My Launching wheel mod

I purchased these Davis Wheel aweigh launching wheels for my SIB and when they arrived I was startled by how big they were. The standard position in the up position would look awkward and would act like sails. When in the down position the 16" wheels gave me way more ground clearance than I wanted. To solve the problem I bought some aluminum stock at the hardware store and fashioned a strut to hold them down at a 30 degree angle (about 10" off from the ground), which makes moving the boat a lot more stable. To store them in the up position another pice of aluminum holds them at a 90 degree angle from the transom and the outside of the wheel tube rests just enough against the stern tube of the boat to to keep them from spinning. The wheels don't look awkward or act like sails in that positionand and it is easier to lock them in the down position not having to push the wheel under the boat against the water. I have the
rest of the winter "docked in the garage" so I have a lot of time to recreate this old inflatable into my own luxury vessel! I have attached the images below.

Re: My Launching wheel mod

Good idea jamn! It's actually quite a good idea, which would allow a person to mount smart tabs and still use launch wheels.

Have you tried them out much yet? I'm wondering if the 30-degree angle with the strut allows for side to side instability when moving the boat?

Looks good!

Re: My Launching wheel mod

Good workmanship.

When the motor is on the transom, the bow would be heavier than with the wheels directly under the transom. Is it noticeably heavier? Just curious.

Re: My Launching wheel mod

jacoboregon said:

I'm wondering if the 30-degree angle with the strut allows for side to side instability when moving the boat?

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It is actually more stable. The strut is less than 7" which prevents side to side movement and attached to the wheel brace with a stainless steel hinge which prevents up and down play. I find it is more stable than in position it was designed. Though I can still use it as originally designed if I need the full 16" clearance. I want to add that when using stainless steel hardware to penetrate aluminum sets up a galvanic corrosion situation with the dissimilar metals, especially with the salt water so use Tef-gel or anhydrous lanolin to isolate the penetrations.

Re: My Launching wheel mod

fbpooler said:

When the motor is on the transom, the bow would be heavier than with the wheels directly under the transom. Is it noticeably heavier? Just curious.

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No and I do not have to lift it as high when moving it.

Re: My Launching wheel mod

Here is a side view with the wheel down. Notice I could not find a rectangular piece of aluminum tube locally, so I used two square tubes and screwed them together.

Re: My Launching wheel mod

jamnn said:

Here is a side view with the wheel down. Notice I could not find a rectangular piece of aluminum tube locally, so I used two square tubes and screwed them together.
View attachment 123354

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Looks pretty good jamn. Does the lower strut "capture" the leg the wheel attaches to, or does it simply rest against it with the pin in the brackets holding it in place?

Re: My Launching wheel mod

The lower strut attached to the transom is held in place by a removable pin.The middle attachment on the lower strut is attached to the supports with a bolt attached which connects to the upper original brace. the third attachment is at the hinge at the end of the strut. So no it does not capture the end the hinge and hold it constant. It is actually attached to the end of the strut at the hinge. Without the hinge there would be up and down free play of about an inch and a half. As designed there is no lateral nor vertical free play. It is solid.

Re: My Launching wheel mod

So, if I understand correctly, the short strut is physically attached to the original length of rectangular tubing that the wheel is attached to by means of a hinge? Very clever. I like your design.

Re: My Launching wheel mod

Thanks, jacoboregon. I saw somewhere on the web where someone had done something similar with a different style wheel so that's what gave me the idea to re-engineer these. Believe me I went through a bit of aluminum stock to get it right. My first few attempts gave me quite a pile of bent scrap metal! The hinge completely stops the play and was an after thought. The side straps add strength to the strut.I think they almost work like landing gear now. If I could just incorporate some gas springs in the design ...that would be awesome!