I hope you like my little invention for getting some wheels under your TI or AI. I've been using this design for over a year now and it works just great. It's light, it stores easy, it uses interchangeable wheel sets, it'll go over rough stuff, and there's no chance of punching a hole in your hull with it.
Getting wheels under you with this gizmo is an easy two step process, even in shallow water!
- Put the rudder through the cradle and loosely fit the cradle on the stern of the boat.
- Ropes with snap hooks secure the cart to the hull utilizing the rear scupper/cart holes. You thread the top cradle line (with a loop tied at the end) down through the cart hole and under the boat to hook it to a snap hook on a short length of rope coming from the lower cradle. Repeat for other cradle line, and you Got Wheels!
The basic theory; a receiver for the Hobie plug in cart using the strength of the stern to stabilze and support the cradle. There's no hull stress points to speak of, the stern is very solid.
The parts: a pvc cradle and a plug in cart (ropes not shown):
Cart inserted, shown ready to go (with ropes).
Rigged:
In this version (snap hook to loop connection) you can leave the cradle attached to the boat and just slide out the wheels while you're cartopping. Makes a dismount super fast- slide in the cart and roll 'er off.
Note the pvc Ts pinching the keel, this keeps the boat fairly stable in the cradle
On my AI:
And on my TI too!
(note: in this photo the lines are connected to the axle of the cart. I like this version too, it's faster to hook up. May not work on newer boats with reinforced cart holes - my '12 AI won't allow the snap hook down the hole)
This design has been working just great for me whether it's getting the boat off my truck, launching, or just moving it around. I hope it works for you too.
-jb24601
Build One
The cradle is made of 1 inch pvc and should use any Hobie plug in cart. Start your cart by using the width of the cart to set your "uprights". (It'll be about 14" w from T end to end and about 12 top to bottom). If you make this tight, the cart will stay in the pvc by friction alone (but I tape mine just because).
The cradle will not fit tight because the sterns are kinda oval and the cradle is square. You make it snug by hot-gluing foam to the pvc to take out rotational slop. Cut the pvc "pincers" that hold the stern keel so that the stern is properly pinched . This is the feature that stops the cradle from rotating along with foam.
I've found it'll "flip" fore and aft as you drag it around depending on how snug the cradle is and the force against it. It's never come off, even when sailing with it (accident I swear).
Note: A fully rigged AI is fairly easy to move with this cradle; a rigged TI not so much- it's pretty heavy. Please be careful and think before you lift.
(sorry about the tiny pictures.. I don't know what happened, they're all the same size. computers confuse me, that's why I sail).
