Sunfish on a Kitty Hawk Laser trailer?

ewagman

Member
I have a Laser on a Kitty Hawk trailer. I would like to be able to also haul my Sunfish with the Kitty Hawk, without losing the ability to haul the Laser at other times. Anyone had any success or ideas to do this?
 
This trailer ?

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http://www.trailex.com/SUT-250L.cfm

SUT250L.jpg


 
Ahhh, thanks for the clarification.

I haven't worked with one of these, but it seems they ought to have (even if they don't yet) supports that would work for the post 1986, rolled gunwale Sunfish hull. That the supports would be swapable between Laser style and Sunfish style.

Could you make your own design to bridge Kitty Hawk's accomodation deficit?

.
 
I am looking for something better than my own design. Before the Laser I had a Laser 2 on a Kitty Hawk trailer. The Laser and Laser 2 are wider than the Sunfish, so the hull supports are at the wrong place. With my Laser 2 trailer, I hung seat belt webbing between the rear supports, but the weight of the Sunfish pulled the supports together, and the Sunfish bottom sat on the trailer axle. I then made a 2 x 6 board up to fit between the supports, pushing them apart, with slots for the spars to be captured in. The Laser 2 bow support on the Kitty Hawk was pointy like the Sunfish. The Laser support is rounded, and the Sunfish bow does not fit.

Hence the call for suggestions. Worse comes to worse, I may sell the Kitty Hawk and buy a Right On trailer, even though it is heavier, painted (it will eventually rust) and a bit longer than ideal for my storage area, and the hassle of titling a trailer in PA is significant. Major PITA I just went through with another trailer.
 
I'm on the same mission. I've spoke with the guy at Kitty Hawk and he's not into making a version for the Sunfish. Mainly b/c of the different taper of the beam which won't allow a smooth load/launch of the boat. Also b/c the lip is shallower...
 
I was just informed by John Sayre of Sayre Sailing in Charleston, SC that Kitty Hawk has just came out with a trailer fit for a sunfish. He isn't quite sure on the price yet, but imagines that it costs the same as the Kitty Hawk trailer for the laser.
 
The guys at Kitty Hawk are indeed making a Sunfish trailer! They sent me some pics of the prototype they are working on. Pretty much the same deal as the Laser trailer except sized to fit a Sunfish (boat must have the newer rolled flange to be carried by this trailer). They indicated it should be available in about a month or so.
 

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Thanks FishFood.
This development is really interesting because several of us have had fairly serious problems with the (Sunfish) Trailex trailer. See http://www.sunfishforum.com/showthread.php?t=27600

How will the (proposed) Kitty Hawk trailer support our Fishes? From the posted pictures, it looks like the gunwales are supposed to do the job. If so, this would only work with newer (rolled edge) Sunfishes.
What do our structural engineers think of this idea?
 
They've already developed, and sold, one. I have it . . . at my house . . . with my sunfish on it. I used it just this past weekend to travel from Wilmington, NC to Charlotte, NC for the LNYC Laser/Sunfish Regatta. If you'd like i could post a few pics. It supports the boat by the gunwales, which is one of the most structurally sound parts of the boat. All you need is one strap to go over the boat at the axel and one to attach the nose of the boat to the trailer as well.
 

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