Dinghy beaching wheels

lumphammer

lumphammer

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Hi all,

My wife and I are getting to old to haul our dinghy + O/B motor up the beach so we are looking for recommendations for beaching wheels that would be suitable for a Zodiac 2.8m dinghy and 6hp Yamaha to make it easier to get it above the high tide mark.

Would like them to fold out of the way when motoring, and be removable so I can roll up dinghy to fit in its storage bag or when being stowed on foredeck.

(Replacing dinghy with a smaller/lighter one is not an option at moment)
 
Have a look on line for ‘Beachmaster’ wheels. You’d have to import them from NZ (easy, we did it and the company is set up for it) but I’ve found them better engineered and less obtrusive than anything I found in UK. When removed, the only fittings left on the transom are 8 small studs. I can’t recommend them highly enough.

https://www.beachmaster.co.nz/
 
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we use these ones on a zodiac 3.1 Airdeck with a 5hp Tohatsu with remote tank.

https://www.marinescene.co.uk/product/15775/heavy-duty-wheel-a-weigh-launching-wheels
They lift up vertically out of the way but due to the length of them they will limit the amount you can turn the outboard - maybe 50 degrees limit each way. - It's fine for normal use but needs to be considered. They can easily be dropped down so that the wheel floats on the water behind the dinghy for slow speed tight manouvering!

Retained with a large R clip so can be removed in seconds but take care as the pin is easy to lose.

Wheels are large and work in firm mud and sand - much better than the tiny little flip down ones that seem to get jammed on bits of gravel.

NO issue to wheel the dinghy for 100 yards on these.

Our "legs" are slightly curved so they go under the boat when down leaving the OB behind the pivot point which makes the bows very easy to lift - out daughter could lift the bow at aged 9 and pull the boat on a flat, decent surface but did struggle going up hill with a heavy load so slipways are definitely a job for adults!
 
We use wheels similar to those Jac refers to but ours don't require loose clips. Spring loaded pins hold the wheel legs into neat brackets fixed to the dinghy transom. When under way the legs are positioned upside down so the wheels are out of the water. This arrangement does not impede use of an outboard.

The wheels were bought from Meridian Marine which sells various dinghy accessories.

So far as I can remember we paid about £100 plus £10 delivery.

The company was good to deal with. Over the years we've also bought two dinghies and an outboard from it.
 
Goldie said:
Have a look on line for ‘Beachmaster’ wheels. You’d have to import them from NZ (easy, we did it and the company is set up for it) but I’ve found them better engineered and less obtrusive than anything I found in UK. When removed, the only fittings left on the transom are 8 small studs. I can’t recommend them highly enough.
Click to expand...

+1 I spent some time looking at the what is on offer in the UK some were OK but I decided to shell out a bit more for these beachmaster ones. You will not be disappointed.
 
The cheap plastic ones most chandlers sell are terrible, lasted less than a season before axle snapped, Ive seen beach master ones and they are well made
 
I replaced the plastic axles in ours with stainless steel bolts - simple fix. I agree with others that they are not the best wheels though especially on non-smooth surfaces or sand/stones.
 
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