Greetings * ** ***
People I am north of 62 years young and am thinking of buying a getaway. The thought of dragging her 400 pounds up over the sand 100 to 200 feet has me concerned if this adventure is practical, wheels or not. Most days I will sail her alone. I appreciate anyones thought on this.
Ronald Furst
I only weigh 150 lbs and am just shy of 50. I usually need some help bringing a getaway back on dry land after a sail. I agree with bacho, it depends on the incline.
When I'm alone, I sail a Wave.
-- Daniel T.
Taipan F16 - USA 213
Clearwater, FL --
Incline of beach, and how packed the sand is makes a huge difference. But probably harder to get the wheels under the boat by yourself then it is to push the boat up the beach by yourself. I would not try solo without a good set of wheels. Remember at the end of a long day of sailing you are not as energetic as when you were rigging the boat
I have a 400 lb F-18 and use beach wheels. Our lake is down about 10 feet, so the beaches are becoming very long. I was able to pull our boat about 150 feet up a decent grade on a sand beach without any help but had to stop several times to rest. By the time the boat was back to the parking lot, my heart was pounding and I was beat. It is great cardio exercise but since I past the 50yo mark, I don't want to do it again.
This past weekend, I got smart and tied a rope to my beach wheels and had the truck pull the boat up the incline. I hardly broke a sweat!
I suggest a 300 # boat like a P-16 or an old A class boat @ 200#'s and with Cat Trax you can drag them the 150 yards alone. Cost will be less & performance much better. Pete
Does anyone have sugggestions for keeping beach wheels in place? I tie mine off to the shroud bases with wheels directly under them, and the boat still slips forward or back 12 or more inches throwing the balance off. I'm barely making it up the ramp solo as it is and the balance is killing me. The water is pretty rough at our ramp, so I need to work fast to avoid too much of a pounding.
Cradles well woth the money or make a set yourself using the hulls for a mold. Good winter project. For a long beach I just sail the boat up the beach on the cattrax. I position the tracks at the front cross bar because the presure will push the bows down. Leave the main loosely sheeted and control the power by turning the boat away from or into the wind. takes a little practice but it sure beats pushing/pulling the whole way.
If you have a ramp why not just use the trailer? Ramp inclines are usually fairly steep.
As for the wheels. I use ones without cradles and rigging them to not slip much just takes some practice. I make sure that they right under the shrouds loop the line up around the shroud and pull it tight so the wheel are right up against the hull directly under the shroud. Then make a loop in the loose end and wrap it around behind the tight end of the line and pull it through so it is tight up again the bottom of the shroud. you can easily pull on the tail to remove but stays pretty tight. The wheels can slip a bit but not much and usually only when you switch from forward to backward movement.
I made some pads to put under the axles on my wheels when I have them across my bows on the trailer. They are simple to make and CHEAP and I have ended up using them as cradles on my wheels even though they were not intended for that. They do a pretty god job.
To make them go buy a cheap $10 Walmart camp pad made of closed cell foam. They are usually blue. Also buy a can of DAP adhesive. Work outside as the DAP has fumes.
Cut the camp pad into 6 inch wide strips by however long you wish. (They need to sit between the wheel and the endcaps but it is nice to have some room to tie your ropes around) You need about 6 of thease to make pads for both sides.
Then Cut strips that are 2 inches by the same length. You need twice and many so 12 total.
Use the DAP to glue 2 sets of 3 of the 6 inch strips together. Brush DAP on each side you are glueing together not to thick. Let them dry a bit in between then stick them together. So you have 2 sections 3 pads thick that are 6 inches by whatever.
Do the same with the 2 inch sections so you have 4 that are 3 pads thick.
Then take one 6 inch section and two 2 inch sections and glue the 2 inch sections to the 6 inch section. Put them on the edges of the 6 inch pad section so you have a 2 inch gap between the two 2 inch sections. This gap is where the axle will sit.
When glueing you can use some boards and heavy objects to keep a bit of pressure on the parts and let them dry overnight.
I used to just leave them loose because I only used them when trailering but this year I took a couple walmart (again) ball n loop bungies (the red ones) and one around each end of each pad so they stay in place. Put the ball on the back or sides. Now they work every bit as good as a pair of cradles. The boat doesn't try to roll off the axle any more and I can push them in place by my self by moving each side in a bit at a time. With these I don't even have to use the ropes on the shrouds at all they stay right where I put them.
If I can remember I'll take some pictures and make gallery entry.
-- Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association 1982Prindle 18 1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook. --
You definitely want an a-cat, wave, laser, or the like. The easier it is to handle, the more you are going to sail it. The last thing you want is a 400lb boat to sail solo.
If it we were talking about a 400lb motorcycle thats one thing, but a large and awkward cat and only one set of hands.. on sugary sand..no thanks.
We typically have onshore wind, so I have to back the trailer and boat down the ramp into the wind and then put the sails up in shallow rough water. With the beach wheels I can put the sails up on land.
I haven't tried this, but what if you run a line from the center of the bar on the wheels to the forestay? That should stop the wheels from sliding back at least.
As for the guy who doesn't use his trailer on the ramp because of adverse wind. What about lowering your sails for the launch? I normally don't rig the sails until the boat is in the water.
-- Daniel T.
Taipan F16 - USA 213
Clearwater, FL --
get cradles for your wheels... especially a short heavy boat like a getaway. This made all the difference in the world. We kept the getaway for "family sails" with little kids still in the mix (it's also useful for rescues on heavy days). I can push it down by myself with our personal wheels w/ cradles. Yes it was a $550 upgrade (wheels + cradles), but the park district wheels stink. Back up... I just need a little help.
If the wind is on-shore, unfurl the jib.
Edited by nhanson on Oct 09, 2011 - 12:11 PM.
-- nacra inter-18
CNBP --
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