Raise Trailer Bunks With the Boat on Them?

I just bought a 27' Sea Ray Overnighter that came with a new Boat Works aluminum trailer. All is well except that the boat sits sooooo low to the ground on it. Literally the drive is only 8-10 inches off the pavement when in trailer mode. Is this normal? My previous boat held the drive well over 15 inches off the ground. Do I need to raise my bunks? If so is it possible to do with the boat on the trailer? Thanks

Re: Raise Trailer Bunks With the Boat on Them?

Knot Waiting said:

I just bought a 27' Sea Ray Overnighter that came with a new Boat Works aluminum trailer. All is well except that the boat sits sooooo low to the ground on it. Literally the drive is only 8-10 inches off the pavement when in trailer mode. Is this normal? My previous boat held the drive well over 15 inches off the ground. Do I need to raise my bunks? If so is it possible to do with the boat on the trailer? Thanks

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Pictures of your situation would be worth alot.

Re: Raise Trailer Bunks With the Boat on Them?

Raising it is not a problem but launching afterwards may be so take that into consideration before you do this.

To lift the boat you need to make a set of boat stands out of 6x6. Lower the trailer as far down as it will go, measure the distance from the bottom of the boat at the transom and guess the angle (probably 12 degrees). You can use a framing square to get the rise and just reverse it. Cut two 6x6 and place them under the transom. Raise the front of the trailer as high as you feel comfortable going and cut and place another 6x6 under keel. Lower the trailer back down and you can now adjust your bunks up to the level you want. Reverse the lift process to remove the blocks.

Re: Raise Trailer Bunks With the Boat on Them?

I've done this before.

I like JLawsen's 6X6 method.

I did the same using a hydraulic floor jack.

Worked great.

It wouldn't hurt to use some old carpet to pad between the 6X6 and the hull

Re: Raise Trailer Bunks With the Boat on Them?

Knot Waiting said:

I just bought a 27' Sea Ray Overnighter that came with a new Boat Works aluminum trailer. All is well except that the boat sits sooooo low to the ground on it. Literally the drive is only 8-10 inches off the pavement when in trailer mode. Is this normal? My previous boat held the drive well over 15 inches off the ground. Do I need to raise my bunks? If so is it possible to do with the boat on the trailer? Thanks

Click to expand...

A few pictures would be good . . . I'm thinking that the bunks might not be level with the trailer . . . as in low in the back.

Re: Raise Trailer Bunks With the Boat on Them?

Regarding the current height. The boat is setup this way intentionally. Because of the size and weight it takes more water to float it off the trailer. If you raise it, there is a strong possibility that you'll end up with the launch vehicle in the water before the boat is able float off. Powering off may even be difficult.

I have two boats setup for low level launching. One is a jet and the other an outboard. I have to raise the motor on the outboard just to get the hitch on the ball and I have to run a transom saver because I am well past the trim when I raise it to a safe level. On the Jet, I have a guard built into the trailer with a roller on the bottom. Sort of like a wheelie bar. Boy do I love it though when I have to launch from the beach or on a lake with low water. I'm in and the rest of the guys are standing around trying to figure out what to do. There are trade offs certainly but in my case, they're worth it.

If you are set on raising it then I highly recommend converting to rollers. That will get you back some of your launch ability. I could have gone roller on mine too but I had the materials and I'm a welder so it was just easier.

Re: Raise Trailer Bunks With the Boat on Them?

Thanks to everyone for their replies. Interesting points about changing the ease of loading and retrieving. Maybe the trailer is supposed to ride this low and I'm just not used to it. Will start a new thread about safe ride height.