Dinghy Wheels - Do they Really Work ?

[SV Demeter]

Ive seen a few inflateables with wheel set ups on the transoms. Im wondering if any of these set ups are worth getting? When I spoke with my local inflateable guy he said they were not worth the hassle as they can interfere with the turning of the motor and that most were useless in soft sand. Have any of you found a set of dinghy wheels that actually work well in sand and dont interfere with the turning radius of the outboard? Other considerations? Likely application will be a 10' caribe rib with a (yet to be aquired) 9.9 or 15hp motor.

Thanks

Ted

[Vasco]

Unless you're beaching on hard pebbled beaches all the time they're a waste of effort and money. Also they look ridiculous.

[zeehag]

wheels depend on cruising grounds--beaching boat or marinas. beaching boat--they do help. marinas--they are a status symbol and a pita.

[SV Demeter]

Originally Posted by Vasco

Unless you're beaching on hard pebbled beaches all the time they're a waste of effort and money. Also they look ridiculous.

Thanks this was essentially what my inflateable guy told me. How about the glue on guards that protect the hull when dragging up onto a beach? Do they actually work or do they come unglued easily?

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by SV Demeter

Thanks this was essentially what my inflateable guy told me. How about the glue on guards that protect the hull when dragging up onto a beach? Do they actually work or do they come unglued easily?

They usually come off. If you take a bit of care and watch for rocks you'll have no problems pulling a RIB up on the beach without damaging it.

Look - no wheels!

[Paul L]

The Danard wheels are very good. If you are in an area where there are large tides, such as Pacific Panama, or a place where you have to do numerous surf landing, such as Pacific Mexico or Costa Rica, they are nice to have. If you are in the Bahamas with 18 in tides and protected beach landings, probably not worth the storage space.

[Cheechako]

If they are big enough I've seen them work quite well in sand. a 10ft rib and 15 hp motor and gear can be quite heavy for two people. Often for security, you need to get the dink up to a tree etc to cable it to. That may be 25 ft carrying/dragging a 240 lb setup uphill on a beach. I have not used them though... kind clutzy looking. My friends had some that folded up when not being used...?

[SV Demeter]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

If they are big enough I've seen them work quite well in sand. a 10ft rib and 15 hp motor and gear can be quite heavy for two people. Often for security, you need to get the dink up to a tree etc to cable it to. That may be 25 ft carrying/dragging a 240 lb setup uphill on a beach. I have not used them though... kind clutzy looking. My friends had some that folded up when not being used...?

Well this sounds promising, do you know of a specific brand? I would think if the wheels were big enough to do the trick in sand then they would also be big enough to interfere with the turning radius of the motor.

[Dustymc]

Originally Posted by Paul L

The Danard wheels are very good. If you are in an area where there are large tides, such as Pacific Panama, or a place where you have to do numerous surf landing, such as Pacific Mexico or Costa Rica, they are nice to have. If you are in the Bahamas with 18 in tides and protected beach landings, probably not worth the storage space.

This. Don't screw around with anything else - when you need wheels you need BIG SOFT wheels, and when you don't need big soft wheels you don't really need wheels. I've used the Danard-type (same tire but crappy attachment) on a 12-foot plywood floor (so heavy) with a 15-HP in Alaska (30-foot tides, big rocks), and it worked fabulously.

I added Danard wheels to my new Achilles RIB, and the quality, design, and customer service are all very impressive. They even came with a spare inner tube! They do slightly interfere with turning, but it takes about 3 seconds to remove them.

[SV Demeter]

Originally Posted by Dustymc

This. Don't screw around with anything else - when you need wheels you need BIG SOFT wheels, and when you don't need big soft wheels you don't really need wheels. I've used the Danard-type (same tire but crappy attachment) on a 12-foot plywood floor (so heavy) with a 15-HP in Alaska (30-foot tides, big rocks), and it worked fabulously.

I added Danard wheels to my new Achilles RIB, and the quality, design, and customer service are all very impressive. They even came with a spare inner tube! They do slightly interfere with turning, but it takes about 3 seconds to remove them.

Will they work in sand?

[Cheechako]

I dont know the brand, it's been years. The wheels were big... nearly wheelbarrow size and were molded plastic (really light weight). They were mounted on with channel shaped aluminum (?) brackets. All I know is the brackets (and transom!) would need to be strong to roll it through the sand... it's that part that looked iffy to me as far as longevity....

[Dustymc]

They work fine in Alaskan sand - I've never tried them in deep dry coral sand or anything. The Danard tire is about 16" diameter by 4" wide, so I suspect they will work just fine on any reasonably-light dinghy. I unfortunately don't have any soft sand handy to test them out in...

[SV Demeter]

Is this them:?

Danard Marine Products - Dinghy Wheels

[Dustymc]

Originally Posted by SV Demeter

Is this them:?

Danard Marine Products - Dinghy Wheels

Yes, that is what I have.

[teneicm]

Like Paul mentioned- when you're on the pacific side of Mexico and Central America, you're doing a lot of beach landings where you need to get the dink above the high tide/ surf line. And if you want to leave at low tide, you may have a couple hundred yards to either 1) drag or 2) roll your dink back to where it'll float. While it's still strenuous to roll it, it's an order of magnitude easier then dragging. And damp sand makes a pretty good surface to roll on.