Building a Launching Trolley

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AlistairM

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I am looking into doing this for a GP14. I can get the dimensions and I was hoping it was just a case of sourcing the material and putting it all together. A few questions if I may;

Is this just a basic AFrame with a cross bar for the stem to rest on, and adjustable supports to hold the hull in place?

What would be the best material - Aluminium, Steel etc?

Could the frame be bolted together or does it have to be welded

Any comments as always greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
normally there is a central spine, in which the keel rests. This spine takes the weight of the boat; the side pads are there mainly to keep the hull upright. Don't allow your design to rest the weight on the side pads as local cracking / deformation of the hull may result.
 
An alternative is to use an triangular-shaped frame, the axle of which is fitted with upstands just inside the wheels, pointing upwards and outwards. Attached to these is a slack and very substantial length of webbing (lorry tie-down strapping etc). With another length of webbing fitted across the triangle, (say) 2/3rds towards the handle. The boat's hull is thus cradled by the webbing.

Some initial adjustment of the webbing is necessary to ensure that the hull doesn't make contact with the metal frame.

A couple of lightweight locating wands would ensure that the hull is centralised - but very much an optional extra.
 
The best is probably an 'A' frame with cradles moulded to fit the hull. Wide wooden boards that fit the hull will do.
A pure launching trolley is not so critical as a launcher which fits on a combi trailer, as when on the road there is a lot of vibration to deal with.
But you want to spread the weigh over a large area of hull.
You want some form of padding, Closed cell foam camping mat?
You want a surface which does not hold water against the hull and and does not grind grit into the hull. Artificial grass is the current favourite.

The frame can be made of conduit bolted together with stout steel brackets.
The cradle will need to be strongly fixed and braced to the long sides of the 'A' frame, there is a lot of twist on this when pulling the boat onto the trolley or pulling it over bumpy ground.
I have used thick galvanised brackets from the building section in B&Q, bent metre long bits of 5mm steel basically. Bolting through the conduit with M6 bolts worked OK.
Sorting out a good handle at he right height without anything to bash your ankles is often the hardest bit.
Be advised that the wheelbarrow wheels from screwfix have a smaller bore for the axle than most of the launching trolleys, or beanqueue conduit...
 
AlistairM said:
I am looking into doing this for a GP14. I can get the dimensions and I was hoping it was just a case of sourcing the material and putting it all together. A few questions if I may;

Is this just a basic AFrame with a cross bar for the stem to rest on, and adjustable supports to hold the hull in place?

What would be the best material - Aluminium, Steel etc?

Could the frame be bolted together or does it have to be welded

Any comments as always greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Look at ebay . There are always dinghy launching trolleys on there. Good for ideas even if you don't buy.

Also look at the trailer manufacturers websites for ideas.

Parts from people like Indespension, Autotow.com and Trailertek.com

Id go for an A frame design in galvanised steel unless weight was a serious consideration.

Look at wheels with a broad tread if you will be launching over soft ground eg sand.
Pneumatic tyres run more easily so go for those if you will be wheeling the dinghy far.
 
I used to make my own in my Laser sailing days, used to buy the steel from the local blacksmith, I used 1 inch box section. Weled up I used it as a combi on my road trailer. Big trick is to be very sure that the bore of your wheels matches the diameter of your axle stubs. You can get bot in 1 inch aka 25.4mm and 25mm, you can work out the working and non working combinations. That 0.4mm is a hell of a lot to get rid of.
 
Strangely I have just finished my new launch trolley for my Solo.
I built it entirely from bits I had in the garage. The backbone is a Laser mast (lower section). The crossmember a bit of timber. The wheels are solid rubber tyred and rotate on axles I made by welding bolts to some metal pads. All bolted together with coachbolts.

I just have the pad for the forefoot to sit on to fit yet.

I may fit pneumatic-tyred wheels (wheelbarrow) if it proves a bit difficult on the shore.


To establish the dimensions I put a bit of timber under the keel of the dinghy, at right angles to it, to find the balance point and then moved it aft a bit to give a slight bow-down distribution. Then put packing pieces under the chines to establish the dimensions of the pads and their spacing.


trolley2.jpg



Pad.jpg



axle.jpg



wheel.jpg



sailup.jpg
 
All it needs is another (steerable) wheel at the front, and you could lash the boat to the trailer, pull in the main, whizz down the drive and be afloat in seconds.

Ah, "rule of the road"; do motor charabangs give way to a luxury sailing yachts when close-hauled ?



Neat and ver' tidy details, Lakey, as usual.
 
I made a road trailer for my enterprise from Unistrut. This is a u-shaped, galvanised steel framing channel widely used in the construction industry. It's very easy to work with and can be bolted together, so no welding required. Worth a look?
 
sarabande said:
All it needs is another (steerable) wheel at the front, and you could lash the boat to the trailer, pull in the main, whizz down the drive and be afloat in seconds.

Ah, "rule of the road"; do motor charabangs give way to a luxury sailing yachts when close-hauled ?
Click to expand...
I think you have invented the landyacht....
 
Thanks every one, I didnt expect quite such a response. Nor did I think there was quite so much to consider.

I like the idea of a simple "spine" set up as in lake sailors pictures, Would that travel ok on a road trailer do you think?
 
Maybe not. This one I built for my trimaran relied on the side bars to locate under some lugs on the road trailer axle beam. Then a pin fixed the front of the trolley into a bracket on the trailer drawbar

Trimaran_laser_4.jpg


Trimaran_laser_6.jpg

You need bear in mind that the dinghy on the launch trolley will hang over the back of the road trailer axle line and possibly you will end up with no trailer nose weight. This needs accounting for in the loading of the dinghy.
Also the pads that support the dinghy on a launch trolley may not give enough support for the hull during bash and crash of road transporting.
 
paulrae said:
I made a road trailer for my enterprise from Unistrut. This is a u-shaped, galvanised steel framing channel widely used in the construction industry. It's very easy to work with and can be bolted together, so no welding required. Worth a look?
Click to expand...

I like the sound of that. My Wayfarer road trailer is a bit of a **** design tbh- the A-frame of the trolley to sit forward and outside of the road base'a frame. Which is great for peace of mind when you know that the trolley physically cannot slide off backwards- but it makes it a heck of a job to get the trolley on and off the base.
As I don't have access to a galvanisers, nor the money to go and buy a new combi trailer, I have been toying with the idea of making a new road base.
I take it you used the Unistrut upside down, i.e. open face downwards? Do you have problems with water pooling in the little lips- or is the galvanising good enough that it's not a problem anyway?
 
maxi77 said:
I used to make my own in my Laser sailing days, used to buy the steel from the local blacksmith, I used 1 inch box section. Weled up I used it as a combi on my road trailer. Big trick is to be very sure that the bore of your wheels matches the diameter of your axle stubs. You can get bot in 1 inch aka 25.4mm and 25mm, you can work out the working and non working combinations. That 0.4mm is a hell of a lot to get rid of.
Click to expand...

When I sailed a laser many people made their own launching trolley using a shaped and padded wooden cross beam take the load. Short stub axles with large balloon tyres and two long handles running either side of the hull using long lengths of plastic sink waste pipe, joined at the box with a short cross piece and two right angle unions.
The piple was cemented and the whole thing was very strong and light.
 
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