Folding beach dolly

SGT Sailor

New Member
Well here it is. I just finished my workup of a folding beach dolly for my sunish. The only dollies around Okinawa are of the kayak flavor and not nearly strong enough for the added weight of a sunfish. I did use one for some time launching from a boat ramp at the nearby marina but i wanted to use the beach next to my apartment as it doesn't close after 1800 and all day Tuesday. I will hopefully get a test in tomorrow and will report on its ability to forge a path through the coarse coral sands of Baba Beach. Wish me luck.

p.s. I bought all the metal and fittings from a DIY store. I used aluminum tubing and steel L and T framing braces for fittings. I recommend sealing all joints with silicone to keep galvanic corrosion down.
 

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Its a '69 model. I just finished restoring it. I also updated to the late model hardware. I'm not sure just how long the boat has been on the island. The guy I bought it from got it from a marine and I don't know before that. No hull number just a barely readable serial number on a metal plate forward of the centerboard trunk. All the clues point towards a 69.
 
Here she is on the beach. I did have to add a strap from the bow handle to keep the boat from sliding off the dolly when pulling it through the sand.
 

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Awesome job on the restoration, nice looking dolly too.

And thanks for serving

SEMPER FIsh :)

R/S
Kent B. Lewis
Capt USMC (Ret)
 
Thank you Signal Charley. Semper Fish, lol. Actually it would be something like "Air Fish" or "SOG, Sunfish Operations Group".
 
No real plans to speak of. I just kinda started cutting and drilling and came up with this. I had a picture in my head of what it should look like. I will try to take some pics of the individual parts this weekend while the urethane is drying on my new daggerboard.
 
Thank you. Did you get the wheels from Harbor Freight? How big are they? I will appreciate any specifics/measurements. Thank you!
 
OK. The wheels came from Makeman. Its a local DIY store on Okinawa. They where originally for a small wheelbarrow. So they had a bearing and threaded Axel. The square tube is extruded aluminum 300mm. I think its 2mm thick. The braces are galvanized steel. And its all held together with self tapping stainless sheet metal screws. So I just held the brackets down and drilled them in. Very quick prototype. It works pretty good and doesn't take up too much space on the deck. I launch at a public beach and don't care to leave my beach dolly on shore. I don't think it would turn up missing as there is like zero crime in Japan. I'm more worried about some kid getting hurt on it.
 
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OK. The wheels came from Makeman. Its a local DIY store on Okinawa. They where originally for a small wheelbarrow. So they had a bearing and threaded Axel. The square tube is extruded aluminum 300mm. I think its 2mm thick. The braces are galvanized steel. And its all held together with self tapping stainless sheet metal screws. So I just held the brackets down and drilled them in. Very quick prototype. It works pretty good and doesn't take up too much space on the deck. I launch at a public beach and don't care to leave my beach dolly on shore. I don't think it would turn up missing as there is like zero crime in Japan. I'm more worried about some kid getting hurt on it.
Thank you! Did the tires work out OK on the sand?
 
It only sank in a little. The sand here is very coarse and most of it is broken coral pieces. I have been wanting to break the dolly down and get some good measurements but I've been busy. I just bought another boat. A 25ft masthead sloop. Big upgrade from the sunfish.
 
I wonder if two wheels together, and two more wheels on the other side would work better on the beach.
Congratulations on the new boat!
 
If you got wider tires to begin with it would work fine. The big thing is the Axel. It has to be split so the wheels will fold. I used a jam nut on the stock wheelbarrow Axel but you could also use a piece of all thread or a long bolt.
 
If you got wider tires to begin with it would work fine. The big thing is the Axel. It has to be split so the wheels will fold. I used a jam nut on the stock wheelbarrow Axel but you could also use a piece of all thread or a long bolt.
OK - so the axle is only about 3 or 4 inches long, x 2?
And the nut could be a Nylock?
 
OK - so the axle is only about 3 or 4 inches long, x 2?
And the nut could be a Nylock?
More like 4-6 inches. I fed the inboard side through the brace and put nuts on both sides. The outboard side has a nut and jam nut. It makes the axle stub stick out a little bit its all I had to work with at the time.
 

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