Trailer bunk repair needed. Your thoughts?

SFGiantsFan

New Member
Aug 3, 2010
51
Sacramento, CA
Boat Info
1991 200 Bow Rider
Engines
5.7L Mercruiser w/Alpha 1 and HighFive SS prop.
The old wood bunks on my Ziemann trialer are worn out. I tried to replace the bolts but they are misaligned and the bolts keep coming loose. I was planning on repairing them so I was curious what you guy would suggest. There are two 10 ft. lengths and two five foot lengths. I was going to get some lumber and replace the carpet as well. Should I use pressure treated lumber? Would it last longer? Also, I see a lot of people are using carpet from Lowe's since the West Marine would be about 90 bucks, is it just as good? Thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks. :smt001
 
Be careful with the pressure treated lumber. The new stuff is very reactive with hardware. You are supposed to use stainless or other special bolts or they will corrode away. The guys at the lumberyard can help you with that. I would just use standard good lumber. If you don't fully wrap the board it will drain and dry pretty fast. Regarding the carpet I use the outdoor carpet from Lowes myself, but a CSR supporting vender Corinthian Marine Carpet was running a special on precut rolls of bunk carpet a week or two ago. see http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/37931-Trailer-Bunk-Carpet
 
You could also put bunk slicks (plastic caps) on the boards, instead. Makes loading/unloading even easier and they last longer than carpet.
 
The old bolts did corode away and I got new stainless ones. I tried using a waterproof wood glue with a slightly larger diameter bolt to make up for the holes opening up and it lasted for a while but they just need replacing. I ordered the carpet and will look into some good lumber to use. Thanks for the help guys.
 
A friend of mine has some nice old redwood I can use for the boards. I will be sealing them with some marine grade sealant first but what do you guys thing about bolting them up. The lag bolts like the original bunks don't seem to be the best way to do it for lasting a long time. So I was thinking about counter sinking SS machine bolts from the top down and putting lock washers and nuts on the underside. Thoughts?
 
My thought, honestly, is you're putting more thought into this than needed. Keep it simple and just get it done, you know? I can't comment on whether or not the Redwood is a good choice for this application. But, if it was me, I'd get some untreated boards from the local home center and some galvanized lag bolts. Your original stuff did last 20 years - I wouldn't say that was a bad way to do things - quite the opposite.
 
Yeah you're right. I'm just waiting on the carpet from Corinthian now.
 
A thought to why countersinking the bolt heads from the top side could be a bad idea: it'll open up the wood to more water intrusion.
 
Yeah, I thought about that afterwards as well. I also thought about "T" nuts with machine bolts. But I think I should save some money and put it toward some "guide-ons" instead.
 
I'm all for improving upon things, but in this case there's a tried and true method that is easy and cheap. For what it's worth, the t-nuts would open the wood to more water intrusion, as well.

Are you sure you need the guides? If the trailer is set up correctly, it should be a piece a cake to load that boat - even with wind or waves. Save the money from the guides for gas!
 
No I am not sure the trailer is set up correctly to be quite honest.
When I bought the boat the bow was not up against the roller supports in the front. The previous owner had it roped down to avoid bouncing when trailering.
IMG_0013.jpg

I moved the winch and rollers up to meet the bow.
Bow.jpg

You can see the gap in the first pic and the rust spot where it moved up. About 2 inches or more.

However, the two small bunks on the outside are not flush to the bottom of the boat, at the back there is about a half inch gap which is where the bolts keep getting pulled out.
IMG_1507.jpg

IMG_1519.jpg

IMG_1513.jpg

The 10 footers at the center appear to be ok though. What are your thoughts? Any help would be greatly appreciated. :smt001
 
For what it is worth, I love my trailer guides. The PO put them on, and at first I was kind of mixed - they sort of took away from the sleekness of the package. I debated taking them off, but when I found out they may have cost $90- $150, I decided to see what they are about.

First, they have been a very helpful sight guide when backing my 8'6"wide trailer into my 9' wide garage door. I know I have everything lined up properly when the guides look equally impossible to back in according to the view in my rear view mirrors. I slowly back and suddenly the trailer guide view in the mirrors slims until it pops through the garage door, just keep it equal and steady.

Second, I love them coming off the water at the ramp. My trailer seems to need a pretty good dunk to get the boat off, and to get it to winch properly back up so the bow eye gets to the roller. Lake water here can be murky and the trailer can be hard to see. The guides let me know exactly where the trailer is, and very gently perfectly center it. They also keep the boat gliding back neatly when coming off the trailer, the boat can't swing left or right, and the keel has never caught any part of the trailer. I've done a lot of lunkhead things in my newbie season, but hitting the trailer in a nasty way is one thing I have not yet managed to do!

They were also a big help this last weekend. The ramp was extra busy, and it seemed we should not tie off at the dock and get the trailer. My wife can’t back the trailer, and is just getting some chops at the helm. She looked pretty tense when I suggested I get the trailer and she should drive the boat up. But, when I had the trailer down in the water, she was able to see her target from halfway across the marina. She drove the boat across, slowed it perfectly, my 11 year old crew member threw a rope, and I pulled her on with ease.


P1010218.jpg
 
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Sorry about the phantom post here. Not sure what I did.
 
Those are some of the exact reasons I want guide ons. But I may just put gas in the boat too.
 
That is why I love my roller trailer. It easily self centers and doesn't need to be set real deep. Just put guides on my 270 bunk trailer, to keep the stern set in cross winds. MM
 
Was this trailer originally made for your boat?

The bunks seem to be in good spots. You can shim those small bunks with large, galv washers.

My biggest concern is the winch stand. I don't like the design of those two rollers. There is no way for the bow eye to "lock" in place - hence the "bouncing" you mentioned. The rope setup that the previous owner did is hokey. Get yourself a nice, heavy duty, adjustable strap. Go from the bow eye, straight down to the trailer tie down. A chain with turnbuckle is another option.

For what it's worth, bunk trailers (correctly set up) do a better job of centering the boat on the trailer. I actually converted my
trailer from rollers to bunks. The definite benefit to rollers is if you're launching/retrieving at a shallow ramp.

Don't get me wrong - the guides won't hurt. But, they really are unecessary with a properly setup trailer. I've had experience (not just my personal experience with, probably, 20 - 30 boats) with literally hundreds of boats/trailer combos over the years. The wheel fenders are another good thing to look at when backing up.

Don't worry about getting parts of the boat hung up on the trailer - the boat will either on the bunks or floating above them. Just get the bow somewhere near the center of the bunks (doesn't have to be perfect). Let the boat settle, then give the engine a little power (turn the wheel as needed) and drive the boat onto the trailer. Power loading on a cement ramp is great - with gravel, you can only use a small amount of power - keep backing the trailer further into the water.
 
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...
My biggest concern is the winch stand. I don't like the design of those two rollers. There is no way for the bow eye to "lock" in place - hence the "bouncing" you mentioned. The rope setup that the previous owner did is hokey. Get yourself a nice, heavy duty, adjustable strap. Go from the bow eye, straight down to the trailer tie down. A chain with turnbuckle is another option.
...

+1 to that. The bow eye needs to be "pinned" up underneath the roller for a couple of reasons. Yes, the bouncing, but also, in the event of a hard stop (rear end event) you don't want the boat riding up over the rollers and onto the back of the tow vehicle. It is a key safety setup in hauling boats to have the bow eye locked in. With those two rollers like that you can't. Additionally, besides the winch strap, which is a straight on pull, I'd put another HD strap from the bow eye straight down to the trailer pole to keep the bow held down securely. That coupled with a better bow roller will give you a much better feel while towing, along with the added security that should something go wrong, you don't have to worry about the boat landing on top of you.
 
I don't think I am following you guys about the winch stand. The rope pic was the way I brought the boat home. Here is how it is currently. I move the winch up to meet the bow eye, it is adjustable. Is this OK? It doesn't bounce at all. It sits very firmly in place.
IMG_1511.jpg

I like the idea of shimming the end bunks. I will do that when I replace them because I don't think the boat will rest on the new ones properley.
 
Personally, I'd just get a more modern trailer that matches the boat, like the one Dave205 has, if you are planning on keeping the boat for a few more years and beyond.

SFGF, that is one sharp looking, clean '91 200 BR. Is the inside just as clean?
 

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