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 Post subject: Making cat trax cradles.
PostPosted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 3:52 pm 
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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.
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I ended up finding a 2 foot long drainage pipe with an inside diameter of 12 inches to start the project with.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Image 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.
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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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Redlands California
2005 Hobie 16 with 2010 euro national sails.
1981 Hobie 16 cat fever


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 4:05 pm 
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Smarty pantz!! That looks pretty good.

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Matt Miller
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Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 8:10 pm 
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Location: Satellite Beach, FL
Good thinking! I've been wanting to do this with regular pvc but I never could figure out how to make the bolts flush. Your idea with corrugated pipe fixes that problem!

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 5:34 pm 
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Thanks Matt took a few night of laying in bed wide eyed before I came up with the plan. LOL
Yea Zach I originally thought that same. Then I came across this pipe and starting thinking. It works great because it gives it more surface area around the axle and the space to bolt it down.

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Redlands California
2005 Hobie 16 with 2010 euro national sails.
1981 Hobie 16 cat fever


Last edited by Elkyjason on Tue Jun 03, 2014 10:34 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 10:51 am 
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Location: Sodus NY
I would love to make those cradles for my cat trax. It looks like the cradles were black in the first few pics and then white. Did you change pipe or paint it or something? Where did you get the pipe and what diameter is it? I would gladly pay shipping to get a couple pieces.

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Bill


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 6:41 pm 
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Jason, I'm making headway on mine. I kept having to cut bigger and bigger holes to make it work. Then it was a real pain to drop washers down and line them up with the u bolts. I think I have it figured out now. Image
My plan is to put a single bolt straight through the axle to stabilize the cradle and keep it from sliding off over time.

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PostPosted: Sun Aug 19, 2018 7:57 pm 
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Any way we can see those pics above? They are no longer available. Anyone have any good ideas on making homemade trax cradles?
Thanks,
Whitecap


Last edited by Whitecap1 on Mon Aug 20, 2018 6:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 3:50 am 
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 7:16 pm 
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Joined: Sun Jan 23, 2005 11:20 am
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Location: Sodus NY
The idea was using u bolts and 12” black plastic drain tile. You cut roughly 10-12” in length then cut in half to make two cradles. The inner surface is smooth. The u bolt nuts end up in the corrugations. Cut small holes in the smooth inner surface to tighten the nuts. Then cover inner surface with indoor outdoor carpet. Mine rotate a bit so I was thinking of putting the end caps back on and screwing to the cradles.


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