Bunk Lubrication

[agallant80]

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.

I thought long and hard about your point and I did a half-***** job spraying the bunks because I did not want to make them too slick but I am wondering how slick bunks would be any different than having rollers instead of bunks. Would the boat not move more freely on rollers than lubed bunks?

 

[JASinIL2006]

Re: Bunk Lubrication

If you find the little bit of silicone isn't slippery enough, you can always add more. I think you make a good point about rollers, too.

Jim

 

[agallant80]

Re: Bunk Lubrication

It makes me wonder how strong those back straps really are.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Bunk Lubrication

I sprayed the heck out of the bunks under my 10,000 lb boat and they are DEFINITELY NOT too slippery.... IE boat absolutely can not be pushed off by hand by 2 big guys on a very steep ramp BUT my boat is bottom painted so may be different results if yours is slick.

I have HDPE slides at the front but I'm gonna add more when I get around to it.

 

[rbh]

Re: Bunk Lubrication

I thought long and hard about your point and I did a half-***** job spraying the bunks because I did not want to make them too slick but I am wondering how slick bunks would be any different than having rollers instead of bunks. Would the boat not move more freely on rollers than lubed bunks?

Honestly I worry about having a secure load more than I worry about how hard it is to launch or retrieve the boat.
Besides the winch strap and safety chain, I have a 6 inch web strap with ratchet (not sure of the rating but its commercial transport legal) across the bow and one across the stern.

As a couple of the guys mentioned, put your trailer in deeper, build some side bunks (or whatever they're called) to keep the craft centered on the trailer.
When you pull the trailer out the boat will/should sit right were it should go on the bunks.

 

[sweet addiction]

Re: Bunk Lubrication

It makes me wonder how strong those back straps really are.

MMMMM back straps!!! Yum!! Now I want a steak. Off topic, but I just had to say it.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Bunk Lubrication

Honestly I worry about having a secure load more than I worry about how hard it is to launch or retrieve the boat.

Ditto...and also the reason I don't like roller trailers.

 

[sweet addiction]

Re: Bunk Lubrication

Originally Posted by rbh
Honestly I worry about having a secure load more than I worry about how hard it is to launch or retrieve the boat.

Ditto...and also the reason I don't like roller trailers.

Agree 100%

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Bunk Lubrication

I have hauled 60,000 plus lb equipment on wheels and tracks without parking brakes THOUSANDS of miles with no issues whatsoever... If you correctly strap down the load it doesn't matter if it is sitting on pig snot... it isn't going to move....

 

[rbh]

Re: Bunk Lubrication

I have hauled 60,000 plus lb equipment on wheels and tracks without parking brakes THOUSANDS of miles with no issues whatsoever... If you correctly strap down the load it doesn't matter if it is sitting on pig snot... it isn't going to move....

Its a boat, not an excavator.
Next time you move your boat chain it down, crank that binder down as hard as you would if it was made out of steel. But you won't because its made of fiberglass.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Bunk Lubrication

Of course not..... you secure it properly for what it is.... The point is that a couple flimsy straps on the transom and the winch MAY NOT be sufficient but when I hit he road with a load of ANY sort I am absolutely certain that it is securely fastened to the trailer.. On my Montecarlo, for the short 3 mile trip to the river where I drive at about 30 mph and reach about 45 mph for less than 1/4 mile once, I use the winch cable and safety chain along with two heavy 1" straps angled to the rear on the front and a 2" strap over the drives on the rear....

For Long trips at highway speed I add two more 2" straps One over the bow behind the cleats and one over the stern in front of the cleats.

The boat is absolutely secure and short of an accident that could possibly demolish the truck trailer and boat... it ISN'T going to move!

 

[rbh]

Re: Bunk Lubrication

Agree for the most part, but the issue I maintain is not the lateral movement but the fore and aft movement.

As with all/most boat trailers the hull is cradled preventing lateral movement, with the exception of height to weight ratio (top heavy) in which case you could role the trailer given the right circumstances.

Fore and aft movement, if your trailer was longer you could tie your boat back instead of just straping it with no holding angle and while we strap the boat on like a load of lumber with a winch post in the front to stop forward movement I maintain that is not enough in "CERTAIN" circumstances to keep the boat on the trailer. IE Power stop, head on collision.

I am talking about a fairly heavy boat here not a skiff.

And this is my reasoning for "NOT" using a bunk lubricant.

Also how much tension will your bow eye take before you rip it out winching your boat on?

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Bunk Lubrication

well interestingly I just tested this a few weeks ago... I went to MA and picked up a parts boat for my Montecarlo... I just put new electric brakes on both axles and the work REALLY well and the brakes on my dually are nothing short of amazing... On the way home while doing 75 mph or so I had a slow moving truck cut me off bad and then hit the brakes because he got cut off too.... I was on the brakes for all they were worth... Everything in my cab went flying and everything in the boat got tossed forward as well... Had a few things broken in the process.... I have the two HDPE pieces mentioned before and before I left to get the boat I soaked my bunks with an entire can or silicone...a 10,000 lb boat with 40,000 lbs of straps and a winch stand holding it stays put.

 

[Al Kungel]

Re: Bunk Lubrication

Here is an example of what can happen when the boat is not securely tied down and you need to stop in a panic.

 

[agallant80]

Re: Bunk Lubrication

I ended up lubing the bunks up. I did not go crazy just a few coats, It is much easier to load the boat on to the trailer. I can't really put the trailer in any deeper because of two reasons. The first is I have seen people with large trailer back off the ramp (some ramps have a drop off, and the other is if I go too deep the boat will float off the trailer, I need to be able to back the boat off in a controlled fasion. Just a bit of lube helps get the boat in the trailer strait every time which is challanging with such a large boat, It has also saved my arm and made it much easier to crank it up the rest of the way.

 

[four winns 214]

Re: Bunk Lubrication

Silicone spray worked wonders for me. Spray it on liberally dry or wet. It needs to be reapplied every so often.

 

[frantically relaxing]

Re: Bunk Lubrication

I won't have have a roller trailer, or even a slickened up bunk trailer. But if you really want slick bunks, first measure your bunks, then look up your local plastics supplier, give them the bunk dimensions and have them cut you out some 1/4" thick white HDPE to match. Drill 6 or 8 mounting holes in each, be sure to countersink the holes, then screw them to the bunks with some brass or stainless #12 screws. You'll now have teflon bunks that the boat will slide on & off of so easily you'll be totally amazed!

Just don't complain to me when the boat slides off the trailer during a yellow-light left turn!

 

[LilRedNeckGirl]

Re: Bunk Lubrication

I too have a 25 foot, 7000 pound boat and a trailer with bunks. Typical issues used to be tide out, low water at the end of the ramp. We bent countless hand winches loading it over the years.
Finaly, fed up with watching tides and cutting days short, WE fabricated a new extra heavy duty winch stand with two winch platforms , for the trailer, transfered the old hand crank to a lower platform on that stand, then added a 20,000. pound power winch to the top platform. Now, we load from a low water steep ramp effortlessly with the power winch, then secure with the hand crank. add the safety straps and its road ready.
It is my understanding, that bunks are designed more as a " float on/float off" system. Hand crank winches often pull the boat both forward and down onto the bunks. adding the raised winch stand helped a lot, as pressure was taken off the bunks as the boat moves forward.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Bunk Lubrication

Here is an example of what can happen when the boat is not securely tied down and you need to stop in a panic.

stern eye straps wouldn't have made any difference in a sudden stop like that. Fiberglass would have ripped right out.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Bunk Lubrication

Here is an example of what can happen when the boat is not securely tied down and you need to stop in a panic.

That is NOT a Panic Stop!
That is a truck hitting an immovable object.
The pole didn't even bend; The hood crumpled around it.
The trailer buckled. No amount strapping would ever work.

That's like prepping for a nuclear attach by stocking up on Sun Screen lotion.