Boat Dolly Plan

[Christine DeMerchant]

Does anyone have plans or comments for a launching dolly that would be suitable for a skerry. (The toy budget is getting strained and better sails are my first choice anyway.)
I've searched the forum but don't seem to find any.
I've found some for pvc pipes but they don't look terribly sturdy.
help.

[Bobcat]

I built a dolly out of wood for my Bobcat. My first designer was not a success. I found that you need the wheels wide apart for the launch ramp. I used wheelbarrow wheels and 5/8 threaded rod for the axles.

The biggest problems I had was that the dolly floated. I bought some weight lifting plates second hand and used them as ballast to counteract the buoyancy of the wood.

My dolly is not pretty compared to the metal commercial ones, but functional and a lot cheaper.

[ChrisBen]

Christine, J.Dillon has a couple of pictures of his dolly here.
http://www.woodenboat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1792315&postcount=12

[Ben Fuller]

There are a bunch of different kinds of dollies. Are you looking for one that looks like a mini trailer or one that straps onto boats? I have built a number of the former and could provide pictures. Two of them were heavily used at the small reach regatta. One uses galvanized water pipe as a frame ( heavy) and the other outdoor grade thick walled aluminum conduit. For both of them I buy the good plastic hub wheels as my old homemade ones finally wore out after a bunch of years.

There are photos of both of them I think in the article that I did for WoodenBoats last small boat issue, called living with little boats.

I also have an all wood one using a wooden roller and a wooden frame which can use a pvc pipe as a substitute which can be used as a fixed roller or dolly.

Let me know

[Kaa]

Iain Oughtred's Eun na Maras come with plans for a dolly that rolls onto the trailer. You can see a picture of it here -- http://www.woodenboat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62222

It's basically a metal channel into which the keel fits and two axles with double rubber inflatable wheels. Oh yeah, and two rollers supports on each side. It's designed to barely float so that you can more or less easily push it underneath the boat and then its own flotation helps keep it there.

Kaa

[rbj37]

Take a look at dingy dolly at;
http://www.pbase.com/sailrosita/my_other_boats

[Ben Fuller]

Rolling a dolly onto a trailer is pretty much SOP in the UK. We don't tend to do it here. I think one of the commercial ones has been set up for this. So most of the US dollies get carried upside down on the boats with the wheels removed. I double deck trailers so that the dolly can go on top, a place to pile rigs, oars etc.

One of the tricks to making dollies sink if you use pipe of any kind for them is to make sure that water can get into the pipe. Then you have to make sure there is a way for it to run out. The salt water will eventually (20+ years) kill a dolly made of galvanized pipe. You are fighting the buoyancy of the tires.

[Christine DeMerchant]

There are a bunch of different kinds of dollies. Are you looking for one that looks like a mini trailer or one that straps onto boats? I have built a number of the former and could provide pictures. Two of them were heavily used at the small reach regatta. One uses galvanized water pipe as a frame ( heavy) and the other outdoor grade thick walled aluminum conduit. For both of them I buy the good plastic hub wheels as my old homemade ones finally wore out after a bunch of years.

There are photos of both of them I think in the article that I did for WoodenBoats last small boat issue, called living with little boats.

I also have an all wood one using a wooden roller and a wooden frame which can use a pvc pipe as a substitute which can be used as a fixed roller or dolly.

Let me know

I am looking for the trailer style. Its to help me down a launching ramp that is a bit steep. It has to be sturdy, reasonably light and able to be handled by one person. I would appreciate photos if you have them.
I'll dig up my copy of the magazine, it's the one with the skerry on the cover, yes?

[Christine DeMerchant]

If you used a threaded rod to mount the wheels, did you just use washer and nut on both side of the wheel to keep it in place? Or is there another technique for attaching them?

[Ben Fuller]

I will shoot and send tomorrow I may do it by private email as I don't have image sharing set up.

Meanwhile, these guys have good wheels:
http://www.wheeleez.com/canoe-kayak-cart.php
as of course does seitech. You will want them with a diameter that matches 3/4 o.d aluminum or steel pipe. The seitech ones are a touch large for hardware store pipe.

[Bobcat]

If you used a threaded rod to mount the wheels, did you just use washer and nut on both side of the wheel to keep it in place? Or is there another technique for attaching them?

I have wooden rails on each side of the wheel, the opening between them being just a bit wider than the wheel width. The threaded rod goes through one rail, the wheel, and then the other rail, with a washer and nut on each end. I have some wooden spacers, think big washers, between the inside of the rails and the wheel to keep the wheel from wobbling.

[Ian McColgin]

This is a little thread drift, but Pete Culler designed a "Wheelbarrow Skiff" that had a round centerboard. When locked down it rolled. Capt Pete brought the gunnels aft of the transom to make nice handles. Given the position of the board, it worked like a Chinese wheelbarrow, with the wheel taking over 3/4ths of the weight.