Portable boat dolly

Claim 1

A readily mountable and removable portable boat dolly for mounting to a boat to aid in transporting said boat over land, comprising: a pair of spaced independent wheel support units, each having a mounting surface made of high friction, resilient, rubber-like material for frictionally engaging the bottom of said boat, a mounting plate for supporting said mounting surface, and a pair of spaced axle support members extending downwardly from said mounting plate; a wheel rotatably mounted to each of said wheel support units, said wheel being carried on an axle disposed between and supported by said axle support members; a continuous mounting strap having hooks at both ends configured for hooking over the gunwales of said boat; strap mounting means for maintaining said mounting strap in engagement with both of said wheel support units below the mounting surfaces thereof such that upward force applied to the hooks is applied upwardly via said strap to said wheel support units, and such that said mounting strap is slidable along its length with respect to said wheel support units; adjustable means attached to said strap for limiting the spacing of said pair of wheel support units to a predetermined distance; and strap tensioning means for applying and maintaining tension in said mounting strap, including a pivoted lever attached to at least one of the hooks, the mounting strap being attached to the lever, the lever being movable from a first orientation wherein said strap is slack to a second orientation wherein said strap is drawn taut, whereby the mounting surfaces of said wheel support units are drawn upward by said mounting strap and held in frictional engagement with the bottom of said boat.