Not sure if this is the proper location for this, so admins, if not please feel free to move thread to proper location. I reinjured my back about 2.5 months ago and have been having continual issues with it since. I already have had it worked on once and am not looking to go through that again! Is there a boat launcher/design out there that has been used in the hobby that will allow those of us with some physical limitations to launch our ships without straining the back? Thanks. Eric
Not sure if this counts but we at the WWCC have a sort of elevator. It can take multiple boats at a time and sets them down in the water. It is operated by a rope (not perfect for the back) but you can have somebody put their boat in with your boat. I have seen it put a Kreuzer P and two transports at a time. It is in the background somewhere. Some of the other WWCC people have better pictures (I think I might have one)
I use a launching stick with my Deutschlands. While they don't relieve any of the weight of the ship, they do allow me to launch and recover without bending over. The launching sticks I built for the PDNs can easily handle up to an Invincible-sized ship, and probably some of the larger dreadnoughts of the era. I made them from half-inch copper tube and fittings from the local hardware store, soldered together. Launching stick with battleship, ready to go! Same launching stick, without the battleship. For larger WWII-era boats, here are a few examples I saw at NATS: View: https://youtu.be/iOO5aChg8l0 If you are particularly creative, I bet you could incorporate a scissor-lift into one of those launching trolleys, so you don't even have to lift the ship up to your table between sorties. Probably a lot of work, but if you really want to drive a Yamato with a back injury...
I use an off-road hand trolley. big wheels to handle the random bumps and such. it works pretty darn well for me. if you need to, you can build a cradle that can be ratchet-strapped onto the trolley's deck to hold a wide boat. I can easily handle a Texas (~9 inches wide, 48 long, 23 lbs). but plan to build a cradle for Idaho (8 pounds heavier) and CandyCornia (widest US BB at 9.5 inches). You could probably mod a hand trolley to be even more capable if you have a welder. I'd weld on an axle for 24 or 26 inch bicycle tires about halfway up, making it a 4 wheel trolley, then make a cradle to take advantage of the revised angle. easily disassembled to be used in conventional form if you do it right.
Just a heads up, the PVC cart I built for Bart was not a great success. After a season of use it was trashed after NATs due to it coming apart. Go with what you see @thegeek using, aluminum angle with machine screws or pop rivets. When you run a 45lb boat, there's always someone around you could ask for help lifting it on to your table. But you also just have to accept the fact that you built a 45+lb boat and need to deal with the logistics. No clever cart with built in go-go-gadget scissor lift is going to save you when it sinks in 4ft of water and has 20~lb of water in it.
Unfortunately my granddaughters are 3 and a few years away from being able to lift anything but a destroyer...without putting their fingers through the side
Candy? I know kids who would kill for candy. If you traffic candy to school, you can make so much money!
My largest is the 96 scale HMS Hood; 108 lbs and 1/2 inch under 9 feet long. I definitely need a launcher for it.
1/72 Tirpitz. Must be filled/assembled on the water. Picked it up off another battler. Only assembled it once.
