the wheels can steer making a three point turn at the slip much easier.

I'll inflate the Aerotec tomorrow to see how it goes around the cul-de-sac and make sure the rubber covered sections of tube support the bow in the best way and the handle is the correct height for me… if not I'll get them bent to suit.

[Fenlander]

Set the Aerotec up and loaded everything we normally carry to fine tune the Trem bow trolley fit.

Nicely supports the very front of the HP floor so sharing the weight on the bow handle. Only issue is the trolley's handle is about 6" lower than where it would comfortably fall to hand so I'll get that bent or modded to resolve.

Otherwise looking good. BTW I put the scales under the transom wheels and the trolley out of interest. 45kg on each transom wheel and 40kg on the bow trolley... no wonder my arm felt it was pulling out the shoulder after a 200m plus trundle the other week.

[jeffstevens763@g]

she looks a sweet set up now David with the yam

[Yabadabadoo]

Have put £5.00 in a jar as a bet with myself you’ll be modifying the trolly wheels at some point.

[Fenlander]

Ha ha well it could happen... the old OCD is twitching at yellow rear tyres and black front ones.

Final snagging today. Gave the outfit a lap of the cul de sac this afternoon. The boat fell off the trolley twice on kerbs/sharp turns pulling the trolley onto its side.

Found where it picks up the bow handle was about 2" too tall in relation to the tubular fork for the bow to balance support evenly. Also the trolley's bracket to pick up the bow handle was section of round bar into tube with a circular slot in the bar and grub screw retaining it. This allowed the bracket to spin at annoying moments and it served no purpose turning. So I cut the tube down 2" and drilled/bolted through so the bracket couldn't turn.

Re boat falling off I found if you have the slightest sideways force on the fork that supports under the bow it will move out one side or another and that topples the trolley. Two straps fitted and tied off to the boat totally prevented it happening.

Added some pipe insulation to further pad the support.

With these mods it is stable.

Still might get a local fabricator to bend the trolley handle up about 6" so it's the perfect height for me.

Final success was the trolley neatly fits on one back seat of the car without any dismantling.

I think the neighbours were somewhat worried seeing the outfit so close to launch ready on the drive as if I might have heard there was a tsunami in the Wash and the Fens were flooding.