Alternative to Beachmaster wheels

[Nick Hearne]

I have always liked the idea of Beachmaster wheels but the price always put me off!
Then I noticed some copies on ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/183083772280
I have a 3.8 Bombard Aerotech
£120 delivered and I thought it was worth a punt well I had them on all summer with the boat being used for 5 weeks over the holiday period and they are just great.
I did have one slight problem and this was my fault as I first mounted then too high and the rubbed the underside of the boat but I have corrected them now.
In 5 weeks of using the boat to get to the beach pretty much daily I did not use the anchor once as now just pop the wheels down and pull it up the beech
I did have the Zodiac wheels which were great once fitted but never used them in the same way as it was just too much hassle fitting them just to pull the boat up the beach.
I have now sold them and covered the cost of the new wheels and fittings I used.
I used these inserts https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Blind-Sel...ar=&hash=item0
And these to bolt them on https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/M8-8mm-CA...ar=&hash=item0
So once wheels are removed I can still pack the boat away as normal.
All in all very happy and would recommend to anyone who does a lot of beach hopping.

[Fenlander]

Very interesting review, thanks for posting. Do you have any images of them fitted to the Aerotec?

[Nick Hearne]

Now if only I have thought of that before I packed it all awaly

This is the best I can find sorry!

[lightning]

I am looking at the Beach Master wheels too, and have seen the Ebay copies at under half the price. (By the time you’ve paid customs VAT and postage the Beach Masters are over £300)

Trouble is l like the idea of the quick release and the copies don’t have that.

How long does it take to fit/remove yours when you assemble/put away your boat?

[Fenlander]

>>> if only I have thought of that before I packed it all

Oh the times someone has asked about a detail that would be so well explained by a photo... just days after its gone in the bag on the shelf.

Thanks for the pics... they look great value for the convenience.

[John Kennett]

Originally Posted by lightning

How long does it take to fit/remove yours when you assemble/put away your boat?

I had the regular Beachmaster wheels with a similar setup to Nick’s. It’s four bolts per side so only takes a couple of minutes.

[warder54]

Brilliant, may fit theses over the winter! What size inserts and bolts did you use please?

[lightning]

I suppose you could use bolts with wing nuts then you wouldn’t need any tools.

Only thing you’d have to watch is water getting into the transom via the holes as you wouldn’t be able to seal them properly.

[Nick Hearne]

Originally Posted by warder54

Brilliant, may fit theses over the winter! What size inserts and bolts did you use please?

Hi I used M8 and used waterproof PVA glue to seal them in!

[Nick Hearne]

Originally Posted by lightning

I suppose you could use bolts with wing nuts then you wouldn’t need any tools.

Only thing you’d have to watch is water getting into the transom via the holes as you wouldn’t be able to seal them properly.

Thought of wing nuts or normal bolts but there isn’t the room using the original holes in the plate of the wheels.
Very quick to fit and remove with an alien key, gave it a lot of thought before I came up with this solution

[warder54]

Originally Posted by Nick Hearne

Hi I used M8 and used waterproof PVA glue to seal them in!

Many thanks, will probably buy in Nov and fit over winter. I do like the original F-Rib ones but fed up with getting wet wrists removing and re-fitting on the water!