Blade Trailer Layout

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Wouter

I'm in simular possition as JJD. Have Blade ordered and should be done in next few weeks. bought an old Highlander trailer which was used on TheMightyHobie18. Am curious about JAAP's trailering but don't visualize easy loading as Hans sugests. sailing solo. Will Lints

Will,
I assumed Jaap's set up is similar to mine.
Jaap please speak up if I'm wrong.
I came up with this for two reasons. I don't like my boat sitting on some pads tat will eventually degrade the finish on the hulls where the pads arfe and second is I wanted a system that would allow me to rig and derig including getting the boat on and off the trailer all by myself.
I will attach a couple of pics that show the loading.
Basically the beam comes down on a couple of slides that support the boat as it moves forward on the trailer.
Like Kirt mentioned on an earlier post my beach wheels go under the rear beam. The trailer takes both boats and once my Blade is rigged I just use the spinnaker pole as a handle and pic it up to move the boat around. The pics I'll attach are of my Taipan going onto the trailer.
They were taken a while back and my son (9 at the time) easily picks the back of the boat up.
Hope this helps,
Regards,
Phill

Picking up and sliding on.

The loading can be very easy with that setup. Phill himself and Geert use s similar setup.

Pretty much you have two beams which acts as rails and you have two cars that move along the beams (rails)

Some make sliding cars others just used a U-profile with bolts and small wheels. It alls dependent on how nice you want the system to glide/roll.

The cars are at the back of the boat when loading the boat to the trailer. The cat track is underneath the sterns. You grap a bow and walk up to the trailer laying the mainbeam onto the cars. Sometimes you can the tweak a little so that the dolphin striker is clear. Then you walk to the back of the boat, untie the cat tracks, and you lift the boat by the rearbeam. This is very light as the beam is already supported partly by the mainbeam. You lift the platform so it is horizontal and walk the boat onto the trailer while the care slide or roll forward. Then you gently put the rearbeam onto the beams that also acted as rails. Before driving and tying the boat down your lay same formed foam blocks underneath the rearbeam so you don't damage it.

That is it.

Wouter

My trailer has also the sliding construction.
When I used it for my a-cat I could put the boat on the trailer on my own.
Jaap

Will you all please expand a bit more on the slides/wheels?

I'm going to use this galvanized, welded, U-channel for the rail.

Where did you find channel like that? It looks like great stuff.

A quick peek at the image properties reveals

http://www.unistrut.com/Browse/pages/P1001.gif

So I am guessing ??Unistrut?? <img src=

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Yup, didn't know you could do that. Neat trick.

Thanks for the pictures and explaination. I live in New Mexico which is simi arid and we don't have those beatutiful green lawns for rigging. I've always rigged my H16 on the trailer and i think that is common practice. but, maybe a beam supported boat can be rigged while on the trailer?.....Will Lints

This is probably a dumb question, but I'll ask it anyway....

Doesn't

hanging

the boat by its beams put undo pressure on the the 8 bolts/nuts/connection points that hold the beam to the hulls? Are the hulls so light that this pressure is negligible? Seems like, over time, the threading for the beam bolts would weaken.......

Personally, I'd rather sit in a chair - rather than hang from a chin up bar <img src=

alt=

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My boat lives on the trailer and I try to reposition it a little after each use. It makes me feel better about

wearing

out the areas where the cradles are.

Just curious to see if others have this same concern about

hanging

boats for storage....

Tom,
In my book there is no such thing as a dumb question.
Just dumb answer. Hopefully this isn't a dumb answer.

This is just the way I see it.

One hull weighs between 20 and 25kg.
It is supported by 4 bolts.

If the load was even between front and back it would be between 5 to 6.25kg per bolt.

I would expect each bolt would be capable of taking over 100 times that weight.

Compare this to the tension load applied to the hulls at the rear beam when fully powered up upwind and double trapped. This load can be so high that I know of boats that have snapped inner rear beam bolts that were 8mm in dia. If really concerned look up the tensile breaking strain of an 8mm bolt just to see the type of loads involved when sailing and then compare it to trailering.
I personally don't see a problem with trailering by the beams.
Regards,
Phill

Tom,

If you look up the shear (side load) strength of bolts you'll find it is incredible, so as Phill says hulls simply

hanging

by bolts is no problem.

The uni-strut product is used for mechanical and electrical support in construction, and is available at the next step up from the Home Depots of building supplies. I also found that a trolley/car is available (P2570) for the 1 5/8" stuff. It's rated for 100 pounds but meant to be used in the inverted mode and for it's limited use (movement) in this application should last for years.

Had planned on using this Aussie beam support on my old Hobie trailers (patiently waiting for used/affordable T4.9/F16/?) and may have some concern with hull weights in 30 to 35 kg range, but seriously doubt it, and/or I'm going to find out.

Following Phil's reasoning: my cradle's are apporimately 144 sq. inches in area, x 4 is 576 sq. inches. Divide that by the 240 lb. boat weight= 2.4 lbs/ sq. inch.

If the experts say

hang

the boat I would consider that

best Practice

, but it isn't high on my priority list. One day though! <img src=

alt=

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My 2 cents.

Yes Pete, but are the cradles 144 sq.in. equally supporting the load? Or is the boat sitting on the bottom of the cradle and the sides just limit sideways slip.

Didn't Kirby Haws have a second hand Taipan 4.9/F16 (with extra's) on offer for 5000 USD ?

I call that AFFORDABLE !

Wouter

Typically steel can take 60 kg / mm^2 that would be about 85.500 lbs (say 86 K lbs) per square inch.

A single 2 mm trapeze line (1/10 inch) is enough to suspend 7 F16 boats

No worries here.

Wouter

Ok. You convinced me on the bolts. What about the glass/kevlar/carbon joints where the bolts attach to the bolts? Completley different scenario, but I've seen where people had to reseat beam landings on old old old old Nacras because the bolts pulled out/got stripped out.

Compeltely different hull builds, weights, etc.

While sailing the loads on these areas is MUCH higher then when suspending a 25 kg hull of it.

Don't worry.

Wouter

dunno', but I'm still not all that worried. If I were less cautious when driving, maybe.

Tshan,
I too am more concerened about the glass than the steel. Either way the bigger factor may be the bumps and pot holes in the road, the rail road tracks, the cattle guards, the graveled roads. It isn't the smooth road that wears out a car's suspention. I went out and bounced on one side of the TheMightyHobie18 trailer with my 150 pounds (56 KG) and i don't think it moved up and down an inch (2.5 cm). Of course it depends on how much weight one carries around in the cat box, but it just seems like it's too stiff for something that is designed to float in water.
wondering, Will Lints

I'm with you, Will. If the boat is suspended from its beams, the road vibration alone, not to mention the bumps, is going to cause the connection between beams and hulls to always be

working.

Using Phill's photos as a starting point, I came up with my trailer setup--easy to load/unload solo, very secure over thousands of miles so far, low friction Trex for the beam rails, and a clever way of integrading the dolley. See photos attached.

2

3

4

5

Nice trailer!

Is the only thing keeping rear lateral movement minimized the CatTrax?

But...if the beam support is approximately 4 to 6 inches from the hull, how much flection can there be? I can't see how there would be any significant movement.

Need the physics boys again.

Eric, very nice work!

Will, were you born in Missouri, the

Show Me

state? <img src=

alt=

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