Homemade caterpillar track for Sand....

[YellowDuck]

Anyone have any ideas????

I am looking to launch my RIB and outboard (total weight 100kgs) directly, if possible, from it's Indespension Vario trailer. I could use a local slipway, but at £14 a pop it will mount up (and I'm tight!).

I can launch the rig from anywhere on the local beach, and there are a couple of places that I can easily wheel the trailer down to the sand, but then there would be about 15-20m of soft sand/shingle decline to navigate to the waters edge....

I could leave the main trailer at the foot of the ramp to the beach, and then off load it to the launch trolley, but that will necessitate removing the outboad, moving the RIB to the launch trolley, and re-fitting the outboard, as the RIB with outboard fitted is too heavy for my son and myself to lift. The reverse of this would also be nescessary when we have finished, so it would be much easier if we could launch direct from the Vario trailer.

I have had a couple of thoughts and would welcome a second (and third) opinion on whether you think these may work, or any other ideas anyone may have.....

Firstly cut a number of 300mm lengths of 100mm x 25mm timber, about 300mm apart, and link with a nylon strap/rope (a bit like a rope ladder) lay on the sand and roll the trailer over like a caterpillar track. I would need two, and would make them about 3-4m long, so they would roll up after use and be manageable.

The second option would be a couple of strips of old carpet, in 4m lengths, about 400mm wide. Again, these could be rolled up when not in use.

Either way, I would probably go down and try them on a cold rainy day, when there is no one about, so if they fail miserably, I wont appear to be a complete to**er in front of an audience!!!!!

Any thoughts?????

[willk]

I think I'd pay the £14, and I was, until just now, the meanest man ever

The entire operation sounds like a lot of trouble and it will always have the potential to go pear shaped at any moment. It's giving me The Fear just thinking about it

[YellowDuck]

Thats £14 EVERY time I launch, and I would expect to do so 15-20 times over the season as we only live about 3m from the beach, and hopefully will pop down after work for an hour or so. Also to add, this particular slipway is the only one in the area that PWC can be launched from, so in the summer the slipway is full of jetskis....

Im not really THAT mean, but I think the beach launch option would be easier if I can overcome the soft sand problem......

[AllenF]

could you not launch it late at night after they close or b4 they open then moor on the beach????/

[willk]

Yeah, I hear what you're saying. My local pontoon charges €10 for a tie up. The slip is free but if, once on the water, you want to get off the rib it's €10 The annual fee is €250. Similar to your estimated slip fees.

Anyway, the first time you slip off the track and plant an axle in the sand, the £14 will start looking cheap. Especially if the tide is flooding

But keep us posted

[AllenF]

cant you get a secondary set of those "moon" tyres the low inflation big things and quickly clip them to a second axle to launch??

[m chappelow]

might be a bit extream but how about a scrap mini excavator and convert that ,,

[willk]

Originally Posted by YellowDuck

I am looking to launch my RIB and outboard (total weight 100kgs)

...................., and there are a couple of places that I can easily wheel the trailer down to the sand, but then there would be about 15-20m of soft sand/shingle decline to navigate to the waters edge....

I may have missed something here, but I'm assuming that should read 1000kgs (or just the OB is 100kg) and that there is a vehicle involved all the way to the foam.

Cost is the reason for this exercise so mods to vehicles, etc., must pay off over 2-3 seasons or 60 launches.

It would help if we knew what the launch vehicle was. If it's an Astra, your screwed, if it's a Massey 135, well, who knows...

I mess about offroad a bit and have done some interesting recoveries with the 110, of boats, cars (boats AND cars ) etc. If you get wave action in shingle or soft sand and you're not on your magic carpet - then the warbling you hear will be The Fat Lady - singing. I've seen a VW Toerag hopelessly trapped in six inches of water when the owner tried to drive it through a gravel bedded stream. You get the picture.

Still, I think you should try it. Might I interest you in this?

[Poly]

Originally Posted by willk

I may have missed something here, but I'm assuming that should read 1000kgs (or just the OB is 100kg) and that there is a vehicle involved all the way to the foam.

no I think he meant 100 kg - 3m boat with 15 HP engine in his profile.

[willk]

Originally Posted by Polwart

no I think he meant 100 kg - 3m boat with 15 HP engine in his profile.

oh yeah, the profile thingy (thanks Polwart). That's a 75kg RIB then - cute!

I think the Massey idea may be useful after all - an extra set of rims on the trailer and just use a long length of string, I mean rope, for the extraction then. The Astra should be fine too.

[kelson]

Well A Genesis rib and motor should only weigh a little more than 100 kg. I launch a Zodiac MK2 Futura SIB with a 40 hp 3 cylinder Nissan EPTO and it definitely weighs more than your RIB. We launch in all sorts of remote places in Mexico. With a relatively light load like that we often unhook the trailer and roll it down the beach, rocks, shells or whatever into the water. I attach a 40ft tow strap to make sure the trailer doesn't roll off into the Estrero or anything similarly foolish (had to dive for it once). When we are ready to leave the boat is loaded on the trailer and the trailer gets towed out by the strap. To keep my trailer tongue or the tongue jack from getting caught up or trashed on irregular shoreside surfaces I have a large caster wheel that I bolt into place. Sort of a pain to bolt and unbolt, but essential if you want to freewheel your trailer in and out un attached to a vehicle. The trailer jack won't survive a rough shoreline. This strap method is particularly valuable with really low tides and sloping beaches because I'm not backing the truck in THAT far! It is also great to have a really long tow strap because you can often position your vehicle where the traction is better. With a light load like you have handling the boat on the trailer with just an assist from the vehicle will get you over some nasty shoreside terrain. I carry an inflator and we have had to lower the tire pressure on the truck tires, but haven't needed to do that with the trailer tires yet. Does help in soft sand. Depending on the slope and terrain a light winch on your vehicle might be better than a tow strap, but you never know when you'll need a tow strap for a vehicle! Just a suggestion.

tongue wheel in road carrying position (it bolts just behind and below the tongue itself when in use)

the stainless handle is great for the tow strap (no sharp edges to slice it)
the caster wheel bolts right where the Caution/Warning Sticker is on the frame

[YellowDuck]

Yes....the total weight of RIB and outboard is 100kgs.

I will be pushing the trailer down to the waters edge, as the previous poster does, and this will possibly be the difficult part, as nothing to attach winch to!!!

After the boat has been reloaded on to the trailer, after use, there is a handy railing on the seawall that a 15m winch strap can be fixed to, as long as there are no foreshore inspectors about! Once it is by the seawall I can hook it back to the car. Might even be able to use a rope and block (attached to the seawall) and pull it back up the beach with the car, instead of using the winch!!!!

[kelson]

I haven't had any trouble pushing the boatand trailer down the beach with my buddy even on some really gravelly/rocky uneven surfaces. The total load isn't that heavy and gravity sure helps! I really don't think you need a winch for the pulling power, just if it was more handy. I haven't had too much trouble with the tires digging in so it hasn't taken much tow power to pull right out with the tow strap. If you are on really soft mud or something like that where the trailer is sinking in, then lowering your tire pressure makes a huuuge difference. I would go that route before seeking mechanical advantage and just dragging the trailer out. If you can't walk into the water without plunging deep into mud, then a different launch spot is advisable Be sure to post some pics! How about a photo of the launch spot itself?

[navaraman]

what about something like this
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/sand-ladders-w...d=p3286.c0.m14
if you shop round and bought 4 you could keep moving 1 infront of the other to get you to and from the water?
regards
mark

[9D280]

Originally Posted by YellowDuck

Yes....the total weight of RIB and outboard is 100kgs.

To put this into perspective, a 470 sailing dinghy is 120Kg rigged, a Wayfarer is a touch more.

If you keep the boat by (I assume) the back of your house, is there a possibility of just buying a dinghy launching trolley with either ballon tyres or "sandhopper" wheels or if you want to tow it a Combi trailer? Then you just pull it up the beach by hand on a lightweight trolley designed for the purpose? - and if you go for a combii, you get the advantage that you keep the road bit out the way of the wet stuff.

[chris123]

Originally Posted by 9D280

To put this into perspective, a 470 sailing dinghy is 120Kg rigged, a Wayfarer is a touch more.

If you keep the boat by (I assume) the back of your house, is there a possibility of just buying a dinghy launching trolley with either ballon tyres or "sandhopper" wheels or if you want to tow it a Combi trailer? Then you just pull it up the beach by hand on a lightweight trolley designed for the purpose? - and if you go for a combii, you get the advantage that you keep the road bit out the way of the wet stuff.

Sounds like the best suggestion yet

Alternatively, my SIB + outboard weighs in at something over 100KG. I slide it off its road trailer onto its transom wheels to launch. Would something similar work for you?

Cheers

Chris

[doggypaddle]

Just watch scrapheap challenge.........nothing with tracks has ever worked IMHO Moon tyres are the way to go on a lunching trolley.

[PeterM]

Am I missing something here ? Why not just fit some decent launching wheels on the transome ?

[PeterR]

Where in essex do yhou want to launch River or sea

[chewy]

We had purpose built tracks on the carriage of the Lifeboat, pain in the @rse, kept running off the wheels.
In the end we just got bigger wider tyres, work fine.