It’s a chore moving a dinghy from the dock, dinghy pen or parking lot to the water. I’ve watched boaters move small boats by rolling them on a series of fenders, dragging them on tarps and begging the help of bystanders. I’ve also seen a boggling variety of homebuilt carts, including one I built myself (visit boatingmag.com/blogs for a how-to). But the Wheel-a-Weigh boat dolly from Davis Instruments beats them all.
Rated for a maximum weight of 250 pounds on firm ground and 150 pounds over soft sand, it made light work of rolling my 115-pound dinghy across the beach.
Two EPDM, or ethylene-propylene-based, bunks supported the boat at “hip height” above the 16-inch-diameter by 4-inch pneumatic tires. Integral straps keep the boat from bouncing off. A convenient kickstand makes loading easy. The plastic rims, aluminum tubing and stainless-steel fasteners have shown no sign of corrosion after five months stored in a marine environment. The dolly is assembled with stainless-steel hitch pins, so breaking it down for storage is easy. These also make assembly tool-free, though I found a mallet helpful for tapping the bunks in place. $128, davisnet.com
