Which Tender Wheels?

[sailingjupiter]

I want to fit some wheels to my 2.65metre Suzumar inflatable to aid on shore moving.

Which ones do you find best for this size of boat? I've seen the type with air filled tyres on stainless arms that fold up when floating but may get in the way of the engine. Or there are the other plastic looking ones that are a lot smaller that lock up and down.

Both types look around the £80 mark unless you have seen cheaper. But which are best, any pros and cons?

 

[PembrokeshirePromise]

I have the Pelican plastic ones that fold up and down. Been very pleased with them. Fat tyres might be better if you crossed lots of soft shores - but otherwise these have been fine for hard sand, slipways etc.

Folded up they are completely against the transom - so not sticking up or down - which for me was important

 

[npf1]

I've also got the Pelican ones. As mentioned above, they are convenient and very good except for soft sand.

BTW: I've not seen anything that is both small and folds away that would work well for soft sand.

 

[Gin]

I have the aluminium braced, pivoting arms which flip up as you describe, with small pneumatic wheels. The arms will try to flip up if the tender bounces or the wheels meet a ledge on a pontoon for example. Also since you have spotted the engine can be obstructed, I've replaced the 10mm machine screws/nuts with 40mm drop nose s/s pins, so I can remove the wheels and pivoting arms upon launching(risk of dropping the pins in the oggin) but this still leaves the upright channels screwed to the outboard bracket which requires careful positioning of the motor to avoid damage and to enable engine controls to be used

As a choice to avoid a proper trolley, they are OK but better on a fixed transom, whereas my roundtail tenders(Avon) require a special fastening to prevent the transom bracket pulling out of the rubber sockets on the underside of the tender. In short this set up is a PITA but better than a struggle single handed without them, nor the hassle of having a folding trolley in the boot with all the other junk.

Other folk at the Club use Plastimo type hard dinghies with integral Pelican wheels which seem a superior option if your circumstances will allow them

 

[retsina]

last year I installed the S/S up and over launching wheels with 14" pneumatic wheels. The arms are pivotted on the transom hence, a bit difficult to lock the wheels up or down. If I had to choose again i would have gone for the small plastic wheels which are bolted permanetely on the lower part of the transom; therefore no need to move the wheels at all.; much much easier.

 

[simonfraser]

i apreciate the bigger wheels on my lumpy stoney slipway

 

[DinghyMan]

I've got the stainless Force4 ones, £90 well spent.

Only problem is you have to remember to lift them before you set off - its surprising how many times I've set off and then wondered why the tender is so slow then had to lift the wheels. Can lug a 2.7m Seago, Outboard, lunch cooler, assorted stuff I may need bag, and tools a long distance by myself though. Money well spent.

 

[chas]

I saw someone recently who just had a metal (?) rod with a wheel at each end. This went under the dinghy with a line to each oar attachment point. Wheeled a fairly full boat down the slip, slipped the wheels from underneath (they floated), put them in the dinghy and he was off. The advantage was that the wheels were closer to the point of balance that those attached to the transom.