G'day had a blast on an older Nacra 5.8 last Saturday and I really want her for my family boat, rigging was easy but she's really heavy to move around on the beach, has anybody got clever ways for one solid bloke and one smaller person to handle her
regards
A proper set of cat trax is vital and they must have cradles. Make sure that the boat is perfectly balanced so you will only be pushing forward, if it is bow heavy you will have to lift and push and if it is stern heavy you will have to pull down and push, wasted energy. The balance point is 8 or so inches behind he front crossbar. Make sure after the boat is balanced that you tie the ropes on the cat trax snug as you do not want the wheels to move when you start to push. I go forward and tie them to the dolphin striker bar near the hull. Make a seperate trip with the sails, dagger boards and other gear, do not load the boat up.
I forgot to mention that if you are on a beach with soft sand, the cat trax tires should be of the large smooth type. No plastic with treads or rubber with treads. They do not move well in deep sand. You can view them on the store on this site.
This weekend, 3 of us were sailing in the Gulf of Mexico and my friend heard a loud bang. Thought his mast was gonna fall.... it was his dolphin striker breaking. The HEAVY metal bar broke from the hull and the metal tube fell into the gulf.... This was on a Mystere 5.5 and they use VERY heavy dolphin strikers... i will never pull my boat by the dolphin stiker off the trailer again, tie off to it, or grab it in any wsy...
Is it possible to put the wheels on solo? Is it possible to put them on the water or do they float?
yes, yes and yes.
It is easy to take the cat off the trailer directly onto the wheels. It’s also pretty easy to work them under the cat when it’s sitting in sand...
Yes you can also get them under the cat when its on the water... its very easy if the boat has 2 feet of h20 under it.... yes they float... they are pretty light and filled with air....
The only real challenge is pushing (or pulling) the cat up the beach alone... it is dependant on the weight of the boat, your strength, the type of surface and the incline.
I have a Nacra 6.0 and can put the wheels under the boat by myself. I lift one side of the wheels and put the low side under the hull and us the wheels as a fulcrum lifting the boat. This allows me to slide the other side under and then I use my foot on top of the tires to push the wheels the rest of the way. When balanced I can push my boat the 175 feet to the waters edge by myself. When returning because we normally have an incline due to the surf and tide, I will leave my jib on as an aid to getting the boat back up the beach, and it will take two people. We have an onshore wind 95% of the time. By the way I am 63 years old, if I can do it, so can you.
Jeff a good set of wheels and you'll be fine.
Why a Nacra 5.8? There are some good Taipan 5.7s around that could be had for about $5000 without having heavy boat issues or you could get a Tiger or Nacra F18 for around $10,000
G'day guys thanks for all the replys. You know that song
you don't know what you've got till its gone
well I sold my fully restored Stingray and now I miss having a family boat. I have the big beach wheels. I really should get a F16 but I'm too heavy especially when my mates get on for a blast. I thought hard on a 5.7 but I find theres not much tramp room and a bit harder for novice crew, alot of the time It will be me with my 10yo daughter or my wife or all 4 kids. I found the 5.8 sooooo sweet even with my wife sitting in, I'll try the fulcrum way to get the wheels under tommorrow.
regards
I single hand an H-16 on the beach. Downhill is easy. For uphill you can usually figure out some way to leave one of the sails up and get a power assist. Sometimes alert steering is required. Once the boat is on the flat its easy.
Regards
Chet