A few more pictures.

I'm thinking that this trailer will be able to go where no trailer has gone before. Maybe I should name it "Enterprise"...

Looks great. What did you use to support the hull of the kayak?

The trailer has the old style Hobie bunks bolted in place. Those bunks are made out of fiberglass, and seem to be indestructible, as opposed to the newer style, which are made out of ABS, and seem to crack pretty easily.

On my Trailex, I have bunks made out of 2" PVC conduit, and I think that gives better support, and it is easier to slide the boat on and off. But, one reason I made the Rack and Roll style is because it can sit upright, and that wouldn't work with PVC bunks.

I'll post a picture as soon as I splice in a disconnect so that the tongue can be separated without damaging the wiring, and it'll be clear what I'm talking about...

I already have a nice aluminum (Trailex) trailer for my AI, so you might think that the last thing I'd need is another aluminum kayak trailer. Well, if you think that way, you'd be wrong, as I have managed to piece together a second AI, and I feel that Number Two (as I have christened my second AI) will lose its self-esteem if it does not also have its own trailer. Besides, I've been salivating over the Yakima Rack and Roll trailer for years.

However, I could not justify spending almost $3k for an actual Yakima Rack and Roll, so I decided to build something similar myself. I bought the same wheels, shocks, and a couple of other parts that are used on the Yakima trailer. Then I bought a bunch of square aluminum tubing (2 x 2 x 1/4, 6061-T6, for those keeping score).

It was at that point that I remembered that I don't know how to weld, so it was going to have to all be held together with bolts and such. So, I bought a bunch 316 stainless bolts, some 1/4" flat aluminum plate (also 6061), and also some exotic metal rods (aluminum-bronze, nickel, ...) for various special uses.

I do have a small drill press, and I bought an angle grinder for this project, but otherwise, I don't have much for tools, no real workshop, etc. So, it took a while, but eventually, I got the frame together, and wheels attached. I took it out for a short test-run, only to realize that it was about 1' wider than I wanted it to be. So, I disassembled it, cut down the width, and re-assembled.

Just yesterday, I got a chance to give this new-and-improved version a good test run, and I filmed it, just to see how it towed, as I can't see it when driving. If you want to take a look-see, the video is below. Next, I'll try the same with it carrying an AI.

Btw, I'm especially proud of the fenders (6" ABS pipe cut lengthwise and painted orange), although they do looks somewhat, umm..., out of place. As you can see in the picture, there are lights (and they've been properly wired since that picture was taken), but you can't see them in the video. It doesn't have a safety chain/cable yet, and I want to tweak a couple other minor things; otherwise it's done.

At some point, I plan to make a video of the build process with a lot more details, as I filmed some of it and took lots of pictures.

Quote from: NowhereMan on May 03, 2024, 09:49:40 PM

Quote from: Bulldog---Alex on May 03, 2024, 08:13:19 AM

New Brighton beach, but the gates don't open till 8 am ????

If you have a light-to-moderate weight kayak, you can park on the street and wheel across the railroad tracks, tree roots, and rocks to get to the beach as early as you want.

I use to that sort of thing when I was younger. I do know that spot though. Makes me want to take my surf pole at the crack of dawn.

You can park on Coronado St, and then scramble down to the parking lot on the trail in the red circle. I did that often the first couple of years I was kayak fishing. But, since I'm now older and lazier, and since sharks started hanging out along the beach, I've lost my enthusiasm for this particular launch site...

Badgers are roughly two thirds the size of a wolverine and much lighter in weight.

No wonder Michigan crushes Wisconsin most of the time.

... but I'm more than tempted to use my DR, which seems like it would be easy to control on descent and retrieve.

I think this will be my plan.

If you catch a kingfish (or mackerel or sardine or smelt) send it back down, and you might get a halibut.

My kids never participated, but the neighbor kids did, and they speak very highly of it.