Ideas for trailer bunks

[BOAT]

Okay, I don't understand the roller thing either - if the boat is sitting on a roller thing what's the point of the bunk? For looks? I do not understand that set up bbbbecause I am sstuppidd. How does it work?

I can't see toms pictures - they will not open because my computer thinks it's malicious content.

[Tomfoolery]

Okay, I don't understand the roller thing either - if the boat is sitting on a roller thing what's the point of the bunk? For looks? I do not understand that set up bbbbecause I am sstuppidd. How does it work?

I can't see toms pictures - they will not open because my computer thinks it's malicious content.

Uh, oh - I've been found out.

I added the roller only to help the bow up onto the bunk. And it works amazingly well. Here's a sequence of sketches showing how the roller is deeper in the water, which contacts the bow at a shallower angle, but then no longer contacts the hull once the boat is fully on the bunks.

The roller was initially contacting the hull on the first long trip after I installed it, and it wore a gouge in the roller. Probably because it was half supported by the roller and half by the bunks, so it was wiggling around. I've since lowered it, and that didn't hurt the loading process, but now it's not contacting the roller when it's fully on the bunks.







Sorry for the sorry sketches, but I made them just to figure out if it would do what I wanted it to do. Which it does, with full credit to Herschel.

[Chinook]

I'll weigh in on trailer bunks, with a couple ideas I haven't seen referenced in previous posts. When my bunk 2x4's rotted out, I broke off most of the rusted bolts taking things apart. I decided to use that plastic wood that outdoor decks are built with, instead of any kind of wood. Stuff cuts and drills well and also holds staples just fine, and will never rot. For hardware, I went with stainless. I installed stainless T nuts, countersunk, in the tops of the bunks. They're also called spiked flange nuts, and they can't slip like sometimes can happen with carriage bolts. Just drill proper sized hole and pound them into place. After recarpeting the bunks with outdoor carpeting, stapled in place, stainless bolts and washers were screwed into the T nuts from under the trailer and tightened. System has worked great. When I repainted the trailer last time, every one of them unscrewed just fine, and also went back together just fine.

[BOAT]

Okay, I don't understand the roller thing either - if the boat is sitting on a roller thing what's the point of the bunk? For looks? I do not understand that set up bbbbecause I am sstuppidd. How does it work?

I can't see toms pictures - they will not open because my computer thinks it's malicious content.

Uh, oh - I've been found out.

I added the roller only to help the bow up onto the bunk. And it works amazingly well. Here's a sequence of sketches showing how the roller is deeper in the water, which contacts the bow at a shallower angle, but then no longer contacts the hull once the boat is fully on the bunks.

The roller was initially contacting the hull on the first long trip after I installed it, and it wore a gouge in the roller. Probably because it was half supported by the roller and half by the bunks, so it was wiggling around. I've since lowered it, and that didn't hurt the loading process, but now it's not contacting the roller when it's fully on the bunks.







Sorry for the sorry sketches, but I made them just to figure out if it would do what I wanted it to do. Which it does, with full credit to Herschel.

CRAP I can't see the picture - can you post them the old fashioned way? Or just send a link I can open?

[kurz]

@Tomfoolery
wow, this is way too smart... that there is no load when the boat sits on the trailer at land.

Hop that it will be like this in my configuration by chance

I will check out soon. So far I thought of taking out the roller after laoding.

[Tomfoolery]

@Tomfoolery
wow, this is way too smart... that there is no load when the boat sits on the trailer at land.

Hop that it will be like this in my configuration by chance

I will check out soon. So far I thought of taking out the roller after laoding.

If you are adding a roller to an existing trailer, just make sure you can adjust it vertically so that it's lower than the bottom of the vee-bunk in the front. Once the boat is on the trailer, you can adjust it further to it's not quite touching the hull. It is might be easiest if you initially set the roller far below the bunk, then bring it up with the boat on the trailer, as long as you can get a wrench on the bolts.

You don't even need a roller, in fact - just a carpeted or plastic bunk further back to help bring the bow up to the vee bunk in the front would do the same thing. But it's much easier to add a single roller to the existing vee bunk support than it is to add another cross member.

[Tomfoolery]

CRAP I can't see the picture - can you post them the old fashioned way? Or just send a link I can open?

Can any of you computer gurus advise here? I can print them to pdf or another format and either email them, or what else I don't know. I don't have any photo hosting ability any more since the whole photobucket and tinypic mess, nor do I have my own space anywhere (don't own a domain), though my ISP probably gives me the ability (Spectrum/Roadrunner).

[BOAT]

Yeah, it's not your fault - it's my stupid virus software - it tries to block pictures it thinks are porno but it uses some really lousy algorithms to decide what is a dirty picture like two circles close to each other or file names with the letters f or k in them and it's really stupid.

I finally got your pictures to open in Postimage.org.

By the way - for Tom, really for ALL you guys - if ever you still want to post real big pictures here on the site the old way use this host:

https://imgur.com/

This one is very easy - no ads, not blocking, no robot codes, nothing. Just drag your picture to their home screen and then get an address right there and post it.

[Jimmyt]

[Jimmyt]

https://i.postimg.cc/c4ChpbkZ/IMG-1302.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/tCckpN86/IMG-1303.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/qvCLRCd5/IMG-1304.jpg

[Herschel]

Okay, I don't understand the roller thing either - if the boat is sitting on a roller thing what's the point of the bunk? For looks? I do not understand that set up bbbbecause I am sstuppidd. How does it work?

I can't see toms pictures - they will not open because my computer thinks it's malicious content.

Uh, oh - I've been found out.

I added the roller only to help the bow up onto the bunk. And it works amazingly well. Here's a sequence of sketches showing how the roller is deeper in the water, which contacts the bow at a shallower angle, but then no longer contacts the hull once the boat is fully on the bunks.

The roller was initially contacting the hull on the first long trip after I installed it, and it wore a gouge in the roller. Probably because it was half supported by the roller and half by the bunks, so it was wiggling around. I've since lowered it, and that didn't hurt the loading process, but now it's not contacting the roller when it's fully on the bunks.







Sorry for the sorry sketches, but I made them just to figure out if it would do what I wanted it to do. Which it does, with full credit to Herschel.

Yes, that is the idea exactly, just an interim, rolling aid to getting the bow up onto the bow bunks. That might not be such a big deal to folks that use ramps that are a little steeper, but the ramps I frequently use are at a slighter grade and way too slippery to want to risk backing my rear tires into the water, so I depend on the roller to give this 75 y/o "cowboy" a little extra help lassoing my Charolaise "steer" back into the "shoot".

[Tomfoolery]

Yes, that is the idea exactly, just an interim, rolling aid to getting the bow up onto the bow bunks. That might not be such a big deal to folks that use ramps that are a little steeper, but the ramps I frequently use are at a slighter grade and way too slippery to want to risk backing my rear tires into the water, so I depend on the roller to give this 75 y/o "cowboy" a little extra help lassoing my Charolaise "steer" back into the "shoot".

In my case, most of the ramps are really steep. So steep that to get the bow bunk anywhere near deep enough to get the boat onto it without slamming it hard, which I've done many times, I have to back in so deep that the goal posts are gone. Not just gone, but can't even see them under the water. And I extended them to the height of the rail, which is pretty tall.

Works a treat in those cases, too.

[Tomfoolery]

Bow roller in action, at a really shallow ramp in Cape Cod (no mast on this trip). This would have been the second time I loaded it after installing the roller, as the first time was when I pulled it out of Lake Ontario for this trip to the Cape.

Notice that I scrape the tennis ball on the starboard goal post on the first approach, which I almost always do, even though I'm centered on the boat. Must have lopsided eyes. And as usual, the bow wasn't exactly lined up, but that is easily correctable with little power blasts from the OB. Rolls right up to the forward bunk. Also as usual, I had the engine idling in forward gear to hold the boat against the vee bunk, though that's a little risky if it decides to climb the bunk with me climbing over the bow and down the ladder.

On a steeper ramp, I'd normally power it right into the bow cushion, but it was especially shallow at this one, with the water up to the front wheels. I didn't want to go any further back in salt water.

Oh, and I gotta cut out the beer and pork rinds. NOT a good look there.

[Highlander]

All I can say Tom is that,s a real porker Mod !
but I can,t talk put on #20 the last 3 months gym , swimming pool & rec centers closed & I gave up hiking 6 km a day to work on the boat , doing my social distancing pubs , bars , restaurants closed also so I did save some money there lol, but things r slowly opening up with restrictions , luckily the food & Liq/beer stores never closed
J

[Herschel]

If for any reason the boat does have to ride on the roller for some period of time or distance, the shaft in the standard roller that West Marine sells is 5/8 in., which I think can handle the weight of our bows. For most applications of rollers they would have some boat weight on them. They do make different levels of quality of "rubber" or "thermal plastic" to go on the brackets.