Was on a single, but after 2 blowouts and the trouble caused upgraded and havent looked back. Not nice in 45deg C changing tyres between Karratha and Exxy in Summer!!!!!
gotta say I had a 5.5 metre alli on a tandem trailer, towed beautifully , and I used it at least 60% plus beach launching , never had any issues on the beach launches ,
dead finnish ,peppy , minninup beach, port Gregory, shark bay to name a few
tyre pressure and driving skill/experience in soft sand is the key for beach launches without issues
My only point Hezzy is that single axles will float better on sand and won't chew it up as much on the turn, Where I launch it's ultra soft and there's plenty that don't make it to the water lol. But you're right I've seen some huge units (duals ) launched off the beach at Gnaraloo, but they usually only back straight in and out.
iv towed into and onto some soft beaches, I always found if the sand was soft tyres go down even lower , with the cruiser & tandem it might be as low as 8lb , with the weight spread across all 8 tyres it let the trailer/boat float easily, & your right even big rigs can be launched like this
about 7 years ago I towed a trailer down onto contos beach , or some know it as boranup beach [not the north of Hamelin ] with low tyres it was easy as , mates in Brunswick diesels where getting stuck & frustrated , in the very soft stuff ,
sand is all about tyre pressure ime, not so important the tyres or no of them
once the boat is off &in the water then use the unweighted rig to drive back and forth to make a track &pack down the soft sand in preparation for your loading and leaving ,
old pro trick from salmon fishing days at inji and smiths beach
peter , yes mate i have deflated trailer tyres as well , i try not to first off
it all depends on the beach , low tide on the hard , id say no i dont , but if im on a soft beach but only a short distance to the water then i try to just do the cruiser tyres first, see how it pulls it
, if it starts to bog in then yes , id start to let them down on the trailer ,usually go to about 20lb to start , and cruiser down to same , if it still bogs in or makes hard work of it , id go down to say 10-15 lb on the cruiser first again and see how it handles it ,
it all depends on the softness of the sand &contour of the beach as well , i also usually only tow on the beach in 3rd gear low range , this seems to give me the best rev/speed range in soft sand without changing gears on the run , losing momentum as you change up and down , i just stick to one gear , 3rd,
once the boat is off the trailer ind in the water , i will go back and forth often over the same track back up off the beach to pack it down befeo we head out in the boat, it only takes five mins and can save trouble later on , ,doing this several times packs the sand down and reduces your rolling resistance once the boat weight is loaded back on when your leaving
i also try to revers in at an angle , not straight back in when launching and reloading the big boat , lowering the steepness of the angle seems to improve your not bogging in
once the boat is loaded i reverse back deeper into the water , just a half metre length then pull forward, this also helps to free up the trailer wheels before just going forward
others may do it differently , and theres lots of tips and tricks people use that work for them as well
iv run mud lugs for about 15 years now , tyre shop blokes reckon there not much chop in soft beach sand , , however i find the opposite , so i suppose a lot comes back to knowing your individual rigg and your own driving skill/experience
HI Guys, just for your interest we make sure that we slightly jack knife the trailer (about 45 deg) for when we retrieve so when you start to pull the trailer out it pops the tyres out of the sand and makes for an easy retrieval. We do a lot of beach retrievals and works a treat!
Hutch
Posts: 2221
Date Joined: 21/04/13
What a ripper of a boat,
What a ripper of a boat, looks great. can we Expect to see some reports soon?
Deleted
Posts: 6265
Date Joined: 26/04/14
nice looking ride champ, how
nice looking ride champ, how big is it and donk.
petermac
Posts: 2946
Date Joined: 03/03/10
i dont like it
the reason I don't like it is because it isn't mine enjoy mate
Tim
Posts: 2497
Date Joined: 26/09/06
Nice
Nice one Craig.
Bet your happy to be back in a boat.
Looks like a great rig too. What motors on it?
fishcrazy
Posts: 1235
Date Joined: 27/01/07
cruise craft
its a 550 0utsider with a 115 efi 4st merc cheers and yea tim imreal happy to have a boat again
Deleted
Posts: 6265
Date Joined: 26/04/14
ive got a 550 ali on a
ive got a 550 ali on a single axle is yours a bit big weight wise for a single, just curious as i think mine could do with a dual axle
fishcrazy
Posts: 1235
Date Joined: 27/01/07
weight
dunno seems ok tows prettty good dont think you would need tandem for 5.5 ali hey
sea-kem
Posts: 15008
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Stick with single axle if
Stick with single axle if you are ever considering beach launching.I had an old 18' Pacemaker on single axle, never had a problem.
Love the West!
Deleted
Posts: 6265
Date Joined: 26/04/14
yeah, cheers bud
yeah, cheers bud it will be a fair bit of beach launch
black gen
Posts: 762
Date Joined: 13/04/11
Ive got a 5.5ali on a dual
Ive got a 5.5ali on a dual axle
probly more so for when u load it up for long trips to spread the weight
also more then likely most would go for a dual axle as a preventative measure against blowouts.
nice tub tho mate
sure to have some great times ahead
crasny1
Posts: 7003
Date Joined: 16/10/08
Got a Traily 5.4
Was on a single, but after 2 blowouts and the trouble caused upgraded and havent looked back. Not nice in 45deg C changing tyres between Karratha and Exxy in Summer!!!!!
"I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact!!" _ Elon Musk
big john
Posts: 8756
Date Joined: 20/07/06
Awesome
Nice rig fishcrazy, look forward to seeing some blood on the decks this summer.
WA based manufacturer and supplier of premium leadhead jigs, fligs, bucktail jigs, 'bulletproof' soft plastic jig heads and XOS bullet jig heads.
Jigs available online in my web store!
sea-kem
Posts: 15008
Date Joined: 30/11/09
And meant to mention
And meant to mention fishcrazy, good looking tub! She looks like a nice soft ride.
Love the West!
meglodon
Posts: 5981
Date Joined: 17/06/10
So envious
Great looking boat, let the good times roll hey.
hezzy
Posts: 1521
Date Joined: 27/11/09
nice looking boat, gotta
nice looking boat,
gotta say I had a 5.5 metre alli on a tandem trailer, towed beautifully , and I used it at least 60% plus beach launching , never had any issues on the beach launches ,
dead finnish ,peppy , minninup beach, port Gregory, shark bay to name a few
tyre pressure and driving skill/experience in soft sand is the key for beach launches without issues
hezzy
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
sea-kem
Posts: 15008
Date Joined: 30/11/09
My only point Hezzy is that
My only point Hezzy is that single axles will float better on sand and won't chew it up as much on the turn, Where I launch it's ultra soft and there's plenty that don't make it to the water lol. But you're right I've seen some huge units (duals ) launched off the beach at Gnaraloo, but they usually only back straight in and out.
Love the West!
kirky79
Posts: 1354
Date Joined: 13/01/12
Looks great. Don't know if
Looks great. Don't know if it's the photo but it looks like a big 550. Love the look of the CC's. Bring on the fun!
hezzy
Posts: 1521
Date Joined: 27/11/09
seakem , iv towed into and
seakem ,
iv towed into and onto some soft beaches, I always found if the sand was soft tyres go down even lower , with the cruiser & tandem it might be as low as 8lb , with the weight spread across all 8 tyres it let the trailer/boat float easily, & your right even big rigs can be launched like this
about 7 years ago I towed a trailer down onto contos beach , or some know it as boranup beach [not the north of Hamelin ] with low tyres it was easy as , mates in Brunswick diesels where getting stuck & frustrated , in the very soft stuff ,
sand is all about tyre pressure ime, not so important the tyres or no of them
once the boat is off &in the water then use the unweighted rig to drive back and forth to make a track &pack down the soft sand in preparation for your loading and leaving ,
old pro trick from salmon fishing days at inji and smiths beach
hezzy
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
peterm8
Posts: 45
Date Joined: 25/10/13
Hezzy, do you deflate the
Hezzy, do you deflate the trailer tyres as well as the towing car? Its an annual debate we have at Shark Bay. Thanks Pete
Ambition and Ability - Don't confuse them!
sea-kem
Posts: 15008
Date Joined: 30/11/09
We do Pete, mine down to
We do Pete, mine down to 25psi, makes it float real nice. I launch from the front too. Sorry for the thread hijack Fishcrazy
Love the West!
hezzy
Posts: 1521
Date Joined: 27/11/09
peter , yes mate i have
peter , yes mate i have deflated trailer tyres as well , i try not to first off
it all depends on the beach , low tide on the hard , id say no i dont , but if im on a soft beach but only a short distance to the water then i try to just do the cruiser tyres first, see how it pulls it
, if it starts to bog in then yes , id start to let them down on the trailer ,usually go to about 20lb to start , and cruiser down to same , if it still bogs in or makes hard work of it , id go down to say 10-15 lb on the cruiser first again and see how it handles it ,
it all depends on the softness of the sand &contour of the beach as well , i also usually only tow on the beach in 3rd gear low range , this seems to give me the best rev/speed range in soft sand without changing gears on the run , losing momentum as you change up and down , i just stick to one gear , 3rd,
once the boat is off the trailer ind in the water , i will go back and forth often over the same track back up off the beach to pack it down befeo we head out in the boat, it only takes five mins and can save trouble later on , ,doing this several times packs the sand down and reduces your rolling resistance once the boat weight is loaded back on when your leaving
i also try to revers in at an angle , not straight back in when launching and reloading the big boat , lowering the steepness of the angle seems to improve your not bogging in
once the boat is loaded i reverse back deeper into the water , just a half metre length then pull forward, this also helps to free up the trailer wheels before just going forward
others may do it differently , and theres lots of tips and tricks people use that work for them as well
iv run mud lugs for about 15 years now , tyre shop blokes reckon there not much chop in soft beach sand , , however i find the opposite , so i suppose a lot comes back to knowing your individual rigg and your own driving skill/experience
hezzy
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
stephenm
Posts: 152
Date Joined: 03/04/13
HI Guys, just for your
HI Guys, just for your interest we make sure that we slightly jack knife the trailer (about 45 deg) for when we retrieve so when you start to pull the trailer out it pops the tyres out of the sand and makes for an easy retrieval. We do a lot of beach retrievals and works a treat!
cheers
Boydy
Posts: 623
Date Joined: 26/09/12
Agree
This makes a big difference, with releasing the suction you get from the sand and water acting on all tyres at once.
Scotte
Posts: 1145
Date Joined: 07/12/06
Congratulations Craig looks
Congratulations Craig looks unreal