Plastic Dinghy Trolleys

   Someone at my club has a trolley for their laser made of plastic piping. Works a treat and weighs about 3Kg instead of 24Kg. Before I try and construct my own has anyone any idea where plastic trolleys can be bought or even have one to sell. It is the bit that the boat rests on that I really need. 

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Fundoctor Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 30 Sep 06 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 7	Post Options Post Reply Quote Fundoctor Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Plastic Dinghy Trolleys Posted: 04 Oct 06 at 5:30pm
	Someone at my club has a trolley for their laser made of plastic piping. Works a treat and weighs about 3Kg instead of 24Kg. Before I try and construct my own has anyone any idea where plastic trolleys can be bought or even have one to sell. It is the bit that the boat rests on that I really need.

rich96 Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 20 Jan 05 Online Status: Offline Posts: 596	Post Options Post Reply Quote rich96 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 04 Oct 06 at 5:49pm
	The original Laser plastic trolleys were indeed light - but awful in every other way ! They were so low that you always seemed to scrape the bottom of the transom on the ground.The main support dug into the sand and, as you needed to keep the bow near the floor to stop the transom scraping, you did your back in wheeling it around. Otherwise they were great ! I'm sure that they have stopped procuction and hopefully burnt the plans !

Guest Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 21 May 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote Guest Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 04 Oct 06 at 5:53pm
	Not as bad as the origional Topper trollies ...

Worthy Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 07 Dec 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 511	Post Options Post Reply Quote Worthy Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 04 Oct 06 at 6:12pm
	When I was a lad we got the plastic from a plumbing shop when making trollies for Oppies

Ian99 Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Posting king Joined: 07 Apr 05 Online Status: Offline Posts: 138	Post Options Post Reply Quote Ian99 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 04 Oct 06 at 7:08pm
	To make the cradle for the boat, the easiest way is to use the boat as a mould and build it out of fibreglass. Cover the boat with a load of parcel tape in the area you're using as the mould, put some epoxy on top of the tape with a paintbrush, lay on some glass, paint on some more epoxy, then more glass and carry on until you've got 3 or 4 layers of glass. Once the whole lot's cured, by peeling off the parcel tape you should be able to separate your newly made cradle from the boat, glass on a few bits of wood where you need to attach support points and attach it to your trolley frame. Glue some cheap doormats (the rubber ribbed variety) onto the boat side of the cradle and as if by magic you have a trolley! For the frame, if you want a light trolley, try to find some broken masts/booms and use those - much better than plastic. One warning though - don't use too much epoxy, and make sure that you've completely covered the area where the epoxy goes in parcel tape, otherwise you might end up with a load of glass cloth stuck to the underside of your boat and no easy means of getting it off

Xpletive Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Far too distracted from work Joined: 28 Jan 06 Online Status: Offline Posts: 320	Post Options Post Reply Quote Xpletive Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 04 Oct 06 at 8:23pm
	The plastic Laser trolley was made for them by MoveVirgo Ltd www.movevirgo.co.uk. Although the website doesn't mention it, they can still supply bits, particularly the tubing. I found them very helpful when I dealt with them a couple of years ago. (Throughout 18yrs of Laser sailing, I've found the plastic trolley is far easier to use than a metal one)

Fundoctor Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 30 Sep 06 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 7	Post Options Post Reply Quote Fundoctor Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 04 Oct 06 at 9:09pm
	Ian99 and Xpletive - thanks for those leads. Which do you think would be easier on back of back-disabled dinghy person - plastic trolley or metal one with high handles at front and jockey wheel?

redback Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 16 Mar 04 Location: Tunbridge Wells Online Status: Offline Posts: 1502	Post Options Post Reply Quote redback Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 04 Oct 06 at 10:50pm
	Those plastic trolleys were great for car topping a Laser. Light meant it was possible to singlehanded put it on top of the boat on a roof rack. Being low you could launch the boat in very shallow water which is a great help when single handed because it means the shore is not so far away which is quite important when you want to leave the trolley on dry land whilst you have the boat on the wet. I may have an old if battered cradle round the back of the shed. It's yours if you care to collect it - I live near Tunbridge Wells. Let me check first.

Philsy Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Far too distracted from work Joined: 12 Sep 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 344	Post Options Post Reply Quote Philsy Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 05 Oct 06 at 8:37am
	When I was young I made a Minisail trolley out of plastic drain pipe and a pair of standard dinghy trolley wheels. The cradle was wood with polystyrene sections to give it shape - worked superbly. Phil Edited by Philsy

Fundoctor Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 30 Sep 06 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 7	Post Options Post Reply Quote Fundoctor Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 05 Oct 06 at 8:50am
	Redback - TW a bit too much of a trek from Bristol but thanks for the offer++ :-) I am interested in the challenge of making my own out of FG