Anyone have any ideas for a launching frame/trolley

MooseMan · Anyone have any ideas for a launching frame/trolley

Hi all,

My new boat is just under 4ft long, quite heavy and needs to be kept fairly horizontal......I'm 6ft3 and as bendy as a broomstick.

What I'm looking for is an idea for a launching trolly or cradle that will let me gently deposit the boat into the water, which is a 20cm drop or so.

Any ideas much appreciated,

Odilon

steamyjim

On my boat (albeit smaller) i have the little cradle with 2 loops of strong thick string. You could drop the boat in with it and slide the cradle out from underneath.

I don't do it as my boat can be picked up easily but could be possible

mogogear

Glued together PVC (white plastic piping) with foam to give grippiness!!

then lower with cording--just a quick thought of something I have seen- it also acts as a nice stand pond-side-

I'll look for a photo

H2o vapour

Hi Moose,

I have made both the above ideas, the copper cradle is expenxive and cumbersome the stemyman idea is just great. I would recommend you look at this idea.

A pole or piece of wood same length as the boat and then two loops fixed at the ends to act as a slip cradle front and back of the boat. Allot of our club members use car safety belting fixed at the top. You will need to weight this either side the bottom on the belting so that it will slip on and off the boat when it is the water.

This is the bast way, no doubt in my mind, i have loaded a couple of pictures of my duck on a launching trolly at Papplewick Pumping station.

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The last pi is a random shot of a Launch that turned up at a regatta I attended, very nice two.

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mogogear

Ahhhh- shows what I was thinking was way too low tech-- a real trolley- great!! Learning all the time!

Les Marsh

Oohh thats nice!!

Atticman

Think a trolley is a neat idea, but would possibly be quite heavy. The "real " ships were launched as H2Os duck, or sideways rather that bow or stern first.

But a sideways launch may cause her to capsize, unless like H2O the rope was kept in good check as the trolley goes into the water

Spose aluminium would give strength corrosion resistance and lightness as a frame.

The ropes under her would be the fastest whilst you build a trolley launch

Just a few meanderings.

Like you Moose I Cant wait for her first sea trial

MooseMan

This is great guys - keep em coming!

bessytractor

you want to see the boat I found today in Nauticalia.

a six foot long Illustrious class aircraft carrier!

you'd need a forklift for that

Griffin

Moose, This is going to be hard to discribe in words.

But, how about making a frame a bit like a sack trolley that has two rubber coated hooks for the boat hull to sit in. If you then put a dog leg in the frame work (making the handle directly inline over the boat) the boat will stay level when you pick it up. Also with two wheels added to the bottom, this would allow you to not only "wheel" the boat, but also aid in launching as well, as the wheels will steady the trolley against the bank of the lake.

Ideally length's of alumininm angle profile would be a good source of material to make the trolley with, as they are light, and can be bolted or pop riveted together with ease.

I will try and fathom my scanner out, and post a sketch of what I am trying to describe up on here.

A picture speaks a thousand words, excuse the roughness.

johnreid

A good pair of hip waders might do as well too

Les Marsh

MooseMan

Steven, your plan looks just about perfect....I'm going to have a toy around with that idea.

John, I think that the sight of yours truly in a pair of waders in the middle of a rather genteel part of Cardiff would probably be enough to get me arrested, or at least locked up!

Griffin

Odilon, Roughly how heavy is the boat?

I would suggest keeping the weight of the trolley down to a minimum, as it will be more to "lug" around. At the end of the day it has to be convenient to use, and not a hindrance.

mogogear

There are a lot of luggage type little collapsible carts- very small and quite light!

MooseMan

Griffin

Bogstandard

Odilon,

You don't half make life difficult for yourself.

In the club I belong to, they have all been tried, nice to look at, but a pain in the a##e when being used, and usually end up at the back of the workshop waiting for some other unsuspecting person wanting one.

Go to your local chandlers and buy, in your case (because you are tall, normally 4metres) 5 metres of SINKING rope, about 8mm diameter. It should look like cotton braided rope. Two bits of broom handle, each approximately 350mm long, with an 8mm hole drilled thru it about 15mm in from each end. Cut rope in half, tie a knot on one end of one of the pieces, and thread it thru one of the holes, and back up thru the hole on the other end, tie a knot in it. You should end up with a length of broom handle with a loop hanging down from it. Repeat the same with the left over bits, and you should end up with a pair launching straps.

Boat on stand sitting on ground, steam up, radio on and checked.
Put one of the loops under the bow, the other goes under the stern.
Gently raise up with the broom handles and you should find that the boat miraculously lifts out of the support stand and is suspended in mid air.
Gently transfer the mid air boat to the waters surface, and lower into the wet stuff.
The rope (if you have bought the right stuff) should sink, allowing you to retrieve the loops from under the boat, by moving the broom handles in the opposite direction of when you put the loops under the boat in the first place.
Boat is now free sailing and ready to be controlled to wherever you want to go.
When you have had enough or when you need to top up with water and gas, repeat the launching procedure, but in reverse.

This is by the way a bit of a jest on the explanation, but it is really the way you should consider going.

The choice is yours.

John

MooseMan