I have a set of Cat Trax with cradles that I have never used. Impulsively I bought a $50 "Dynamic Dolly" beach trolley with handle from Craigslist, as it seemed too good a deal to pass up.
If I'm gonna keep only one, what would you recommend?
I have a set of Cat Trax with cradles that I have never used. Impulsively I bought a $50 "Dynamic Dolly" beach trolley with handle from Craigslist, as it seemed too good a deal to pass up.
If I'm gonna keep only one, what would you recommend?
If the Dynamic Dolly type is this unit: https://westcoastsailing.net/catamaran-beach-dolly-large/
.... then I would keep your Cat Trax. The Cat Trax's that I have had (two of them) always provided very low rolling resistance on soft sand and hard with the cats that I had (P18 and H18 and now a F18) while owning a dolly. Somehow I got away with not using a dolly with my cats before those others by just using muscle and 4x4 when needed. After the light-bulb got lit and I purchased a dolly, the Cat Trax made a huge difference in the ease of launching/retrieval from nearly any launching area.
I believe the Cat Trax have larger diameter tires that have far more flotation on sand. Plus their wheel roller-bearings are super-simple Delrin rollers on the aluminum shaft that can be washed-out if sand somehow enters the bearing areas. I bet that the Cat Trax bearings provide far less rolling friction than the simple bushing-type bearings of the Dynamic Dolly.
Thanks for your reply. The dolly has the same balloon tires as what's on the Cat trax, not what is shown in that image. I guess either the skinny wheels were replaced on mine, or it was some one-off type configuration.
Pictures would be a big help.
@westmatt Do you normally launch with beach wheels or from a ramp? If you launch on beach what are the conditions?Â
I haven't seen the rig in your picture, that is a lot of tubing, I'm assuming it has all that structure to keep things lined up? Seems like a lot to carry around or assemble each time. Hopefully someone chimes in that has used that style with beachcats.
I'm most familiar with launching on the super sugar soft sand of the Florida Panhandle where the original original Cat Trax from Florida Sailcraft are the standard because nothing else has been proven to reliably roll easily on the deep soft sand.
The tires in your picture don't look "balloon" as Cat Trax, more like the Tiger Trax harder plastic? If you operate on grass or a firm shoreline those can work great too.
Of course a lot of Hobie 16 sailors just drag their boats if they have the crew and strength to do it. I even did that with my Hobie 18 for many years before getting my first set of wheels.
I've had the blue plastic and the rubber. I got rid of the blue plastic as they are good on flat sand. Any type of rock they are not happy. On the coast, we have mostly flat sand but some of the lakes tend to be a bit more rocky and the rubber tends to do better. I would defiantly invest in the cradles. Don't worry, you'll have to replace the carpet in 5 years.Â
The wheels are pneumatic, just like the cat trax, except with knobby tread. I typically launch from a ramp, just wanted some wheels on hand in the event I go some place where they'd be helpful, so it's not really a big deal.
I am leaning towards keeping the dolly. I'll modify it so it comes apart in the middle for easy transport and storage. Probably easier to sell the cat trax, I'd imagine.
Thanks all, for your replies.
Matt
My vote would be to keep the Cat Trax and ditch the Dynamics. The Cat Trax tires are 21"x12.5"..... much more pliable and larger footprint compared to the Dynamic's of 19"x9". If you find yourself launching/retrieving from soft sand sometime, you'll appreciate the Cat Trax. Plus you don't have to modify them.
@westmatt Where are you located and are you going to sell the Cat Trax?
@westmatt Where are you located and are you going to sell the Cat Trax?
I'm in San Diego. I will sell the Cat Trax, just haven't gotten super motivated to work on that yet.