Steel Ski Foot for Beach Boat Trailers

Introduction:

This project is to make a ski foot that attaches to pneumatic boat trolley wheels and helps them to be dragged over rocky and sandy beaches more easily.

They have a very steep beach that then need to get a 14ft RIB up and down when safety cover is required. We developed a ski to stop the wheels sinking into the loose pebbly beach and allow them to transport the boat more easily with fewer people.

This project was developed in conjunction with the team at Hove Lagoon Water sports Center.

Angle grinder

Drill

10mm Metal drill bit

12x M10 20mm bolts

12x M10 nylock bolts

600mm x 650mm Galvanised steel plate (5mm thick)

Download and print the Cutting sheet from the link. Make sure that you change the scaling option from Fit to page to no scaling. This will ensure that the dimensions are accurate when you print them.

Stick the templates together making sure you line up the edges of each page so all the lines on the page are straight. Then stick the template to your steel plate.

Use the template to cut along the lines shown. It is best to use a narrow cutoff wheel in your angle grinder (around 3mm thick is ideal)

On the lines marked Bending, only cut halfway through.

Use the drill and the 10mm drill bit to drill out all the holes marked. try to keep the Drill as perpendicular the surface of the metal as possible.

Use a vice and hammer to bend the metal pieces along the lines you scored halfway through in the previous step. Consult the above drawings to get the angles right.

If the metal wont bend to the desired angle, It is possible to go back in with the angle grinder and remove some more material so that they bend further.

Be careful that you always bend the metal up when the halfway cuts are facing up. This will ensure by ending the metal, you close the slots and don't open them further (and weaken the metal more).

Use the M10 Nuts and Bolts Detailed in the bill of materials (in the introduction) to attach the pieces as seen in the photo above.