How to Carry Dolly with a Kitty Hawk Trailer?

Mawill

New Member
Hello,

I just got a Kitty Hawk trailer and it is great. I know that i can use it as a dolly to lauch with, but I would prefer to keep it out of the Salt water, and the tires are not great on sand (they are narrow and sink in easily)

So - after searching the site, I was not able to find anything about how to transport my Dolly on the trailer. The Kitty hawk is a trailer that carries the boat right side up, resting on the gunnels. I have tried a few things like putting it upside down, but it is all a bit precarious.

Is there anyone out there that has solved this? I am sure with enough tinkering, I can figure something out, but I'd rather go sailing than tinker - so any ideas/suggestions out there?

Thanks
matt
 
Hi Folks,

I tow an ol' shoreline trailer. It's just a bit more robust than the kitty hawk. At any rate, just turn your dolly upside down on top of your laser's deck. I like to have the handles at the bow and the wheels across the cockpit. Strap it to your trailer around the bow and at the wheels of the dolly.

I do another thing. I don't want the dolly handle facing down scratching around my deck, so I undo the section with the handle and turn it right side up. So my strap is facing down across the desk and the handles are facing up. If you want to further protect your deck then put a PFD on the deck between the dolly and whatever points may rub.

That has worked for many miles on my trailer.

Cheers,

Nate Owens
District 12
 
Nate,

Thanks for your suggestion. I have been plying around with this configuration, but I kepp running into the issue that the Dolly is the same width as the boat at that point Or do you slide it back a bit? I suppose I could add some Eye Bolts to the Trailer, but as you suggest, it is pretty lightweight (I have a really small car - so weight was a consideration - at least according to the dealer)

I like the idea of reversing the bow section. I will give that a go and see how I make out.

Thanks,

Matt
 
Yeap. I slide the dolly back so that it has some overhang. Then I tie it down.

Keep the pointy side up,
Nate Owens
District 12
 
Taking the dolly apart and putting it in the car is another (15 min) option. And yes, I have seen people do that.
 
I find that the dolly fits better on top of the deck of the boat if I put it upside down but with the handle at the stern. In fact the handle hangs down behind the transom. My boat cover (from Colie) even has a convenient loop at the stern to which I can tie the front of the dolly. A couple of bungie cords from the cross member of the dolly to the trailer and it's perfectly secure.
 
I find that the dolly fits better on top of the deck of the boat if I put it upside down but with the handle at the stern. In fact the handle hangs down behind the transom. My boat cover (from Colie) even has a convenient loop at the stern to which I can tie the front of the dolly. A couple of bungie cords from the cross member of the dolly to the trailer and it's perfectly secure.


This is exactly how I do it except I use short piece of rope rather than bunge and it works perfectly.
 
With the handle hanging over the transom and the straps secured with bungees, you can also secure it by lying a line from the longitudinal brace to the mainsheet block. I protect the deck/cover with small old towels where the dolly touches.
 
I carry mine on tpo of the boat but with the front supported just above the boat's bow by a T piece on a bowpost extension and two rolled pads each side at the dolly wheel-axel position. The rolled pads are attached with flat bungee straps wound around each pad and back to the dolly frame. Most importantly the rolled pads bear only on the outer deck where it is super strong. A simple looped line (with plastic hose over it where it rubs on the gunnel) is looped over the axel wach side and down around the trailer frame - and tied with a couple of hitches. I have a triangular planform dolly with a padded axel so it is ideal to use this to tie the spars to abive deck while travelling.

If your trailer has a bow post that you can ad a short section of gal tube with a welded cross piece ( + ) to support the bow end of the dolly just clear of the boat's deck. The tube uses an inner tube to slot into the top of the trailer bow post (like a windsurfer mast extension or in fact the way the topmast slots into the bottom mast on a Laser.)

Make two pads by wrapping cut lengths of camping matress foam around wooden blocks. The wooden bolcks as a core so compression set doesn't let the dolly eventually touch the innals of the cockpit over time. I covered these with nylon sleeeping bag material that won't abraid or hold grit.
 
Thank you for all your helpful hints.

I will give all of them a shot this weekend and see what works for me and post back with my tales of adventure.

Thanks again.

Matt
 
Taking the dolly apart and putting it in the car is another (15 min) option. And yes, I have seen people do that.

Quite agree - I could do that - but trying to keep the rigging time to a minimum - so for me, this is last resort.

Thanks
Matt
 
I find that the dolly fits better on top of the deck of the boat if I put it upside down but with the handle at the stern. In fact the handle hangs down behind the transom. My boat cover (from Colie) even has a convenient loop at the stern to which I can tie the front of the dolly. A couple of bungie cords from the cross member of the dolly to the trailer and it's perfectly secure.
Never thought of that approach - had always assumed that the strap would be too long and it would hang down to far on either side of the Bow. I will give this one a shot - sounds promising.

Thanks
matt
 

Back
Top