Trailering an F18 by the beams (like an A Cat)

trailering by them beams is increasingly popular because it protects the bottom of the hulls. However....

The foward beam-hull connection is designed to be in compression and shear, when you hang the hulls off the beam this puts the whole thing in tension. With a 30kg+ hull hanging from this joint and vibrating as you go down the road at 60 mph you are definately softening/fatiguing this crucial area, particularly an issue with a polyster boat.

Not recommended for an F18 - heavy hulls. A-cat? No problem - glued beams and very light loads.

I know what you mean by the extra stress but I just feel like the boats are strong enough.

Then go for it. From my point of view a few scratches in the hull bottoms can be filled and sanded. Once your deck goes soft it is time to sell the boat.

I do laugh when people ask for advice, get it and then tell the advice givers they are wrong.

FWIW Goodall has carted his boats around supported by the front beams for as long as I can remember. I personally choose to support the hulls but AHPC have done it for years with no apparent ill effects, travelling all around Australia.

Tiger Mike

Wow...that was uncalled for... wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? The 2nd half of your post is appreciated, I didn't know Greg trailered like this. I've never seen anyone do this with an F18.
I asked for opinions and never stated mine until I could be objective in search for more opinions. I'm not an engineer and the person I talked to that said it would be fine was an engineer and designer at Hobie for a long time.
I've done plenty of trailering with cradles and my hulls are in fine shape, I'm just looking at options.

for sure there is no problem at all with hanging the boat from the beams, it has not negative impact on the boat at all.

The sailing loads are much more than you would ever see on a trailer even if you jumped off speed humps!!

I've also thought of this but have been scared to try it as I have only seen it with a-cats... so you go ahead and let me know 😉 Knowing Greg does this, and also with the blessing of Macca helps though. With those two saying you can I think you could get away with it. Would make for a really clean trailer... should look good.

I'm visualizing some sort of side game and some wagers for the parking lot at NA's...

Something like this? Obviously not tied down for trailering. I would fore/aft tie down to limit torque on uprights. Nice for keeping moisture off the bottoms while parked at the club. Would not know how to rig it a la A-Cat with long rails perpendicular to the beams due to the dolphin striker.

How long do Macca and Greg keep their boats? Just saying.

I had a Taipan like this in 1994 and its still going strong after more than 15 years.

its much worse for the boat to have the hulls constantly sitting on a pad, that can be wet for weeks at a time..

In an ideal world you'd do both. Travel on hull pads and store on the beams. Ironically if anything people tend to do the reverse.

Trailex makes a trailer for A Cats http://www.trailex.com/TX-418-ACAT.cfm
I was thinking about doing similar but making a groove for the striker to slide into so that the load is on the beam and not the striker.
I haven't made up my mind, both sides have convincing arguments. I may rig it up and see how the hulls like it.

my stingray ( like an 18ft tornado) sits on the trailer by the beams sitting on forward running rails about 1/2 inch inside the hulls. and we have our beams enclosed in the hulls, not bolted onto the decks. so if there was a problem, we would be the first to NOT do that, as its very difficult to replace a beam. my boat is at least 20 years old, original beams and decks and my platform is still very stiff, no twisting whatsoever. the wider you can make the frame for your beams to sit on, the better.
much like the picture by trailex for the a class. however we have a system where the rails can be lowered at the back to make it easier to remove boat from trailer. it slides down the carpeted rails and onto your beach rollers. it also allows you to fit a sailbox to the trailer as the boat sits a little higher above the box.

I have often considered storing cats in the yard by the beam so that weather and airborne dirt can't accumulate between the cradles and the boat but I can't imagine that trailering between here and there will cause any problems in either configuration. Butt, what do I know......

Brian,
I like the rails concept, but I'm trying to envision my fwd beams sliding on the rails, as the dolphin striker cables extend all the way to the inside of the hulls. So there's no flat surface on the bottm of the beam to rest/slide on the rail. Are the rails narrow (2" x on edge?), and are your cable terminations further inboard than mine(Stealth and HT)? Thanks!

Dave

I looked closely at a setup this past weekend that used rails a la A-Cat for a boat with a striker. The cat is loaded backwards so that you did not have to slide on the rails with the striker. Section where the front beam rests (back of trailer) had notches cut in the rails to accommodate the striker. He has even used it to trailer an N20 with no issues.

When I had the Stingray I made little trolleys that ran on the rails so that I could place the beam on the rollers and slide it with no damage. Still have them in the shed if you need a photo. My Taipan 5.7 travels 8,000km a year hanging on its front & rear beams.

my dolphin striker uses a flat strip of alloy rather than cables, and yes they attach to the beam about two inches in from the hulls. ill try and post a few pics of how it all works next time at home

I'd love to see pics Brian, and how the rails lower. And your trolleys Jeff. Thanks!

Dave