Balloon tyres on a launching trolley for a small SIB/F-RIB

[DouglasW]

I have had a number of enquiries about my launching trolleys both here and on the beach at Fleet Bay so I thought I would post some photos. Basically I use 49cm low pressure balloon tyres to allow me to pull a loaded F-RIB 330 complete with 15HP 4 stroke Yamaha, fuel, anchor fishing gear etc. up a steep soft sand beach by myself.

The big balloon tyres are by an American company called Wheeleez. They used to have a stockist in the SW of England but that retailer went bust so you now have to import them from the European distributor in Spain and pay in Euros though there is no problem with customs/import duty, while we are in the EU.

http://www.beachwheelseurope.com/en/

The wheels fit on either 20mm or or 25.4mm aluminium tube axles tube which you can buy from a local metal fabrications shop for a home build or modification of an existing trolley. I use the 49cm diameter wheels for both my F-Rib 330 and another lighter trolley for my Topaz dinghy (about 100kg complete with rig) which I modified first to try the wheels out.

The width of the 49cm diameter wheels at the axle bushes is 19.8cm and is much wider than the standard trolley wheels. On my Topaz dinghy trolley I had to remove the existing stub axles by drilling through pop rivets which retained the axle shaft in the axle bar of the trolley. I then had to remove a heavy plastic bush at the end of the axle bar, through which the axle protruded. During manufacture, the axle had been crimped into an oval to fit in this bush. On the Topaz trolley I used Wheeleez wheels with longer 25.4mm axles which I did not crimp and so did not fit through the hole in the bush. I had to split the plastic axle bushes and remove the middle section so that the new round axle would fit.

I was extremely pleased with the result but unfortunately the Topaz trolley was too narrow for the F-RIB so I ordered another set of balloon tyres and some anodised aluminium axle tube and built a wooden trolley out of 2"x2" and decking boards. Unfortunately this was far too heavy so I took the easy option and ordered the rest of the Wheeleez boat dolly which was extremely expensive at €840 plus €60 delivery to Scotland. You could buy a good boat for that but the way I looked at it it was a tool to do a job and worth every penny as I have had major surgery to both knees and my left shoulder and also have degenerative disease of my spine.

The Wheeleez boat Dolly is made from sections of aluminium box which are anodised inside and out.

The sections allow easy adjustment and dismantling...

...using stainless steel pins...

... with retaining clips.

The Dolly with 49cm wheels weighs 28kg.

Adjustment on the fore and aft tube which splits into three.

The front end.

Most of the people round here have given up transporting their small SIBS/F-RIBS in their cars, trucks or vans and have bought road trailers. However, road wheels and trailers are not easy to pull on soft steep sand and most people do not like to put them fully in the water. I float my F-RIB 330/15HP Yam on and off the trolley, so no great effort is required. A friend with a Zodiac 310 air floor and Suzuki 9.9 4 stroke needs four people to pull his boat up the same beach with launching wheels. This collapsible dolly would easily fit in the back of a van or a truck or inside the inflated SIB/F-RIB on a trailer.

I have also made an outboard handling device with four conventional trolley wheels on one axle to move the 50kg outboard on soft sand. It is called Brutus. (My wooden trolley was called Goliath.) I will probably replace these wheels with Wheeleez wheels.

As I see it, the whole point of having a small SIB/F-RIB is portability, ease of launching where it is not possible to launch bigger boats and of course storage in a shed, garage or back of a van or truck. Once you leave the boat inflated on a trailer, you would be better buying a bigger boat. I could have bought a much bigger conventional RIB for the same price as my F-RIB 330 but I would not be able to pack it away into the shed at my caravan for the winter. As it is, I believe I have landed upon the perfect combination of boat, outboards and trolley to allow me to go boating single handedly with the minimum of effort in my seventh decade. I know if my father and uncle (between them they spent 93 summers here) has still been alive, they would have gone for the same combination.

So in conclusion, although I could have bought a boat for what I paid for the Wheeleez trolley, it has been the catalyst that has allowed me to spend a great deal of time on the water with the minimum of effort.

Douglas

[Gybemaster]

Absolutely brilliant Douglas, thanks very much for taking the time to post that.


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[Paul]

Thanks for the very comprehensive report Douglas
They do look the dogs nuts for your use mate
You have my idea of heaven for a residential location