Transom / launching wheels recommendation

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Grumpydev

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I have a Zodiac Cadet Aero 270 and I'd like to fit some transom / launching wheels to it to make it a bit easier to move around on dry land, it will be on a number of different surfaces, from beaches to tarmac, so I've ruled out the little plastic wheels because I'm not sure they'd do the job, has anyone got any recommendations for fold up inflatable wheel ones? There's tons on EBay, ranging from ~50quid up to ~300quid - I don't really want to spend almost as much as the tender cost me on a set of wheels if the cheaper ones are "good enough".

These seem to look fairly decent, and price wise are pretty middle of the road:

Easy Fold Launching Wheels for Boat Inflatable Dinghy RIB By MiDMarine | eBay

These are a lot cheaper, but they're alu rather than steel, which may be an issue?

VEVOR 500lbs Launching Wheels Folding Dinghy Wheel &Bracket For Inflatable Boat | eBay
 
Stemar

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My dinghy is smaller than yours, but I've had a pair of eBay specials like these for a good 10 years,
iu

The "stainless" springs rotted within a few years, but they still do the job.
 
veshengro

veshengro

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I have the Vevor wheels exactly as illustrated in the link, strangely my Dinghy is red as per the advertisement in the link. Bought on Ebay two years ago, easy to install and have served me well down a concrete (war time) ramp and across some rough bits at low water. My Dinghy is 2.40 m. I would buy the same wheels again. (y)
 
Goldie

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Beachmaster Boat Launching Wheels

or

Inflatable boat Launching Wheels | ivan-b-marine

I don’t know if they’re both Beachmasters or if the cheaper ones are a copy. Good videos on the Beachmaster website.

We’ve had a set of the genuine Beachmasters for years and they’re fantastic, easily coping with our 2.6m RIB and 30kg engine. Having tried ours, several friends have bought the same. I recommend the removable version with studs - and more than one set of studs if you have more than one dinghy.
 
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Minerva

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Grumpydev said:
I have a Zodiac Cadet Aero 270 and I'd like to fit some transom / launching wheels to it to make it a bit easier to move around on dry land, it will be on a number of different surfaces, from beaches to tarmac, so I've ruled out the little plastic wheels because I'm not sure they'd do the job, has anyone got any recommendations for fold up inflatable wheel ones? There's tons on EBay, ranging from ~50quid up to ~300quid - I don't really want to spend almost as much as the tender cost me on a set of wheels if the cheaper ones are "good enough".

These seem to look fairly decent, and price wise are pretty middle of the road:

Easy Fold Launching Wheels for Boat Inflatable Dinghy RIB By MiDMarine | eBay

These are a lot cheaper, but they're alu rather than steel, which may be an issue?

VEVOR 500lbs Launching Wheels Folding Dinghy Wheel &Bracket For Inflatable Boat | eBay
Click to expand...
I’ve just bought a new tender to planning new wheels too. I’ve used the wee plastic wheels on my out going dinghy, but found them broadly useless on beaches.

the cheaper wheels in your post require you to put the wheels down with one hand and with the other put a pin through a lined up pair of holes in the bracket /leg. That’s likely to be problematic. Let alone the risk of dropping / losing the pin over the side.

The design of the more expensive ones will be able to be deployed and recovered single handed as you drift in to shore. They fee a better solution
 
Roberto

Roberto

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Check beforehand how much those wheels which protrude upwards from the transom will impair the lateral movement of the engine, in particular with 4stroke engines which usually have a bigger head than 2strokes. On my dinghy I have to keep one of the two wheels slanted backwards, if kept perfectly vertical it limits the engine tiller lateral movement to 10°ish, imho not enough for a dinghy.
 
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B27

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What engine will you have?
Stemar's plastic wheels are fine on damp sand with a light-ish dinghy and no engine, OK with a 2HP generally.
They are easy to deploy if you can lift the transom one-handed.
The non-pivoting sort look a faff.

Don't imagine leaving the wheels down and rowing more than 10 feet is an option!

I imagine some beaches with a heavier engine, anything will struggle, just as a sailing dinghy on a trolley can put up a fight.
Being able to lock the wheels aft, so you could store the tender vertically with the weight on the wheels might be a Good Thing, but I'm not aware of that feature with big wheels?
 
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Grumpydev

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Currently a 3.5HP 2 stroke tohatsu, but will be replacing with an electric one next year probably.

Definitely want something that folds up out of the water, but with the mix of surfaces I will be using it on (including wheeling it down to our local canal where we live) I think inflatable/rubber tyred ones are a better bet than the plastic ones.
 
KevO

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We have some of the beach master ones, prob a copy version. They are excellent. We found the other small plastic ones awful on sand with a 5hp on the transom, these ones actually work.
 
Martin_J

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I have the following on a Zodiac Rib Compact 250 and they're excellent.

No springs or odd little catches to go wrong.. Stainless and good clearance from the outboard whilst under way..

Launching wheels for inflatable boats

and there's a YouTube video on that page showing them in use.


They were on the RIB when I bought it second hand so can't vouch for the seller but what I have does match the pictures/video and you're welcome to see them in action if you're ever near Portsmouth.
 
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