Laser vs Sunfish Seitech dolly

The bow fitting is different. Seitech used to sell Sunfish bow fittings separately , but if they are still in business, they have become hard to deal with as LP owns them now. Maybe a Dynamic Dolly bow fitting would work.
 
If the dolly has an adjustable rubber V brace on the tongue, it should work. The V brace supports the forward part of the keel.

Does your hull have the aluminum trim edge or rolled flange? If you have the rolled flange then the bow fitting is nice, but on the aluminum trim boats we just use the rubber V brace on the tongue.

On the Seitech, check to make sure the tires are inflated and holding air. If the bead of the tire is off the rim, it may or may not be a chore, and hazardous, to get the tire reinflated.
 
Thanks guys.

Even with the rolled flange they do not always stay on the plastic in front. At least that is my findings.

As for the rims and tires.

I have been taking care of a bunch of them from our club and I hate them!!!!

Cracked tires from being outside all the years.
Low on air and they pop the bead. I have the stuff to put them back on at home. But then you miss a bit of dirt on the bead and they leak down. Even putting a bunch of slime in them does not alway seal them.

The most dangerous are the rims that are bleached white by the sun. Do not try to do anything with them. I have and had one pop off the edge of the plastic bead explosively and just miss my head. I stopped messing with trying to put tubes in and such. Depending on the surfaces it is just best to use the solid wheels. We have some solid wheels at the club and they just work.

At $200 for a dolly I figure it will work fine for my third sunfish. I just have to travel almost an hour to get it.
 
The person sent me a picture showing the distance is about 63" across at the belt supports for the laser dolly.

The Sunfish dolly is about 50" across.
 
The person sent me a picture showing the distance is about 63" across at the belt supports for the laser dolly.

The Sunfish dolly is about 50" across.
I’ve always had a Laser dolly with a Sunfish front piece. I think the balance fore and aft is a bit off but it has worked for me since 2001.
 
I got the laser dolly.

The distance from the axle to the angle upright is longer by like 8 inches or so. Also the angled upright tube is long by a few inches.

I have cut the end cap of the U so I can slide the plastic axle T bracket forward to get the correct distance from the bow to the axle. I just have to drill 2 holes for the bolts and I should be good to go.
 
Minor update,

Looking at the Seitech parts I see they make 2 kinds of T brackets. One with a cap and one without. So I cut the cap off the one it came with and measured the length of a sunfish main beam. If you ever need to convert a Laser to a sunfish you just need to move it 7.5" forward.
 
Shorefun, I also bought a used Laser Seitech dolly to haul my Sunfish and was hoping you could help me better understand what modifications you made to make it fit better. My issue is that the bow of the Sunfish doesn't really fit into this support bracket and the boat falls down every time I move it especially uphill. Is this what you changed? Thanks
iMarkup_20220702_194808.jpg
 
Eric, We'd suggest contacting Ben or Chris at Dynamic Dollies to confirm which parts would work with your dolly.
275 Highpoint Ave Portsmouth, RI 02871 P: 401-683-0427

Does your Sunfish have the aluminum deck edge trim (1960-1987) or the rolled flange (1988- ).

Here is a video with some dolly info, we either tie the bow handle to the dolly handle or use the tongue's V brace to support our boats.

 
Is your Sunfish an aluminum trimmed seam or the a rolled edge seam.

The original aluminum trimed seam boat are flat all around so there is nothing to have the bow set into. The handle part is different between the laser and the sunfish and you can buy one from Dynamic (Seitech seems to be out of production).

Honestly, all the none rolled trim boats just make a few loops between the bow handle and the dolly handle and it stays in place. I do like 4-5 passes where I loop around the right handle then run a loop through the bow handle and then over the left handle. A bit of a tie off and the bow stays in place.

 
It's a 1971 boat with aluminum trim and, like you said, it just falls off the handle part no matter how tightly I tie it off. I'll call Dynamic and see what parts they can offer.

Thanks very much
 
KISS Principle may apply, we've tried both ways and now find it easier and faster to rest the keel on the nylon V Fitting on the tongue. This also keeps the stern and gudgeon higher off the ground when walking around. Water won't drain out the bailer this way, but I'm not sure if it does when the bow is up on the bow cup either. We'll play with that today.

6C84E628-9A43-45B8-AAB6-63D857B125B9.jpeg


FWIW the V Fitting is made of santoprene, lighter than rubber and non-marring. Adjustable fore and aft with bolt and wing nut.

V-Fitting Santoprene.jpeg


If we find the the Dynamic Dolly Handle Fitting HF3 fits the Seitech bow tube and one is ordered, the Edge Trim for the HF3 may also need to be ordered separate.

HF3-Handle-Fitting-Edge-Trim.jpeg


Edge-Trim-for-HF3.jpeg
 
Resting it in the V fitting sounds like a great option too. I also wouldn't have to worry about it falling on the pavement when pushing it to the boat ramp. Do you find the boat stays on the dolly when it is resting just on the V fitting going up and down steep inclines? The pond I use mine on has a couple of big hills to get to the water.

Thanks. You've been really helpful.
 
I don't know about steep inclines but the boat stays in place bumping over tree roots and sand hills, and going up and down the trailer ramp. I'd suggest putting a small painter on the bow handle and securing the bow to the dolly frame elbow.

E011C2B4-D529-4FA5-9E0E-269AB2EDB461.jpeg
 
It's a 1971 boat with aluminum trim and, like you said, it just falls off the handle part no matter how tightly I tie it off. I'll call Dynamic and see what parts they can offer.

Thanks very much

We have a 2008 Sunfish (rolled edge) on a Dynamic Sunfish dolly. And I just purchased a used Laser Seitech dolly for our second 1976 Sunfish (aluminum trim edge). Like you have discovered it will not stay on the Laser handle bracket (Seitech P01) while rolling. I tied it very tight and it somewhat stays. I am going to try it like Signal Charlie suggested.

I was curious how it would work with the Sunfish handle fitting (Dynamic HF3) and it is only slightly better. Since it is made for the rolled edge newer Sunfish there is nothing for the older aluminum trim edged to hold on to. The HF3 supports it better while rested, but doesn’t provide enough orfa benefit for me to purchase. I’ll test it more over time and may later.
 
Ah, ok, that's unfortunate. I chatted with Chris at Dynamic yesterday and he steered me toward buying the Sunfish handle fitting (Dynamic HF3) with the edge trim rather than the keel V support which I did. I'll test more as well when I receive the part.

Thanks for your response.
 
Ah, ok, that's unfortunate. I chatted with Chris at Dynamic yesterday and he steered me toward buying the Sunfish handle fitting (Dynamic HF3) with the edge trim rather than the keel V support which I did. I'll test more as well when I receive the part.

Thanks for your response.
The HF3 fits the shape of all Sunfish, so it will provide better support that the laser handle fitting that has a larger radius. The older Sunfish do not have the notch for the fitting to fit in, so the older boats do not hold well on it while moving. I look forward to hearing how it works for you. I will be using my new to me laser dolly for awhile and reevaluate.
 
I think it's mentioned above, but the folks at Dynamic informed me that the Dynamic HF3 handle fitting will indeed fit on the Seitech dolly, and the trim piece needs to be purchased separately. The trim piece is a little more like rubber, so it offers a small bit more of grip on the aluminum trim bow than the harder material used in the HF3 bow handle fitting.
 
I replaced the handle fitting on my Dynamic Dolly for a Laser with a new HF3 handle fitting designed for a Sunfish. I also bought the plastic trim piece. It definitely supports the boat better but not as well as I had hoped. You still have to really tie down the bow with a piece of line to the handle fitting to keep it from falling. If I had to do it over, I would save the $36 and just keep the Laser fitting or rest the boat on the V keel fitting.
 
We played around with one of our boats, and noticed that a couple of the dollies had two V braces, one on the handle and one on the tongue. The boat rests pretty securely in the handle V brace.

E04B7A97-1528-487E-9CC9-561C4D377DD3.jpeg


20B9391E-C265-4812-8E9D-332817BF484D.jpeg
 
Called Chris at Dynamic Dollies, and I re-learned today that there are two different setups for the Dynamic Sunfish dolly, one dolly is for the Sunfish with metal edge trim, it comes with a V-Brace on the tongue to secure the keel and a V-Brace on the bow tube to secure the bow. The Dynamic Sunfish dolly for the 1988 and newer rolled edge Sunfish has a V-Brace on the tongue and a fitting on the bow tube that fits under the rolled edge. For those who have to bump over rocks, roots, small farm animals, etc... it helps to run a bow line from the bow handle to tie down the bow to the bow tube.

The non-gunwale hung dolly SKU is SKU: 10117
The rolled edge gunwale hung dolly SKU is SKU: 13003-1
 
Called Chris at Dynamic Dollies, and I re-learned today that there are two different setups for the Dynamic Sunfish dolly, one dolly is for the Sunfish with metal edge trim, it comes with a V-Brace on the tongue to secure the keel and a V-Brace on the bow tube to secure the bow. The Dynamic Sunfish dolly for the 1988 and newer rolled edge Sunfish has a V-Brace on the tongue and a fitting on the bow tube that fits under the rolled edge. For those who have to bump over rocks, roots, small farm animals, etc... it helps to run a bow line from the bow handle to tie down the bow to the bow tube.

The non-gunwale hung dolly SKU is SKU: 10117
The rolled edge gunwale hung dolly SKU is SKU: 13003-1
Thanks for this update. I am going to try with an extra V brace I have and see if it helps with a Sietech laser dolly I am using with my 1976 Sunfish.
 
Thanks guys.

Even with the rolled flange they do not always stay on the plastic in front. At least that is my findings.

As for the rims and tires.

I have been taking care of a bunch of them from our club and I hate them!!!!

Cracked tires from being outside all the years.
Low on air and they pop the bead. I have the stuff to put them back on at home. But then you miss a bit of dirt on the bead and they leak down. Even putting a bunch of slime in them does not alway seal them.

The most dangerous are the rims that are bleached white by the sun. Do not try to do anything with them. I have and had one pop off the edge of the plastic bead explosively and just miss my head. I stopped messing with trying to put tubes in and such. Depending on the surfaces it is just best to use the solid wheels. We have some solid wheels at the club and they just work.

At $200 for a dolly I figure it will work fine for my third sunfish. I just have to travel almost an hour to get it.
Please let me know your source for $200 Dollies!
 

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