There is quite the buzz recently about people making cradles from PVC pipe or fiberglass, molding them to the hulls and padding them with carpet.

There are also lots of older posts about snug cradles with carpeting retaining water and causing blisters in the fiberglass hull.

Those of us that have found blisters in this situation, what did you do about the cradles- cover with something else/use not-so-snug ones/other alternatives? Do you think the heat where you live is a factor in this situation?

Is there a better material for lining the cradles that does not retain water and has less friction than carpet? I have cat skids that I use on rocky shores that are made from large (white) PVC pipe. When I run the hulls up on them, its the PVC that wears off- not the fiberglass. I'm tempted to simply sand the unlined PVC cradles smooth, round the edges, drill holes or cut grooves to ensure drainage, and let them wear like the skids.

I plan to put cradles on the trailer front crossbar and dual rollers on the rear. There is no mast or rudder weight on the rear of the cat ever, so the rear rollers will allow easier loading onto the trailer and improve sharing the stress from the current single roller.

All comments are appreciated.

It's Spring- Sheet In!

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Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
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First though to come to mind was to drill the PVC from the inside out then carpet over. the holes in the pvc should act as a vent to let the carpet dry.

Second thought was to add a small piece of PVC pipe to the bottom of the cradle once you arrived home to keep the cat on the trailer but off the cradles. Think roller running the same direction as the keel.

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Bob Miller
1983 P16 Sail # 7312
"Miller Time" A work in progress; out of the water for 16 years
Barnegat Bay NJ
Beach Cat Lesson #1 - A free cat isn't
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Good question. I would guess that this is more of an issue with exact fitting cradles. My new plan (after reading on here) is to use unaltered pvc pipe for my hobie 16. Because the hulls are assymetric, only the keel will be touching. The water that will sit in the bottom will be minimal and should be able to evaporate easily. Now with symmetric hulls, I'm not really sure.

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-Zach
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You could always do something like this

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Ernie Kamp
http://www.youtube.com/user/TopSpin80#g/u
Richmond / Livingston / Galveston / Kemah / Texas City, Texas
Supercat 19 and Blade F16 "Nauti Habit", 2 Sunfish
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Not sure that moisture is a prob for the hulls. Two things important. FIRST.. Suport for travel.. ( the keel is designed to take pressure .. Limit the force by extendending the surface area of contact but do not put pressure on the side walls of the hull)..Had a great lession on that when I used a hobie set of beach wheels on my beloved N5.2. The cradles were 2 or 3 inches too narrow and the hulls began to flex inward. Looked like they could have fractured !! So.. More suport for the keel area where the mass is is the idea there IMO.. Second.. Have the rear cradles loose so they can pivot and allign to the hulls when loading. And Remember. damage from trailering comes when in motion and when those nasty pot holes bounch the rig. I like the idea of securing to the beams however the engenering for our $1000-$2000 boats does not pensil for me . Dont worry about contact on the side wall of the hull. Get the keel supported. Just went to a regatta here in Cal North.. A friend had a 5.8 N and had built a trailer with tracks of 4X6 carpeted that supported the "Whole Keel" Smart.. Dont worry about total contact with the hull.. Hal

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Hal Liske
Livermore CA
H 16 (6+ 1.. Friends) H 3.2 N 5.2 (2) H 17 (2) H-18
Nacra 5.8 (son's) H 20 (Friends)
It's a Sickness

I Need a A Cat Please
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halliske

Not sure that moisture is a prob for the hulls.

Hey Hal,
I agree with not persuing contact with the hull sides above the keel.
Wet carpet pressed against the hulls in a storage situation is a big problem.

headhunter

Cradles are nice, I have a pair. My observation from long term use is they trap moisture causing blisters.

Edchris77

Bubbles in fiberglass that was immersed in salt water sounds like hull pox. It was quite common in older mono hulls.

The ugly truth is explained in painful detail here:
http://www.zahnisers.com/…ir/blister/blister1.htm

It seems at first glance like cradling the hulls is a good idea. But keeping moisture applied to the hulls in the cradle carpet from the lake/rain/sprinklers/general humidity during storage can cause blisters in the gel coat or the laminate.

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Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
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Living in Florida I've had my 6.0 supported in the rear with carpeted cradles. After 2 years it's blister city. When I re-gel the whole boat next year I planned to just dump the cradles in favor of rollers. Not much other alternative.

i have blisters around the front crossbar near the cradles, not sure if the cradles are the cause though.

I was going this weekend to make some hull cradles for my boat, thanks for the post.

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Nacra 5.2
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Use cheapo outdoor astroturf from Lowes or Home Depo. I've used it on my 18 and had no issues. My next mod will be to re install the rear rollers for loading and unloading, and notching my cradles to ride on the rollers for transport.

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Jeff
Houston TX
1986 Hobie 18 Sail# 13031
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i just got real cat trax and i found out that its a pain to have the pipe move when you move the boat so i was thinking about cradles, but since you get blisters is there any other way you can do it? (it lives on the beach wheels)

Opti- tie the ropes on the Trax to your shroud Anchors with 2 half hitches.

Here are my cradles prior to carpet install. 24" long 10" PVC sewer pipe (UNUSED, was scrap from a home builder friend), cut lengthwise in thirds. No forming, fit was close enough for me. Used roller axles as pivot points. Used varnished 2x4 scraps, slotted to fit axles. Slot is 1" off center to cause pivot to rear.





Edited by presto99 on Apr 26, 2012 - 09:22 AM.

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Jeff
Houston TX
1986 Hobie 18 Sail# 13031
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Jeff,

Did you build your cradles that long for the front also? That's going to be a lot of friction for loading, our Hobie 18's are not light boats. I've got double rollers on the back and cradles in the front and it can still be a pull to get the boat on the trailer.

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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

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Theres stuff called liquid rollers that you can spray on the carpet to make it more slick

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-Zach
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DamonLinkous

Jeff,

Did you build your cradles that long for the front also? That's going to be a lot of friction for loading, our Hobie 18's are not light boats. I've got double rollers on the back and cradles in the front and it can still be a pull to get the boat on the trailer.

I was gonna make the fronts out of the remaining third of the pipe, cut in half(12" long). Instead we we made 12"x12" plywood bunks. The bunks make great seats for changing shoes. The friction loading the boat is very high. When I mod my cradles, I will post em up here too.

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Jeff
Houston TX
1986 Hobie 18 Sail# 13031
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I made cradles for our Sol cat 18 after the hulls got holes in them from the rollers on the trailer. I used PVC pipe and made mounts out of angle iron. for padding I went to the tractor supply store and got some rubber pads that people put on the side rails of lifted trucks. It's rubber with little knobs, no water retention and the boat is padded. I figured a couple of black marks is worth not having holes in the hulls.

I have three rollers in the front and two on the rear. Both piviot to ensure uniform contact with the hulls. I got the idea off this website a few years back. I worry more about the boat getting blisters from sitting on the sand for 7 months. I haven't had a problem yet but I also have a 1 1/2" PVC pipe in a old pair of port covers that I screw in when I am not sailing. That keeps the hulls breathing and dry.

The astro turf carpet does the trick. I just bought the hobie cradles from Murrays, been on for several years outside 6 months a year and not a single blister. JMHO, YMMV, Richard.

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Lake Perry KS
H-18
N-5.5 UNI +spin
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optikid

i just got real cat trax and i found out that its a pain to have the pipe move when you move the boat so i was thinking about cradles, but since you get blisters is there any other way you can do it? (it lives on the beach wheels)

You can position the pipe right under the shroud and tie the line tight to the shroud so it can't move very far.

--
Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
--

Don't buy cradles unless you have money to burn

I made these out of a walmart camp pad and some DAP adhesive. The intention was to just give padding when trailering like shown in the picture, however, since then I have wrap a couple ball and loop bungies around each side to keep in place and they have made excellent cradles for my Prindle plus because they are flat and padded many of my Nacra buddies have borrowed them with no trouble on their fragile round hulls.



There are 3 6" by however long you like and six 2" by however long. Glue the 3 6 inch then the 2 inch leaving a 2" gap in the center for the Beachwheels axel.

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Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
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