C-Tug Sandtrakz Wheels - Pair

One of the advantages of owning a Portabote is that it can be hand- launched anywhere, so I really wanted a set of all-terrain dolly wheels to enable me to launch from the wide gravel beaches found in many places here in Puget Sound. The wheels that came with the Portadolly work well enough on paved parking lots and concrete boat launches but had a nasty habit of sinking deeply into mud, sand and gravel, and proved equally obstinate when encountering obstacles such as small rocks and random pieces of driftwood. I looked at a number of low-pressure beach wheels available online, but they weren't rated for the weight of a fully loaded Portabote, and they were also on the expensive side. They were also meant for soft sand beaches such as you find in California or on the East Coast, and I was afraid the sharp barnacles we often encounter here on our beaches would make short work of them. Then I stumbled across the Sandtrakz and decided to give them a try. When the wheels arrived, I was delighted at their light weight and robust construction. I found I had to slightly modify my dolly axles so they were of the right diameter for the Sandtrakz; I did this by slipping an aluminum tube of the proper inside and outside diameter over the dolly axles. The next time I went fishing, I brought the Sandtrakz along. When I launched the boat it was high tide, so I didn't need to use the wheels then. But when I was done fishing, the tide was very low and the beach was now quite wide. I had to negotiate about 50 yards of beach, starting with soft mud, then sand and gravel, and finally barnacle-encrusted stones and driftwood. The wheels handled each of the terrains in turn without any difficulties, and in spite of the weight of my fully-loaded boat (absent the outboard motor). I couldn't be more pleased with my new all-terrain dolly wheels!