So I used cat trax for the first time and wow they were great but using them with cradles I found they were much easier to use. When I used them with out cradles they wanted to roll out and it chipped the gel oat on our boat around the shroud stays. So I decided to make my own cradles. I found a old trax that needed some repairs as well so it was a good start.
I ended up finding a 2 foot long drainage pipe with an inside diameter of 12 inches to start the project with.
I then used a straight edge to mark some lines to cut. I used a battery powered skill saw and it cut threw the pipe like butter.
I cut them at a angle about 30-40 degrees to make the edges nicer and less sharp. So this is the piece I will chop to make the cradles from.
I then cut the above piece to make each cradle. I cut them with having 4 grooves or ribs on the out side so that way I could place the axle between the grooves.
I the. Heated the spot in the middle where the axle would sit. I used a propane torch for plumbing. I try to constantly move it so it did t burn the plastic and just heat it up. Once it started to loose its shape I then pushed it over the axle and held it for about 30 sec so it would cool down. Once the desired shape around the axle was achieved I ran it under some cool water. The plastic hardened just as hard as it was before. The. Repeated on the other piece.
I then drilled the holes for the u bolts and bolted them in the groves. I cut the u bolts so they didn't stick out where the boat will rest. I drilled 1/4 hole threw. Then I drilled the top side with a 3/4 so I could get the nuts on the u bolt and tighten with a socket. I slid the washer into the groove and the. Threaded the nut on threw the 3/4 hole. It took some bouncing and shaking to get the washer sitting right in the hole.
I then tightened them down and carpeted the top side. I used liquid nail to glue the carpet down and it worked pretty good! The top side covers the 3/4 holes and the washers and nuts are all protected so they don't scratch the boat.
I also made the caps to because my old caps were all cracked. These caps cost me $2 at lowes. With some routering and sanding I shaped them. Hope this helps. I also have some extra pipe left over if anyone wants to try this let me know.
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https://m.facebook.com/IEhobiefleet30/Redlands California
2005 Hobie 16 with 2010 euro national sails.
1981 Hobie 16 cat fever