DIY Sunfish dolly to Seitech dimensions

Michael3

New Member
Can be done to this point with 2 10' 2x4s
I plan to add solid lawnmower wheels and a top strap
It's heavy but beats spending $400 in my opinion

Wheel beam 48"
Rear 45° risers holding the strap 14.5"
Making the top width 55"
Long beam 95"
Front handle riser on 45° 17"
Long-beam holder v-shape approximately 20 in from front
Wheel assembly are 10 in solid or 13 pneumatic
 

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Nice job. Fun to build and inexpensive. If you are near saltwater you'll need to spray those wheels with something to keep them from rusting away, maybe cold galvainzing compound, and keep them rinsed off. Ask me how I know.

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In our opinion we wouldn't spend $400 either, we'd spend $495, gladly :) but we know that is not always an option for everyone.

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Nice work on the build, good bracing, it should last a while. Thanks for posting the photos and let us know what you figure out for the axle.
 
Trash picked a beach cart with solid plastic wheels that were on a quarter inch steel axle. Drilled a slightly smaller hole through the stern rail and drove them in. Could be a little stronger but seems strong enough if I stand on it.
 

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The one problem with wood dollies is retrieving your boat. Since wood floats the dolly floats as high as the boat so I’ve seen it become a wrestling match between sailor, boat and dolly.
 
The one problem with wood dollies is retrieving your boat. Since wood floats the dolly floats as high as the boat so I’ve seen it become a wrestling match between sailor, boat and dolly.
I have that same problem with a metal dolly I built and used some sand tires that were a little too big.
 
My wooden dolly is the A-frame design and I put a cross brace around half way to the wheels. I step on that brace with one foot to sink it while I yank the bow handle forward to load. It works well, but the next time I build one, I will leave off the cradle strap and cut a shallow V in a 2x6 and carpet wrap for the cradle. I think the wooden design above will work on hard surface, but the small diameter beach cart wheels will sink in the sand. I had that problem with Haulmaster 10" wheels, but the 12" wheels were much better.
 
YMMV on cart wheels, some are only rated for 50 pounds. And if you go pneumatic, we recommend a tubed tire. The non tube tires like Seitech used to have will go flat eventually, and tube is one way to fix that, maybe. Has anyone here tried to replace a tube on an 8 inch wheel? It's a lot harder than a big bike wheel.

The Dynamic Dolly has hollow axle tubes so water does indeed flood in there, then drain when you pull the boat out. Scared me a few days, I pulled the boat and dolly up onto the beach and heard a lot of water draining and thought oh no, the boat was making that noise. Nope it was the dolly axle.

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PS we sell the Dynamic if anyone wants one, free shipping in CONUS. Send us a PM.
 
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I know this thread is old, but I thought I'd add a link to my youtube of how I converted an old Optimist dolly to fit my rescued Sunfish.
This site won't accept my URL link, but if you google "convert optimist dolly to sunfish dolly" I'd hope you would find it.dolly still .jpg
 
I built this daggerboard dolly over 30 years ago. Tip the boat on edge and stuff it in the slot. Two wheelbarrow wheels and a 1/2” dia X 36” galvanized axle. Scrap wood. Use the bow handle to maneuver. For me, the plus is that I can aim the stern first into my S10 bed with a plastic bed liner. Dolly fals out. Install the dolly from the top and use the bed cleats to tie around the dolly to hold the boat in. I’ve driven hundreds of miles this way. spars easily pack along side in the bed. At rest, the stern and drain plug are down.
 

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