Bunk Lubrication

A

agallant80

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I have a 25 foot cruiser that is about 7K. Its a bit of a PITA to crank on the trailer if things are not perfect. It would be much easier of the bunks were slicker. Any recommendations of covering for the bunks or lubrication?
 
JASinIL2006

JASinIL2006

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Re: Bunk Lubrication

I sprayed mine with a simple can of silicone spray. Made a HUGE difference. Cost about $8. And I only used a small fraction of the can...

Jim
 
roscoe

roscoe

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Re: Bunk Lubrication

Old fashioned paste car wax.
 
tpenfield

tpenfield

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Re: Bunk Lubrication

I usually just back the trailer in deeper :noidea:
 
A

agallant80

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Re: Bunk Lubrication

With the spray stuff can you put it on when the bunks are wet or do you spray it on after the bunks dry?
 
JASinIL2006

JASinIL2006

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Re: Bunk Lubrication

I think it says to use it on dry surfaces. I did.

Jim
 
sweet addiction

sweet addiction

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Re: Bunk Lubrication

agallant80 said:
With the spray stuff can you put it on when the bunks are wet or do you spray it on after the bunks dry?
Click to expand...

I would say do it when the bunks are dry. Silicone will not bond real well to a wet surface.
 
emilsr

emilsr

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Re: Bunk Lubrication

agallant80 said:
With the spray stuff can you put it on when the bunks are wet or do you spray it on after the bunks dry?
Click to expand...

It would probably be best to do it when dry, but unless the trailer has been in the sun all day that may not happen. Even spraying wet bunks will help. I usually use 303 because I have it handy.
 
Knot Waiting

Knot Waiting

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Re: Bunk Lubrication

Won't having that oil/silicone pressed against your hull over long periods eventually start to yellow the gelcoat?
 
A

agallant80

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Re: Bunk Lubrication

I just picked up a cal of liquid rollers. Figured I would try the $13.99 method before moving on to other things. I am starting to wonder if I should have paid $800 more for the roller trailer, though I here those need allot more attention than the bunks.
 
roscoe

roscoe

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Re: Bunk Lubrication

Knot Waiting said:
Won't having that oil/silicone pressed against your hull over long periods eventually start to yellow the gelcoat?
Click to expand...

Trying to figure out how you would ever know, or care.

If the boat is on the trailer, you wouldn't be able to see it.
Same if the boat is in the water.
 
U

UncleWillie

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Re: Bunk Lubrication

I use SLYDZ-ON.

Go boating and let the trailer bunks dry out for a few hours.
Stop back at the ramp and spray the dry bunks.
Go boating for another hour to let the spray dry.
20 minutes is probably long enough.
Every 3rd recovery I add a little more spray, Just spray and recover.

Never remove the Bow eye Straps/Chain until the boat is over the water; They Can/Will self launch.
You don't want to dry dock the boat on the concrete!

I can position the boat for launch, unhook, give it a starting shove, and it goes in all by itself. (2700lb Bowrider)
The bunks are 100% out of the water and remain dry!

On recovery the Admiral cranks it back on after I position the boat at the end of the trailer.
Only the first 6 inches of the bunks touch the water on recovery.
 
bruceb58

bruceb58

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Re: Bunk Lubrication

Guess its just me...I would rather have my boat harder to move off the bunks. Of course all the ramps I boat at are sloped pretty well so there is minimal cranking....and no power loading!!!!
 
R

rbh

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Re: Bunk Lubrication

Do you realy want a 7k boat seated on a slick surface/frictionless?

One hard stop should tell you if your straps are strong enough to hold the boat on the trailer.
 
U

UncleWillie

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Re: Bunk Lubrication

rbh said:
Do you really want a 7k boat seated on a slick surface/frictionless?
One hard stop should tell you if your straps are strong enough to hold the boat on the trailer.
Click to expand...

Every hard stop will tell you if the straps are strong enough.
The friction of bare, un-lubricated carpeting will not be strong enough to hold the boat in place.
It is shifting a bit at every start and stop, you just never see it.

Even with Bunk Lube, it still takes a He-man shove to get it started.
Once it starts moving it keeps going.
Lube helps a lot, but it is far from frictionless.

Occasionally, I will detach the bow and backup a few inches and bump the brakes to get it to launch.
This does not always work on the first attempt. It is on there better than you might imagine.

Consider the thousand of boats on Rollers; They have almost no starting friction.
Without total reliance on the straps, you would never make it out of the driveway.

Roller Bunks on a Launch Ramp.
 
bruceb58

bruceb58

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Re: Bunk Lubrication

That's why I don't have a roller trailer!

Where I live, bunk trailers work fine. All the ramps are very good.
 
P

pullin

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Re: Bunk Lubrication

I tried the silicone spray. I sprayed it on before reloading the boat, and the next time I went to the lake it was like magic. I unhooked the winch and safety strap, backed quickly down to the water like I usually do, and got the surprise of my life. I looked in the truck mirror, and thought, "There's another boat just like mine floating about 30 feet from the ramp! What're the odds?".

You can guess the rest. It involved swimming and loads of entertainment for the other folks at the ramp.

As said above; Don't unhook until the trailer is almost in the water. Trust me on this one.
 
Last edited:
gm280

gm280

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Re: Bunk Lubrication

Yes Silicone all the way. However, make sure you don't disconnect your strap hook until you are over the water. A friend of mine sprayed his bunks down (they were dry at that time too) with silicone spray to help launch and retrieve his boat easier and quicker. The next time he went to the lake was during the crappie spawn and everybody was in line waiting their turn to launch their boat at the two ramps available at this portion of the lake. So he wants to get in and out as quickly as he could and removed all the straps and safety chain ahead of time to not take too much ramp time and was ready to launch next in line. Well his turn came up and he backed down the ramp and stopped short of the water to get into the boat so his wife could finish backing the boat in and drive the trailer out after the launch. Well when he stopped, his boat didn’t...it easily and quickly slid off the bunks exactly how he predicted and wanted. So there laid his boat about two or three feet from any water on the concrete ramp. You can imagine the rolling eyes and under-the-breath cussing from the folks behind him wanting to get on the lake to fish the spawning fish. He literally had to winch the boat back on the trailer and finish backing in. So yes silicone will make your boat launch so much easier and stays on the bunks for a long time as well...
 
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