Replacing trailer bunk boards

prc03sx195

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Nov 3, 2007
Messages
151
I have an eagle trailer, single axle for the glastron 19' boat and notice the bunk boards are getting very soft in places. I tariler the boat every where I go so my problem is how can I replace the boards? There are four of them and the lag screws are very rusted and some are coming out. Are the boards pre-drilled so the position is determined?
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

paul
 

tpenfield

Moderator
Staff member
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Jul 18, 2011
Messages
17,621
Re: Replacing trailer bunk boards

2 x 6 pressure treated for the new bunk boards. Carpet and stainless steel staples

A sawzall to take out the rusted hardware as needed. then you can use galvanized hardware to replace the old stuff.
 

bonz_d

Vice Admiral
Joined
Apr 22, 2008
Messages
5,274
Re: Replacing trailer bunk boards

While the boat is on the trailer very carefully use a floor jack or a couple bottle jacks and lift the boat enough to take the pressure off the bunks. Don't try and lift too high, just enough to be able to remove one bunk at a time. That is one way but the safest way would be to remove the boat from the trailer then there is no saftey question.

Use the old bunk board as a template, match the boards up and reinstall the same way that they are on now.
 

spdracr39

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Aug 30, 2010
Messages
1,238
Re: Replacing trailer bunk boards

While the boat is on the trailer very carefully use a floor jack or a couple bottle jacks and lift the boat enough to take the pressure off the bunks. Don't try and lift too high, just enough to be able to remove one bunk at a time. That is one way but the safest way would be to remove the boat from the trailer then there is no saftey question.

Use the old bunk board as a template, match the boards up and reinstall the same way that they are on now.

This is the way I did it. I jacked it up at the transom and used some 2x6 blocks to distribute the weight. I jacked it up enough between the bunks to do one side and then the other side. All my brackets were all good so I replaced the bolts with stainless lag bolts. No problem at all.

Be sure your screws aren't too long :eek:
 

FastFission

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Sep 3, 2011
Messages
134
Re: Replacing trailer bunk boards

Here's how I did mine this spring. I used two 8 foot 2X4s, kiln dried douglas fir. I measured the bolt positions from the original bunks, predrilled the new bunk boards and countersunk for carriage bolt heads. I varnished the bunk boards and installed the bolts with some marine adhesive to fix them in place. I wrapped the bunks with bunk carpet and stapled them with SST staples. The old bunk bolts were completely rusted and I couldn't get a sawzall in, so I used an air chisel to knock the bolts off below the brackets.

I raised one side at a time with two floor jacks and a 2x4, and blocked them with jack stands against the trailer frame. Whatever you do, I would recommend using blocks to hold the boat up rather than relying on hydraulic jacks (I never trust my life or boat to jacks).

There are other ways that might be better, depending on your resources. If you have enough blocks and jacks, you can lift the whole boat from the ground with keel blocks. If your old bolts can be loosened, you could also just launch the boat and dock it, and replace the bunks in the parking lot. I'd considered that, but I had to shear the bolts and didn't want to drive the boat to the ramp without bunk bolts.

Here's a picture of the rig I used for lifting the boat. My trailer is galvanized and I wasn't too worried about scratching up the finish.




While the boat is on the trailer very carefully use a floor jack or a couple bottle jacks and lift the boat enough to take the pressure off the bunks. Don't try and lift too high, just enough to be able to remove one bunk at a time. That is one way but the safest way would be to remove the boat from the trailer then there is no saftey question.

Use the old bunk board as a template, match the boards up and reinstall the same way that they are on now.
 

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