Launching Trolley advice please

[john_morris_uk]

I need to buy a launching trolley for my Avon dinghy. In the past I have been in a position where I have had to inflate the dinghy, carry it down to the water then carry the outboard down and fit it, launch and drive out to the boat on its mooring. I am now in a position to leave the outboard on the dinghy and have it ready to launch, but obviously need a trolley! The problem is that of all the designs I can see advertised I can't work out which one is best for an Avon with an inflatable floor and o/b. has anyone got any experiences or recommendations?

It seems such a trivial question, but I can't work out which one will fit and work best and past experience says it makes a lot of sense to get the right combination. All I know is that I would prefer one with a raised handle at the end you pull/push from.

The dinghy is an Avon 3.4 metre with a solid transom and a 4hp two stroke.

Thanks in anticipation.

 

[Hobnob]

I need to buy a launching trolley for my Avon dinghy. ...
The dinghy is an Avon 3.4 metre with a solid transom and a 4hp two stroke.

Thanks in anticipation.

You say that you need a trolley, but have you considered launching wheels?

They do the same job with less kit lying around when you're on the water.

Small solid wheels are available cheaply, I have this type fitted to my Zodiac (but paid just over £100).

http://www.ronhalemarine.co.uk/superbasket/product/982/Zodiac_Launching_Wheels

 

[lw395]

I would suggest it wants to be nearly (80%?) the full length of the dinghy, as the outboard will move the CofG well back.
You will want a decent support, probably just a wide plank with rounded edges for a flat bottom Avon. The key thing is to prevent the tops of the wheels rubbing on the boat, so you either need a wide trolley or a highish support.
In general, supports tend to need to be custom made, (i.e. bodged) to fit boat and trolley.

A good new trolley from rapide, Hayling trailers etc is quite a few quid (£250+)?. I've bought and rebuilt secondhand ones in the past. You can get galvanised conduit from BeanQueue as well as stout galv brackets (intended for roof trusses?). Wheels are cheap from screwfix.

Once you have a good trolley it get tempting to pile everything into the boat to wheel it from car to slip way, so make sure the trolley is fairly strong, and the bottom of the inflatable is well supported.

For a very light boat, you can make a functional trolley using wood and plastic drain pipe, the solvent-weld type being much stiffer. These often rely on the rigidity of the boat to hold shape, but can be fine on smooth ground. I would think a 3.4m avon is a bit heavy for this though!

 

[jimi]

I added wheels as below.

http://www.mailspeedmarine.com/infl...essories/waveline/dinghy-wheeler-wheels.bhtml

 

[john_morris_uk]

Thanks for the thoughts. I had considered the wheels option as I fitted them to the last dinghy. However it was a pain in the backside leaning over the transom to retract then and I am not convinced that there's that much room on the transom of the Avon with the 4hp. I've also had problems with the o/b hitting the wheels when you steer if they are left down. PS I must have been ripped off for the set of wheels that I bought as they were about £80 from one of the local chandlers in Plymouth. Another thing against the wheels is that the dinghy planes with just me on it at the moment, but it's marginal and I wouldn't want to lose the ability to go fast if the wheels interfered...

I've considered building, but I thought that there ought to be something available on the market, but of all the pictures I've seen I can't make up my mind which would fit well and do the job.