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PostPosted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 4:59 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2006 4:52 pm
Posts: 126
Location: South Florida (Coral Springs)
Here's my setup from an old post of my boat hoisted to the ceiling of my garage:
viewtopic.php?f=73&t=23018&p=100958#p100958

It's still basically the same, but I off loaded some of the equipment, even though I'm under the rated load of my hoister, to try to lighten the load since I'm on my 3rd Harken Hoister. Luckily there's a lifetime warranty. Here's what I now store on my wall. Everything else is on the hoister.

If I didn't feel the need to have my cars in the garage, I'd definitely go with a trailer.

Mirage drives, kayak carts, anchor, hiking stick, and life vests.
Image

The Mirage Drive are just laid across two shelving brackets.
Image


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 6:42 pm 
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Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:18 am
Posts: 3058
Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
Flaneur:
I see you have the c-tug cart with the sidewinders. As you know the beaches down here ar all very soft sand and I always have great difficulty dragging my TI across them. Does your c-tug work well, I see it has 300 lb capacity.
Bob


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 4:26 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2006 4:52 pm
Posts: 126
Location: South Florida (Coral Springs)
fusioneng wrote:
Flaneur:
I see you have the c-tug cart with the sidewinders. As you know the beaches down here ar all very soft sand and I always have great difficulty dragging my TI across them. Does your c-tug work well, I see it has 300 lb capacity.
Bob


I recently posted a review and video in the thread "Making the C-Tug Cart TI friendly." My advice - Don't waste your money.
http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=73&t=46391&start=45

Here's the video:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrwerIKvnfg[/youtube]


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 8:25 am 
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Joined: Sat Nov 30, 2013 1:12 am
Posts: 7
Dear Bob
I liked your idea about the polyurethane foam. Tried it but having trouble getting the foam to set inside a tube. Apparently it needs humidity from the air to harden. Any tips on how to achieve this when using a closed system like you suggest? Spraying it with water intermittently while the foam flows in perhaps?
Thanks a lot
Ed


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 9:37 am 
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Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:18 am
Posts: 3058
Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
Ed:
I just took the valve stem out and squirted the foam in. I then spun the tire to try and get the foam evenly distributed. I did my best to try and keep the opening open as the foam expanded out the opening. I let it sit overnight, then cleared the opening and pumped a little air in there a few times from time to time, leaving the valve out. After a couple days it seemed to be setup so I put the valve back in and added a little air. It all worked for a while (several outings), but then it started getting lumpy in a few spots if I didn't have enough air it. Eventually I got tired of messing with air filled tires (a big pain) so I went to the Hobie HD foam tires and never looked back, I love the HD tires.
I figured out that it's only 10% of the time that I launch on really soft sand beaches, 90% of the time the hard HD tires work just fine, plus the boat rolls easier on hard surfaces with the HD wheels.
Last year I built a trailer for my TI and have not used the scupper cart since. My trailer is two pieces so I can use it as a trailer or a dolly cart to pull the entire boat down to the beach by hand.
Sometimes when we go down to Key West I leave the trailer at home and car top our TI, we typically launch at Higgs beach down in Key West (soft white sand). What I do is roll the boat all by itself down to the water on the scupper cart, then carry separately the AMA's, and sails then assemble the boat at waters edge. I just find it too difficult to haul a fully loaded TI with a scupper cart (Even with Hobies special cart attachment), it's just too much weight for me to pull (about 200lbs +), the Hull alone is around 100 lbs, 'huge difference'.
I have given up completely trying to haul around a fully loaded TI, except on my trailer which I use 90% of the time.
With the trailer it's especially nice because I don't break anything down on the boat, All the seats, motor, anchor system, sails, AMA's, etc just stay on the boat all the time with the boat stored in the garage (on the trailer). When I'm done sailing I just pull in to shore, fold the tramps (the most time consuming task), drop the jib (using the halyard line), then just lay the jib and spinnaker in the boat with all the rigging still attached. I pull the mainsail down and lay it on the boat. I then just pull the entire boat onto the trailer, I have a winch, and usually use it to winch the boat onto the trailer (just like powerboats do), especially when I'm totally exhausted from sailing all day. I then fold the AMA's in, strap the boat down, and I'm on the road, very fast and efficient. When I get home I just rinse the boat and motor off, and put it all away in the garage, ready for the next time.
When we car top the TI it's a whole nother story, breaking the boat down completely and taking everything off and storing it all in the back of the car, is a royal pain in the butt for me. Then storing everything for the boat in 5 or 6 different places in the garage is a pain, also just the boat alone (without the trailer) takes up an entire parking space in the garage no matter how you store it (it has to be at an angle in our garage, because it's too long).
The best investment I ever made was buying that $140 dollar harbor freight trailer.

Here is the TI on the trailer ready to go out.
Image

Here is the back half of the two piece trailer (that can be used as a beach cart by detaching the two 1" aluminum tubes that just clip to the frame.
Image

Here is the front half of the trailer (which would stay with the car, or break down and stuff into the back of the car.
Image

Here is a shot of the whole trailer. The extra aluminum and fittings cost me another $150 dollars or so, I got everything at Lowes or Home Depot, and it took a weekend of my time to build. I'm sure some of the steel framing will need to be replaced with aluminum once it rusts out (another $100 of aluminum), but it's been going strong for about a year now with no issues (every weekend I'm out with it)
Image

I made my spray skirts so they fold over the bow and hold all the sails and rigging down on the highway, works really well.

The way I figure things, by the time you get a cart big enough to haul a fully rigged TI around, it gets too large to bring along in the boat anyway (like the big Hobie cart that's like a Cat Trax for example), so why not just make my trailer in two pieces and do the same thing (work as both a trailer and a beach cart), a lot cheaper as well. I leave the back half of the trailer at beachside just like they do with the regular Cat Trax trailers for the regular Hobie Cats, theirs usually at least a half dozen of them just sitting on the beach where I typically launch next to Sarasota Sailing Squadron. If I had the big Hobie cart, that's what I would be doing anyway.
Hope this gives you some ideas
Bob


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 3:59 pm 
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Joined: Sat Nov 30, 2013 1:12 am
Posts: 7
Thanks Bob, you have a great trailer setup. I was referring in my question to your idea of using foam-filled plastic bags/sleeves for cradles under the boat, earlier in this forum. I should have explained myself better... You seem to refer to a foam filled tire for the cart?
Cheers
Ed


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 02, 2014 8:05 am 
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Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:18 am
Posts: 3058
Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
Ed:
My mistake, yes I was thinking you were asking about filling the air filled trax II tires with foam (which only worked marginally).
After reading back now I remember what we talked about. You might have to put slits on the bottom side of the tube to allow air to get inside. Actually that foam sticks to pretty much anything, so the foam oozing out the slits might help hold the tube down to the board. The slits would also be a good way to shoot the foam in. I think what I would try to do is get the tube, cut small slits on the underside about every 6 inches apart, reach into the slit with a staple gun and staple the rubber down to the wood. (one or two staples on each side of the slit). I would then shoot the foam from a tube into all the slits. Before the foam sets up, you place the boat onto the tube, and let it sit overnight. Once the foam is dry the excess foam can be peeled away easily.
Another possibility would be to use canvas (like the Hobie sail bags I mentioned earlier instead of vinyl tubing).
Actually if your just attaching to a board, you don't need a tube at all. Just staple some either fabric or rubber over a piece of 2" PVC tubing, staple down each side the whole length every inch or so. Leave one end open so you can retract the PVC tube. What I would do then is shoot the foam through a long piece of tubing down to the opposite end of the PVC, then just keep squirting as you are retracting the PVC pipe slowly (allowing the foam to expand as you retract), this will fill the sock evenly all the way across. Before the foam sets up hard, place the boat on there and let it all sit overnight.
Another method might be to pre-drill holes into the underside of the board every 3-4 inches apart, then as you retract the 2 inch PVC pipe you just squirt into the holes from the underside (probably would be cleaner, and the holes filled with foam would help get air in there for curing.
I've used that urethane foam on lots of projects, and just thought it would work nice to make a cradle.
Here is another suggestion that you could try. I work in manufacturing and have used foam filled bags for packaging machinery and stuff for shipment. Basically you buy the bag which already has the two part urethane in the bag in two separate pouches. You break the seal between the two liquids and mix them by massaging the bag, you then place the bag into the box and the foam begins to expand and fills all the space around the equipment. This is a two part exo-thermal urethane (doesn't need air to cure).
Actually if you buy two part exo-thermal urethane foam for the project it will work a lot more reliably than the canned crap you get at the hardware store (it's not much more expensive, but works much better). You can probably get the foam at places like West Marine or any marine supply (it's used for flotation in hulls).
You can also get fancy and get the two part urethane that mixes in a disposable mixing nozzle (it's a lot cleaner).
Hope this helps
Bob


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 02, 2014 3:19 pm 
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Joined: Sat Nov 30, 2013 1:12 am
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Thanks Bob, great advice as usual. I have for months now been trying different storage arrangements for the TI, and the boat keeps getting distortion in the trailer contact points. I suspect that even with cradles it will do the same. I may in fact try to put it upside down on my trailer, where it is supported by two 1 foot wide flat cushions (hard, supportive ones) about 5 feet apart, roughly in the middle of the boat. At present, even though those cushions act very much like cradles, there is serious bending happening at the leverage point next to the cushion, induced by the force of the straps tying the boat down to the trailer (esp the one I place in the front of the hull). I presume (and hope) it is harder to distort the top of the hull than the bottom. Like in your case, my boat fills up the garage and has to be stored on the floor diagonally, so I prefer the trailer option.
Ed


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