Thank you for all the great feedback. I will try to start at the top. Yes pclkeen there have been some impacts, if you consider hard bounces the like the time my wife gunned it pulling off the ramp and bounced the whole trailer in the air over a bump she forgot about. I sailed one time after that incident with no problem, but the damage may have already started. As for really tight straps, it?s a possibility. I am seriously hoping someone can post some guidance on that topic. My rule of thumb for next time may be to actually put my thumb under each strap and tighten until it starts to feel uncomfortable.
The photo above shows another view of the damage from a few feet back. You can see a loosened strap and the boat is pushed aft from the bunk to reveal the damage. (The mast pieces normally ride on a wooden cutout, not directly on the deck!). It also shows a 2-piece leaf spring. The wheels are 12?.
Yes, the Force 5 structure is pretty close to a sunfish, almost identical to a Laser. That?s a deck overtop of the hull with lots of volume to take on many gallons of water in-between. My boat is a 1978 by AMF, before ALCORT, and long before Weeks Yachts bought the brand.
The other pic is a stock photo that happens to show the little wings rising from the aft bunk. Those wings dictate where the boat should sit, and apparently can make pressure points if you get it wrong. Today I cut the little suckers off (good riddance!) and put an inch of rubber mat over both bunks. I followed the template which was supposed to be a perfect match to the hull, but I probably trailered the boat one or two inches too far forward so a slightly fatter part of the hull sat between the wings.
I can post a better picture of the trailer setup tomorrow morning, But you will see the bunks are now covered with fat cushioning, not just carpet. Tpenfield, I wonder about the dynamic loading, since the boat is a few inches wider than the trailer frame and the bunks. I figured the best support would be to put a strap right over each bunk and an extra one in the middle. Granted, they all may have been too tight.
Mr. gddavid, I worry that you may be right about the springs being so stiff that I have no suspension. That?s exactly what it feels like sometimes. I have to wonder if it would be advisable (or possible) to remove the shorter spring leaf from each side. And yes, I did slide the boat back to show the damage that occurred over the bunk. Of course, the most frightening thing by far is the suggestion that an access port may be necessary to patch the hole from both sides. Forgive my ignorance, but what happens if I just try to build up the 3/16 inch of fiberglass from the outside and then resolve to never place the repair directly over a bunk? I saw a
huge hole getting patched on a laser where they put a board with a rope inside the hole and tied it to a tree. If necessary, I suppose I could put something through the hole and pull the piece back closer to where it belongs.
Thanks again for all the thoughtful replies.
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