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    Michel Gadbois's Avatar
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       #1  

    Need help with getting on and off the beach

    Hello everyone,

    I am flying to Canada in July to spend a couple of months. My house is on a sand beach with a pretty gradual decline under water. I am concerned that the wheels down will dig into the under-surface sand and get stuck. Has anyone had experience with raising the plane out of the water on wet sand? I know the dry sand will be a problem so I bought a 50 foot X 10 foot Mobi-Mat. I am more concerned with the sub surface sand. ANY advice would be greatly appreciated.
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    Thanks!
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    #2  
    Wow! Your Canada place looks amazing!

    I'm really nervous about doing a beach taxi or even a paved ramp with all of the nose gear failures I've been hearing about.

    This surf dolly has a 1500 lb weight capacity - http://towsurfer.com/2017/04/pwc-beach-dollys/

    Wonder if the Icon hull could rest on the supports as they are or if this could be modified to put the hull supports in the same position as the Icon trailer? You could then just temporarily beach the plane and then by hand float onto the dolly and move to a protected spot on your property.
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       #3  
    Quote Originally Posted by Troy Mutter View Post
    Wow! Your Canada place looks amazing!

    I'm really nervous about doing a beach taxi or even a paved ramp with all of the nose gear failures I've been hearing about.

    This surf dolly has a 1500 lb weight capacity - http://towsurfer.com/2017/04/pwc-beach-dollys/

    Wonder if the Icon hull could rest on the supports as they are or if this could be modified to put the hull supports in the same position as the Icon trailer? You could then just temporarily beach the plane and then by hand float onto the dolly and move to a protected spot on your property.
    I may put MOST of the 50 foot mat under water and leave myself a 10 foot ‘Pad’ on the beach for turning the plane around. That would leave 40 feet under water for the wheels to climb-up on top of. I am a bit nervous as well about over stressing the
    gear. The Mobi-Mats are expensive (made in France) but the quality is incredible. They sink under water and are anchored with 20 inch galvanized ‘staples’ that dig into the sand.

    BTW, Anyone wanting to visit Canada Lakes are welcome! Just bring your Icon and beer money. My 150 year old house has 6 bedrooms!
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    Michel Gadbois's Avatar
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       #4  
    View from the Lake…
    Attachment 230
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    #5  
    Hey Michel,

    Did that mobi-mat work out for you? I'm looking at a lake house in Florida and think that might work to get icon up on shore at house.
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       #6  
    The Mobi-Mat may work for you. For me the sand was too soft and they bunched under the small Icon wheels.
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    #7  
    A friend reps this company and spoke with him about using for Icon. Not the cheapest option, but it's still cool.

    https://thebeachlauncher.com/
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    Michel Gadbois's Avatar
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       #8  
    Thank you, David. It’s funny. I was talking about building something yesterday. That would look like a bulldozer, but was electrically driven. This is very close to that. I will look into it. Thank you
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    #9  
    Quote Originally Posted by Troy Mutter View Post
    Wow! Your Canada place looks amazing!

    I'm really nervous about doing a beach taxi or even a paved ramp with all of the nose gear failures I've been hearing about.

    This surf dolly has a 1500 lb weight capacity - http://towsurfer.com/2017/04/pwc-beach-dollys/

    Wonder if the Icon hull could rest on the supports as they are or if this could be modified to put the hull supports in the same position as the Icon trailer? You could then just temporarily beach the plane and then by hand float onto the dolly and move to a protected spot on your property.
    has anyone tried this beach dolly yet?
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       #10  
    I looked at those. As long as you replace the bungs with a wider set-up similar to the trailer, it would handle the weight. You would still need a 4 wheeler to do the work assuming the grade is acceptable. As soon as you fold the wings however, it would fall back wards as the rear wheels would get most of the weight.
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    #11  
    https://floridasailcraft.com/product...-with-rollers/

    Think this one with wheels would be any better? and I can't tell if the forward strap device can move forward on the tongue to balance weight better, but the strap would hold it in place so it wouldn't slide off due to aft cg
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       #12  
    I am thinking the balloon wheels are still a problem and the Roller-Blade wheels concentrate too much weight on a single line. I would not consider bunks any less than 8-10 inches or dual bunks on each side. Brett probably has a better understanding how how much the hull can take. I would NOT want to crack the hull just to save money on the dolly.
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    #13  
    Quote Originally Posted by Michel Gadbois View Post
    View from the Lake…
    Attachment 230
    For some reason I can't open pic... Hmmm
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    #14  
    These are all great ideas. I was beaching on a lake at friends house that looked doable, but once I got out and walked , I realized the beach may be packed, but the lead up to it was much softer with rocks than I thought. I too was worried about getting stuck or gear damage, so I anchored. As Andy Jackson said, "You may want to do it, but do you NEED to do it." When in doubt, bail out.
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    #15  
    Several months ago I was invited to beach at a local lake shore restaurant with two SeaRey owners nearby. I had been there before by myself and I knew it would be very tight - so I politely declined. They went and in the process of getting off that tight beach and taxing out one of them snagged floating divider line and did some pretty extensive damage to their tailwheel. Very happy I didn't push it and go along.

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