Length of bunks?

[Clint KY]

I am still in the planning stage of the rebuild of the trailer for my 16’ jon boat and started looking at pictures of new ones to get some ideas. I noticed that most of them had two short bunks, some about 4 feet long each and a single roller or sideways bunk on the center beam farther forward.

As my trailer has 3 twelve foot long carpeted bunks, I wonder if I really need that much. I had already planned to put only two bunks spaced one rib in from each side, and topped with plastic cutting boards to aid in loading and unloading.

Is there any advantage or downside to the very short bunks? It seems like the boat would be very easy to launch since the rear of the boat floats first and would totally be off the bunks in much less water, but am wondering about loading it back on.

Does anyone have any experience good or bad with the short bunks?

 

[BrazosDon]

Clint KY, I haven't got the specs on how to set up a 16' boat. I would support the majority of the flat bottom. Make sure the bunks come to the back of the boat at the transom and you should be fine. I am send an attachment that might help you.
Be careful with any material that is slick. Your cutting board idea may rub holes in the bottom or cause cracks. I know there has been some postings on here about that subject so try the search mode to find out more. It is the best place for information on anything to do with tin boats.

https://www.google.com/search?q=bunks+on+small+trailer&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=eXuzU8ytOImD8AHZjoGADg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1093&bih=489

 

[Clint KY]

BrazosDon » 01 Jul 2014, 23:48[/url]"]I would support the majority of the flat bottom. Make sure the bunks come to the back of the boat at the transom and you should be fine.

My original idea was two bunks the same length or a little bit longer than what is on the trailer now. And they will extend past the transom about an inch.

BrazosDon » 01 Jul 2014, 23:48[/url]"]
I am send an attachment that might help you.

I googled the same as you did and the picture in the upper left hand corner is one that made me question the length of the bunks. There are many brands that have the shorter bunks with a roller or a cross-ways bunk farther forward to support the front of the boat. I would never use a roller as they put too much stress on one point of the hull. Possibly OK for Vee hulls where the roller sits on the keel which is heavier than the floor of the boat.

BrazosDon » 01 Jul 2014, 23:48[/url]"]
Be careful with any material that is slick. Your cutting board idea may rub holes in the bottom or cause cracks. I know there has been some postings on here about that subject so try the search mode to find out more. It is the best place for information on anything to do with tin boats.

I have searched extensively both here on Tin Boats and elsewhere. I have not found any discussions on rubbing holes or cracking of the hulls. The one caution I read is to NOT unhook the winch strap till you are ready to let the boat go into the water as many tell of the boat sliding off the trailer onto the launch ramp.

 

[BrazosDon]

I'm sorry, when I was reading your post, I thought of something like this.

https://www.amazon.com/Ironwood-Pacific-Slide-Trailer-Pads/dp/B000LOK8UM

Being the cutting boards are relatively short and spacing on the bunks surely has open spot where if something heavy on the inside of the boat could come down on the edge of the cutting board and cause some damage.

I would cover the entire length of the bunks with the slick stuff so there would not be a chance of any failure. I would rather be safe than sorry. JMO

 

[Clint KY]

BrazosDon » 04 Jul 2014, 02:20[/url]"]I would cover the entire length of the bunks with the slick stuff

Exactly my intention. I am going to use the large commercial boards - 15"X20" from Sam's Club, ripped 3" wide and cover the bunks totally.

 

[BrazosDon]

Sounds good, best wishes.

 

[richg99]

I used PVC lattice, bought at Home Depot, cut into strips....for many years on my former Carolina Skiff. Worked well, however I had to countersink stainless steel screws to hold it down. Rich

 

[Ringo Steele]

I used a 4" x4" x8' vinyl fence post cover split lengthwise to cover my bunks. It works well and is holding up good so far, after one year. Good and slick, as I can push the boat off easily with one hand, and it winches back on much easier than it did with the roller bunks I had previously. The post was about $16 at Home Depot. I ripped it with my circular saw easily,

 

[Clint KY]

Ringo Steele » 06 Jul 2014, 14:31[/url]"]I used a 4" x4" x8' vinyl fence post cover split lengthwise to cover my bunks. It works well and is holding up good so far, after one year. Good and slick, as I can push the boat off easily with one hand, and it winches back on much easier than it did with the roller bunks I had previously. The post was about $16 at Home Depot. I ripped it with my circular saw easily,

I considered doing this but calculated out that the PVC is just slightly thicker than 1/8" and thought that might be a bit thin. The Sam's Club cutting boards are about a 1/4".

One advantage of the fence posts is that the screws can be installed in the side and I would not have to counter sink the screws as the cutting boards would have to be. Plus it would be one continuous piece of PVC with no seams as the cutting boards will have.

And the posts (9') now are in the $30 range which is on par with 3 cutting boards ($9 each - need 3) price wise.

I have to decide because tomorrow I am going to get fence posts or cutting boards. Lowe's HIW is on the way to Sam's so I will stop there first and see if I think the post will do.

Thanks for all the input.

 

[Clint KY]

I went with the vinyl fence posts from Lowe's.

https://www.lowes.com/pd_24992-73428-73002277_0__?productId=3159989&Ntt=vinyl+fence+posts&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dvinyl%2Bfence%2Bposts&facetInfo=

I bought two and split them lengthwise - what a mess. I used a circular saw with a fine toothed blade and I have PVC dust everywhere. I left a tab on the ends to bend down with a heat gun to give a rounded edge. I used round head screws about every 18" along each side. Note: the vinyl U is a bit bigger than a 2X4 so I pressed the inside tightly against the wood and screwed that side snug - and then just put screws in the other side and let the side of the U bend in to press against the 2X4.

When it cools down a bit outside I will get the heat gun and bend down the ends and take my camera and get some pictures.

 

[BrazosDon]

Sounds good Clint KY. Can't wait to see the pics.

 

[SquiggyFreud]

Bunk Slides, these things rock... you can get a set for vertical or horizontal bunks.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002IVASZG/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Clint KY]

I finished up the bunk covers this morning but did not get to re-load the boat till this afternoon. Elsewhere on the Trailer Forum is a question if anyone "Power Loaded" their boat. Today I Power Loaded my boat with the trolling motor! The bunks are slick - both figuratively and literally. I ended up with two 10' bunks. I got the straightest two out of the pile and thoroughly sealed them with a liberal coat of wood preservative. I then countersunk using a Forstner bit the top of the bunks so the bolt heads were below the surface of the wood. You can see the holes in the picture below. The closest bunk at the bottom of the picture shows it best.

I then soaked the holes with the preservative after bolting the bunks to the bunk brackets.

I installed the covers on the bunks.

I left a little tab sticking out beyond the wood.

and using my heat gun, bent it a bit. It did not bend as much as I had hoped, but worked just great,

Lessons Learned:
I would get rough sawn 2"X4"s next time as the 4SS stuff is narrower than the vinyl U.
I would make sure I mounted the screws in the side of the vinyl cover low down on the bunk to keep from the rib on the bottom of the boat from pulling them out. Just a few. I can add some more.

I have to move my guide bunks because since I lowered the boat on the trailer they now hit the gunnels instead of the side of the boat. I had intended to replace them in the near future. I have some Fire Hose that I am going to split and mount on the inside to keep from scratching the boat.

Thanks for all the input - especially Ringo who suggested the fence posts. The next project is to replace the winch tower - I already have the new one but it must be welded on since I can not through bolt it to the tongue since the inner tongue must slide in and out.

 

[richg99]

Not only well done, but also well told and illustrated. Thanks for sharing. richg99

 

[BrazosDon]

That really looks nice. well done!

 

[Y_J]

BrazosDon » July 1st, 2014, 11:48 pm[/url]"]
https://www.google.com/search?q=bunks+on+small+trailer&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=eXuzU8ytOImD8AHZjoGADg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1093&bih=489

Seems to me that most all the boat trailers shown in the link above, the bunks pretty much span the distance between the two rear cross members of the trailer. Long or short, same situation.