Wide TI Dolly Blocked From Water Access

Well, I've encountered an unexpected issue when it comes to launching my 2015 TI.

I live near lots of public water access, protected by the Public Trust Doctrine here in NJ, but almost all of them have entrances that are blocked by fence posts intended to block people from backing in trailers and launching powered vehicles like Jet Skis which are prohibited.

The Hobie Tandem Island Cart with Beach Wheels is 66" wide.



The openings are all far more narrow than that, which means if I try to go through these I have to pull the wheels up to the fences, and then pull the boat off into the sand, move the dolly and then reload it - not fun.





I've reached out to my town council and they're looking into it, but, they are concerned that removing the posts would welcome back in folks launching motorized watercraft.

Any suggestions?

You may have to cook up something that allows the boat to stow on its side. Or... a narrow dolly that carries the hull sans amas, which you can load on top of the hull and assemble once you get to the beach.

I have the exact same problem at most florida beaches. What we do is remove the AMA's then carry them to the water separate. With just the hull, it's much easier to pull with just the Hobie HD cart for us. With the AMA's on the boat is too heavy for me.

Bob
I read some of your other posts about the HD cart and I'm wondering if you can check my thinking about using one.

When I take the TI out alone it isn't convenient to use my full size cart because I have to launch, remove the cart, tie the boat up which is difficult where I am launching, take the cart back to the trailer, move the trailer to a parking space then walk back to the unattended boat.

I'm thinking I could use the HD cart with Tuff Tires and insert it as I pull the boat off of the trailer in the rigging area of the boat ramp, rig the boat, then go park the trailer, launch the boat and remove the HD cart in the water and take it with me by stowing it in the scupper holes from the top side.

Are you using the recommended short cradle on top of the cart and does it just slip on/off the cart to be stowed separately?
Can you stow the cart in the scupper holes forward of the rear Mirage drive or would it protrude through the bottom of the hull or interfere with the Mirage drive or something else ?

I'm working on a simple third wheel for the bow that might make it easier to move the boat up/down the ramp by eliminating having to lift and pull at the same time. It could be used with either cart but the full size cart is just too large
to take on the boat so I'm thinking the HD cart would solve this problem when soloing.

Thanks

Chris

Reading all this confirms my decision from the outset to treat my TI as a boat, and launch and retrieve from the boat ramp (although I have also launched directly from a beach on a few occasions).

I rig the TI away from the ramp, so when I back down the ramp it just needs me to jump on board after parking the car and trailer. BTW, my trailer is galvanised steel, and is not showing any significant rust after three years of immersion (I just back down until the rear of the TI starts to float).

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

You're gonna have to put the Amas on top and use a narrower cart.

Would you consider something like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEfY_rXS-to&sns=em

http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=34323&hilit=Ultimate+kayak+cart

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Chris:
That's what I sometimes do if I can't get my trailer near the beach. Almost all the beaches around here and Key West are blocked off that way. What I do is remove the AMA's and carry them down to the water separately (one in each hand). I then slide the boat back off the trailer partially and slip the HD cart in, If I'm roof topping, I pull the boat off the car, then tip it on it's side and slip the cart in ( yes the side of my boat gets a little scratched up, but I don't care about that). We have sugar soft white sand around here, and I't near impossible for me to pull my TI with the AMA's on (it's simply too heavy for me), but without the AMA's on the boat is no more difficult to walk with than Our Oasis was. I just leave the AKA bars on and folded back usually, they seem to take care of themselves, but even if I did take them off, they just click in quickly.
It's probably a good to use that short cradle thing especially when trying to move the boat with the AMA's on, I have a cradle thing that I designed and built long before Hobie came out with theirs, the designs are very similar. Sometimes (depending on the beach) I remove the cart at the beach sometimes by just tilting the boat on it's side before putting the AMA's on, or sometimes I take the boat out to waste deep water then remove it. I just slip the scupper cart in upside down in the rear scupper holes (usually on top of an extra life jacket so the posts don't stick out the bottom of the hull). When I come back in I sometimes remove the scupper cart in waste deep water, then drag the boat ashore and remove the AMA's, ans sometimes just pull the boat on shore, remove the AMA's, then tilt the boat on it's side to put the scupper cart back in (all depending on the type of beach of course). Also sometimes I just unhook the trailer from the car, slide the boat back on the trailer so it's balanced on the wheels, then strap it down, then walk the entire trailer down to the water to launch, this also works well, but only when the area doesn't have those stupid poles all over the place. I highly recommend the HD cart over any of the others, because it's extremely durable and rolls the easiest of all the carts. I have had several carts with the big grey air filled tires, and they just didn't hold up for me.
When I pull the boat onto the trailer I just pull it partially onto the trailer then drop the scupper cart, then pull the boat on the rest of the way. After the boat is on the trailer, I put the AMA's back on, mostly just because the boat is just too heavy for me with the AMA's on.
That's what I have and use.
Bob

Thanks, it sounds like that will work for me too.

Chris

I've found the Trax cart to be the strongest of the Hobie carts as it has a solid axle. It is more versatile than the HD cart because you can use the HD wheels as well as the balloon wheels, so you can have all terrains covered. The balloon wheels do no fit on the HD cart as the axle is not long enough. The balloon wheels now on the Trax carts are much improved from the earlier Trax1 versions and I've not had any problems using them with my TI.
I've had similar access problems which is why I never considered the huge Hobie dolly cart.
Over the years I have modified a number of carts to suit the launch conditions:


If the terrain is firm the C-Tug cart works well but if you have to traverse any soft sand then balloon wheels are the only way to go.

More info here: viewtopic.php?f=73&t=52782

If you already have the HD cart and you have to traverse sand then you may find slaughter's mod useful found here
viewtopic.php?f=69&t=50774

Need to be VERY careful hauling that heavy a boat on any scupper cart. Be advised, if you force it over a rough patch or through deep sand, you will rip your beloved TI a new one.

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Around here the sand is very soft and fine, observing other kayak owners on non Hobie kayaks (mostly fishermen) most are not using any scupper carts at all. Most just drag their boat off the sand, and across a large grass area (where Many of us usually launch from) then load the boats into the back of their pickup or throw them on their roof.
Just an observation on my part
Bob

Agreed, that's why Hobie came up with the TI scupper cart cradle. I did use just the Trax2 scupper cart by itself for about a year with the TI before I got the cradle and never had any problems, even on such a difficult access as this:

(Actually the access was easy ...it was the egress that killed! )
Others though have had problems:
viewtopic.php?f=71&t=33601

Over such a short distance, as seen in Prindle's pics above, I think FE Bob's dragging suggestion would work OK. If you do choose to drag then adding an extra bow handle helps a lot. It's a must do mod IMHO!

That hill would rip ME a new one.

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Thanks guys, I didn't realize how much has previously been done on the cart topic.
If I had searched .....

But one of the first things I put on my boat was the extra bow handle, it's really helpful

I have a spare full size cradle and some stainless tube left over from building my full size cart so it makes sense to build rather than buy a narrower cart. I can also use the wheels from the big cart on it so in the end it will save me a lot of money.

Stay tuned for my third wheel R&D project

Thanks

Chris

After debating about whether to make my own scupper cart I purchased a Hobie HD cart and cradle so I could get on the water with it sooner. I used it for the first time yesterday and found that the Wheeleez 26 wheels are very spongy and have a pretty large flat spot when my unrigged TI is on the cart. This makes it much more difficult to push/pull.
I just happen to have a pair of the same tires on another cart I built for a Revo 13 and purchased tires directly from wheeleez. There's a big difference in the softness of the two sets of tires. I can easily compress the sidewalls of the tires on the HD cart and after removing a tire from the cart I can easily compress it against the ground much more than I can with my other tires.
I'm taking the cart back to Austin Kayak to see if they have a better pair of tires but wanted to post this in case others end up with tire problems and don't have anything for comparison. I'm guessing there's an issue with the foam fill, maybe incomplete or not mixed properly.

Chris