Hey guy's i was looking at the home made beach wheels in the technical photos. I saw the sewer pipe used as a cradle and was trying to think of something of a similar fashion that would work for the 5.7's extremely narrow keels. i'm aware murrays has one but am interested in making my own. Any and all ideas are very welcome!
Thanks guys,
Brady

--
Nacra 5.7
Falcon Lake Manitoba
Canada
--

I'll be watching this thread to see what develops, especially the rear section support.
I've been considering working on this project when/if I get mine off the trailer. I was considering a 14' length of schedule PVC about 10" wide ripped in half. Carpet glued the length inside. The cat's weight would be distributed nicely over the length. I know we should not be supporting on the rear 2 feet or so because the glass is thin there.
Even the corrugated black plastic might work, the connecting carriage bolts could be recessed in the low sections.
I wonder what we'll see proposed.

--
Mooched Beachcats in the past
Time to try ownership with Nacra 5.7
Port Clinton, Lake Erie Islands, Ohio
--

With the time & materials it's certainly understandable, and advisable, just to buy them.

I've made some, and to do so, I flipped a hull upside down, masked off an area and covered with plastic wrap. Then just lay up a rectangle on a flat piece of glass (or tin foil taped down to a masked off table) and with the layup consistent and ready, just drape it over the hull on the plastic wrap and let it cure. Pop it off and you've got what should make for a decent base mold, or just trim it down and use it as the cradle itself. I use 3m trim adhesive to glue down a layer of .25" cork and then glue some outdoor carpet to that.

The skegs of the 5.7 would likely lay on a set of dual rollers very nicely. Dual rollers make the boat a cinch to get on and off of the trailer.

--
Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
--

I used the white sewage type pipe because it was part of a heavy 16 inch pipe used for sails storage before I got a cat box. It was free to me but expensive and very heavy if you had to buy it. I took cardboard and made a templet of the front and rear hulls. I made/ took 2 x 8 boards and cut the wood to match the templet. I then stacked them in a row with a smaller remaining piece in between each layer so air could circulate. Then took the tube and cut it diagonally into three pieces. I laid a piece over the molded ( wood ) and stuck it in the oven set at 350 degrees. Opened the windows to let the smell out of the kitchen and baked it. The pipe slowly formed to the mold and then I took it out and let it cool. Wala custom craddles. I glued grooved indoor out door carpeting as a cushion on top of the new formed craddles. I used these on my beach craddles to keep the boat up off the sand and secure. For the trailer and cattrax I bought the aluminum craddles from Fun In The Sun in Florida. Whole lot less work and I needed those for my wider Nacra F18 hulls I still have a good size hunk of that pipe and the templet for some future day when I loose my mind and do it again.



Edited by JennaMeyer on May 15, 2013 - 09:55 AM.

--
2007 Nacra F18 Infusion
www.fleet250.org
Facebook: Sandy Hook Bay Catamaran Club
--

so i was talking with a guy at work and this was his idea. It is two pvc pipes drilled on to the galvanized axle and two retainers on either side. Spacing of these retainers would allow for a better fit of the catamaran. Obviously carpet would be placed on it.




Edited by mryella on May 15, 2013 - 06:06 PM.

--
Nacra 5.7
Falcon Lake Manitoba
Canada
--

myrella

so i was talking with a guy at work and this was his idea. It is two pvc pipes drilled on to the galvanized axle and two retainers on either side.

The trick is the tires/wheels/hubs. They need to be big and lightweight.
That = expensive. Solid wheels work ok on hard surfaces but you need balloons for sand.
Auto tires are just too heavy.
Hence the $600 price tag for CatTrax.

--
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
--

so after pricing it out it really made more sense to just buy the cradles from murrays. So i brought them to my boat and i'm pretty disappointed has anyone else gotten the 5.7 stern, h20 bow, h tiger bow cradle? The fit was incredibly sloppy, and i'm wondering if others have had a similar experience with the cradles.

--
Nacra 5.7
Falcon Lake Manitoba
Canada
--

anybody have a picture of their boat (5.7) with theses cradles attached? When i have the cradles at the the point where the forestays are only the keel touches the cradle and there is at least an inch gap between the cradle and the side of the boat.

--
Nacra 5.7
Falcon Lake Manitoba
Canada
--

Don't worry about a "tight" fit. You only need the keel touching. Sloppy makes it easier to get the boat on the cradles when in the water. We built a set for the 5.7 & 5.0, (same hulls as yours) using the design of Fricker & Catsailor Mike. We had some 12" sections of 12" water main plastic pipe, cut into 1/3rd, it yields a cradle almost exactly like Mikes design.

As you can see, it is nowhere near the profile of the Nacra 5.7 hull, but it doesn't need to be. You don't need exact alignment to get the hull on the cradle, & once the weight of the boat gets on the cradle, it isn't going anywhere.
We rounded & sanded the corners of the cradle, friendlier on the shins. We also slipped a piece of PVC pipe over the axle, with a "T" in the center, as means of attaching a handle, makes it easier 1 man to utilize.
All in all, it does take a few hours to build, you are probably ahead if you can find a good set of Cat Trax with cradles for $300.
In our case, we already had the wheels, (for moving boat lifts) along with all the other required hardware & piping in the spare parts bins. The only thing we purchased was 2 PVC reducers, & 1 PVC "T".
Total cost, other than some electricity & beer was $3.99

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--

Edchris177

Don't worry about a "tight" fit. You only need the keel touching. Sloppy makes it easier to get the boat on the cradles when in the water. We built a set for the 5.7 & 5.0, (same hulls as yours) using the design of Fricker & Catsailor Mike. We had some 12" sections of 12" water main plastic pipe, cut into 1/3rd, it yields a cradle almost exactly like Mikes design.

As you can see, it is nowhere near the profile of the Nacra 5.7 hull, but it doesn't need to be. You don't need exact alignment to get the hull on the cradle, & once the weight of the boat gets on the cradle, it isn't going anywhere.
We rounded & sanded the corners of the cradle, friendlier on the shins. We also slipped a piece of PVC pipe over the axle, with a "T" in the center, as means of attaching a handle, makes it easier 1 man to utilize.
All in all, it does take a few hours to build, you are probably ahead if you can find a good set of Cat Trax with cradles for $300.
In our case, we already had the wheels, (for moving boat lifts) along with all the other required hardware & piping in the spare parts bins. The only thing we purchased was 2 PVC reducers, & 1 PVC "T".
Total cost, other than some electricity & beer was $3.99

thanks alot for the reply i, like you have the dock wheels i'll be using and the cradles should do just fine.

--
Nacra 5.7
Falcon Lake Manitoba
Canada
--

Ill try to get some photos together. CatSailor Mike had a pretty good design, we copied how he attached the cradles. Only mod was to allow the cradle to just sit on the axle,as we felt that was stronger. We used brass bolts,(because thats what was in the tickle trunk) with countersunk heads to attach the actual cradle to the mounts. They were sunk very slightly below the surface of the cradle, & we did not bother with carpeting, as the plastic pipe is pretty soft, & really, the boat is just being moved around the back yard. If you have any appreciable slope to deal with, something to make the cradles stickier, or lines to attach to shrouds will be required, the bare cradles are pretty slippery.
Clamp the bar stock in a large vice, & hammer the bends with a ball peen, you will get pretty nice bends, unless of course you know a shop with a large brake. When you go to make the second bend, the vice will get in the way. Get hold of a 6 inch, or longer piece of steel, quarter inch or thicker. Mount it horizontally in the vice, along with your bar stock(sticking out from the side far enough for your bend to clear the vice)and you can easily hammer the second bend. An angle grinder with cutoff wheel is your friend. Dont forget to take a file to the raw edges of your mounts & axle.
We did not have an axle that snugly fitted the wheels, we used a length of galvanized conduit. Inch & a half PVC pipe fits inside the wheels perfectly, & the conduit fit nicely inside the PVC pipe, making for a solid setup with little slop. You can glue a reducer,(2 inch to 1.5 inch) onto the end of the PVC pipe where it would contact the inside of the wheel to prevent the wheel moving inward. Or use a coupler, either will provide a suitable bearing surface. Outward movement was prevented by just drilling a hole & inserting the pins that you use when moving docks.
To disassemble, we remove one wheel & cradle, the PVC pipe then slides off the axle, leaving the opposite wheel free to slide off. You can then go back to moving docks or boat lifts!
Do not under estimate the quantity of beer required to complete this job, it took a day and a half, & a full flat of good German 500ml cans. We found October Fest Paulaner, & Spaaten to be appropriate.

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--

HAHA awesome i've mounted the cradles and now am just working on stopping the wheels from sliding, for an axle i used a leg from scaffolding which is a really nice snug fit with diameter of 1.88". I'll probably pick up a couple of couplers to stop the wheels from sliding.

--
Nacra 5.7
Falcon Lake Manitoba
Canada
--

Brady,
I'll bring my beach wheels with me this weekend when we rig the boat and you can see how they work. That should help a lot. Princess Auto is your friend.

I haven't been on here for a while or I would have clued in sooner.



Edited by Wolfman on May 30, 2013 - 09:50 PM.

--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
--