Replacing rollers on trailer

I have a few of questions for the group. They are related, so I'll ask them together.
The rollers on my trailer need to be replaced, and I am wondering about the best way to get the boat (h18) off the trailer while I work on it. I thought about picking up some beach wheels and use this to roll it away, then support one end of the hulls with some blocks and leave on the beach wheels. Any advice? I have a gravel driveway, so I don't want to just drop an end on the ground.
Is there anything else I should consider while replacing the rollers, such as doubling rollers or putting on hull cradles? What rollers or hull cradles? Or, if several good ones are available, which should I avoid?

Easiest if you have two people, but can be done solo.
Disconnect the shrouds and remove the mast from the boat/trailer.
Put down some heavy padding or even wood blocks to protect the hulls from gravel.
Chock the trailer tires so the trailer can not roll backwards.
Roll the boat off the trailer until only about a foot of the bow is resting on the rear rollers (you may need to have someone stand on the tongue to prevent it lifting).
Once the boat is almost all the way off, lift the tongue so the boat fully rests on the ground and walk the trailer forward.

sm

i used a "scissors" type car jack and some blocks of wood to lift one corner at a time. i switched out rollers to cradles. you don't have to lift much to be able to pull the pin and slide stuff out. certainly within the realm of normal sailing flex.

We park our H18 on the 'hard' in the dinghy area at our sail club, with the sterns resting on closed cell foam blocks, and the front resting on the cradles of the cat trax.
F18's use this method all the time.
The foam blocks generally have a bungee system (over the top of the hulls) to keep them in place while wheeling the boat around.
Once we are 'in place', we slide the cat trax forward for greater stability.
Then we tie down the boat in case of gusts.

On my old trailer, we used fixed cradles in front, and double rollers at the rear...helps spread the load.

good luck

_________________
2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

SRM - thanks for the walk-through. I hadn't thought about chocking the wheels or controlling the tongue.
I thought about the scissor jack idea, but it will be much easier to work without the boat above me.
What about double rollers vs hull cradles? I've heard some folks like the rollers in the back and cradles in the front? I found a DIY post about making double rollers that doesn't look too bad. Haven't seen them for sale anywhere.

Where did you get the double rollers and cradles?

Cradles for Cat Trax are on page 30 of the March 2016 Hobie Catalogue. Part # 1624, list price $219.

As I recall, about 8 years ago I either bought the cradles from Fogh Marine (local Hobie dealer) OR from Hobie 16 guru Karen-Ann Xavier of Toronto.
I cannot remember if the Cat Trax cradles had a square (not a round) space underneath, so that it would fit smoothly on the trailer cross bars.

On page 28 of the catalogue, I see that the Cat Trax cradles can be mounted on rollers (which makes sense).

_________________
2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

Definitely want cradles for the front, at a minimum. Cradles in back are nice, but make it slightly harder to get on and off the trailer.

Old car tyres will do wonders to protect the hulls from gravel - and they're cheap to come by.

_________________
information is not knowledge
Hobie 18 Formula, Hobie DuraGlide 10'10

Old tyres work well HOWEVER, they can scuff the hulls and it's annoying to scrub off the black marks.
Our SC no longer allows old tyres, they fill up with water where mosquitoes can breed, plus they are a pollution issue.
So I disguise the tyres I use.....and cut holes in the sidewalls so the rainwater does not pool.

_________________
2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

Whatever you do, spend the extra bucks and get urethane rollers. As mentioned earlier, black rollers leave really hard to remove marks. They're cheaper, but be sure to buy compound to remove the black marks or simply spend the extra $$ and get urethane


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this guy did a really nice job on his trailer. i used his plan for cradles and it worked well.
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=12641&hilit=cradle&start=30
after all the work, i don't know if they are cheaper than hobie stuff, but, from reading, i'm sure they are more durable.

Yeah, I thought I'd go with the polyurethane.
I just got a quote for making a double roller bracket to put inplace of the single rollers - $195 for a pair, w/o rollers. This seems a bit high, so I'll see if I can find someone else with a welder. Each bracket is 4 welds and four pieces of steel bar.

Thanks for that link. I like the idea of allowing some side play in the rollers to let them adjust to the position of the boat on the trailer.
Any issue with the cradles trapping moisture and grit?

moisture seems to evaporate okay. i used a very stiff plastic "astro turf" type carpet. it does not seem to hold grit. i can support the hull, remove the lock pin and pivot pin. the cradle drops out easily for cleaning if needed. i am near Milwaukee, wis. so shipping would be needed, but i would be happy to weld your brackets for you. i have a good supplier for stainless, and use stainless in spool gun for welding. otherwise, I can do CRS with paint or powder coat also.