Folding Catamaran Assembly and Launching

Launching and retrieving a boat can be a major problem in less than ideal conditions so a great deal of work has gone into making it an easy task for just 2 people. The hulls and pod are simply assembled on the trailer. Basically the folding process consists of removing the tie down straps, sliding the hulls apart on the telescopic arms, moving the dolly trailer with the pod aft between the hulls then raise it with the 12v electric motor to engage the self-aligning hull to pod connections and bolt together. Then easily fit the trampoline to the front of the pod to keep it clear when launching. The hull support arms are then retracted, the rear guides extended and the trailer is backed down the ramp until the tyres are just in the water and the assembled catamaran, still on the dolly trailer, lowered and moved to the rear of the trailer with the aid of the electric winch and just floated off, with the rear guides keeping the boat under control. Raise the roof, finish fitting the trampoline, attach the anchor and off you go. The roof can be raised before launching if desired. Even the first time you launch Casa Cat it will take 2 people less than 45 minutes from the time you arrive at the ramp to heading off, and obviously it will be faster with a bit of practice. Retrieval is just the reverse of launching, just as simple and you won’t even raise a sweat, let alone your voice. The whole folding process can actually be carried out by one person, including raising and lowering the roof. When launching and retrieving on the boat ramp, the assembled boat supported on the dolly can be positioned on the trailer to place the desired weight on the vehicles driven wheels, to suit front or rear wheel drive vehicles. A four wheel drive is not necessary. Not having to submerge the trailer or wheels is a real bonus as maintenance is minimized and allows the use of cost effective marinized electric brakes, much safer and efficient than override brakes.