Dolley and trailer for passagemaker?

I've just finished my passagemaker sailing dinghy and want to bring it from Atlanta to the summer place in Massachusetts. There are trailers on line that take a dolley that look interesting. Has anybody done this?  Which dolley would work for the passagemaker?  There is a company that makes a trailer for dolley here in town... but I have to figure out the right dolley model to see if it will fit the trailer  

 

 

 


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RE: Dolley and trailer for passagemaker?

So you want to have your PM on a dolly, then put both (PM + dolly) on a trailer to get to MA?

Why not just buy a dolly & have it shipped to MA so it's there once you arrive?

What's the towing capacity of your towing vehicle? A separate dolly just adds weight.

Why a dolly anyway, if you need a trailer to haul your PM to and from the launch ramps?

Pretty much any flatbed snowmobile trailer ought to work with a dolly under your PM I'd have to think. You might need ramps to get the dolly off the trailer, but that's the nature of the beast if you want a dolly under your PM for such a long haul.

For a PM alone I'd have to think a Trailex SUT-220-S would be entirely adequate and safe? I have one for my 17' Waterlust canoe, about 80# heavier (with all the stuff needed when it gets launched) than your PM, without a separate dolly.

 

 

RE: Dolley and trailer for passagemaker?

antpjb,

Got a link for yout trailer/dolly of interest so we can look at it and give more specific advice?

spclark,

The Trailex boat dolly is 55 lbs total shipping weight from Trailex so its assembled weight will be less. Since the Passagemaker has a target hull weight under 100 lbs pretty much any trailer can handle the combined weight and ahything other than a wind-up car should be able to tow it all. I don't know what the actual combination antpjb is looking at weighs but it should be in the ballpark.

He also mentioned using it at a vacation home. The home may not have the space and facilities for securely receiving a shipment and then assembling the dolly. It also makes a lot of sense to get the dolly assembled and tested at home and be guaranteed to have a functioning dolly before starting the summer holiday instead of having to possibly deal with returns, refunds, missing parts, etc. during the holiday. It's a holiday, no one wants to deal with that kind of stuff ever, let alone on a holiday.

And depending on the kind of summer home antpjb has, there may be no trailer access to the water whereas the dolly would work. Or the dolly may be more convenient than hooking up the trailer to a vehicle. It's certainly quieter and uses less fuel (which may be inconvenient to get at some summers homes) and has a lower carbon footprint.

So there's all sorts of reasons why a trailer/dolly combination could work better for someone than juat a trailer. It's an interesting idea.

Laszlo

 

 

RE: Dolley and trailer for passagemaker?

After a couple of seasons with my Waterlust and SUT-220-S on the launch ramps where I am I've acquired one of these things to use where it might offer more 'ease of access' to water where a trailer's not as convenient.

Trailer for transport, C-tug for launch & recovery as desired.

It's light, sturdy, the wheels work fine on sand so beach launching (something I've yet to experience) is a possibility, and it breaks down for storage either in my tow vehicle (a bit bigger than the MINI Clubman I'd been using up until trade-in last October) or aboard my Waterlust when I expect to haul out where my tow vehicle isn't.

Rated for 75kg / 165lbs it's fully capable of dealing with a PM as well as my Waterlust when it's ready for sailing so ought to be worthy of consideration for your needs antpjb.

Come back here please as you learn more about what options you have then let us in on what you've chosen. Laszlo's correct with his last paragraph above! What you discover may help others in similar circumstances.

RE: Dolley and trailer for passagemaker?

   Thank you so much for these helpful responses. The set up I'm thinking about is at rightontrailer.com https://rightontrailer.com/.  It's a system for small sailboats boats like lasers or sunfish. I need to launch the PM at a beach where many people leave their sunfish in the summertime and there is no ramp. 
I plan to leave the PM on that beach while we're up there, and then store the boat on the trailer in the yard during the off-season  

it seems like I can get both the trailer and dolley for the same price as the trailer. I am thinking of getting the dolley from Dynamic Dolleys and then see if the PM fits -- and then buy a trailer. The dolley trailer like it' might be easier.   

ill let y'all know what happens  


 


 

 

 

RE: Dolley and trailer for passagemaker?

Poking around the net I get the following comparison:

           ILCA laser                    PMD
LOA         13'4"                       11'7"
LWL         12'6"                       ~8'
BEAM        56"                         56"
WEIGHT   130 lb                      90 lb

So on the face of it the ILCA/Laser Dolly that that company sells should be able to accommodate the PMD. The only concern I'd have is that the PMD has more freeboard than a Laser, as well as a different hull cross-section and profile. You may need to change the side stanchion and sling to handle this, as well as adding supports under the bow section and extra straps to secure everything while you're towing up and down the Eastern Seaboard. You might want to get in touch with the company and give them a link to the CLC PMD page and ask their opinion.

The PMD and dolly together are only 1/2 the trailer's weight capacity. The assembly manual link for the trailer goes to the dolly manual, not the trailer, so no info there, but the FAQs say that the trailer tires are 8" so you'll have to be scrupulous about bearing maintenance. But the overall towing weight looks to be 400 lbs or so, something that even a 100 hp 4 cylinder vehicle should be able to handle.

It looks as if things are close enough that it's worth investigating.

Good luck,

Laszlo

 

RE: Dolley and trailer for passagemaker?

 

   Thank you Laslo!  I have sent an email to Dynamic Dollies to ask what they recommend. The guy who sells the trailers has laser follies in stock   I wondering if I might be able to upgrade to 12 inch tires  ....

 

 

 

RE: Dolley and trailer for passagemaker?

I acquired a  Holder 12 (about the size of a Laser) during covid and trailers were really hard to find, so I built one. It's very similar to what you are looking at.  I sail in a local resevoir that has no ramp so I need to dolly the boat from the parking lot to the water - about 100 yards.The dolly is a bit cumbersome to use but works well. I used the setup to haul my Paasagemaker to Canada- about 600 miles and it worked well. I had to modify the front of the dolly to support the front of the PM as most Laser dollies (which I emulated) have a place for the bow to sit in at the dolly handle which won't readily accommodate the PM. I just fastened  a board across the dolly with a pool noodle tie wrapped to it, a few feet back from the front of the dolly, to support the front end of the PM. I have short cam straps to tie the dolly axle to the trailer and a pin to hold it in front. 
In any case try to get a trailer suited to the boat weight. Most have way too much load capacity and will beat your boat up as the springs won't flex.

RE: Dolley and trailer for passagemaker?

   Thank you Slash2 for the info. I was thinking about how to adapt the dolly for the peaks transoms bow-- the board and pool noodle is a great idea.  I'm happy to learn that you did a long car trip with such a set up. 

RE: Dolley and trailer for passagemaker?

   I have a couple pictures on my phone but don't see a way to post them. 

RE: Dolley and trailer for passagemaker?

Upload your pics to an image hosting service then copy / paste the URL for sharing each image into the box you get when you click on the little button above your forum posting's field; it's the one with a black line rectangle inside which there's a tiny black sun and two mountain peaks.

Pay attention to the image width in pixels entry as anything over 500 px likely won't show up.

https://www.clcboats.com/various/posting-photos-forums.html

All else fails, Laslo will provide clearer instructions.  

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