Reline Bunks

[NYMINUTE]

I want to recarpet my bunks. Is there any method of lifting the boat off one side at a time enough to pull and reline one at a time. My guess is no, only to have the Marina pull and store it while I do this. It is a 21' open bow, weight 3800-4200 range. Curious to hear any successful methods.

 

[TexomaAv8r]

Re: Reline Bunks

Can't you just launch it and dock it somewhere for a few hours?

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Reline Bunks

I had to do that job. I also had to give the boat its start of the season lake test. So, I launched it, did my WOT runs and got things adjusted just so.<br /><br />Then I beached the boat and re-carpeted the bunks in the parking lot. Put all new rollers on, too. It didn't take long and I met some new boating friends in the lot.<br /><br />BTW, you might want to do this on a weekday, if possible. Folks get pretty rowdy if all the parking spaces are full and someone's working on their trailer.<br /><br />Given the size of your boat, you may want a dock to tie up to, rather than beaching it, as I did my little Glastron V-147 Fish 'n Ski.

 

[NYMINUTE]

Re: Reline Bunks

That was the plan, big concern is if I run into a jam (been known to happen) I could be stuck. Nearest Lake of any value is 55 miles. Probably is do-able, and I may revisit it if the Marina wants mega bucks for a 3 hour storage. They probably will charge for a month.

 

[craze1cars]

Re: Reline Bunks

My boat has 4 bunks lagged from the underside...two on each side of the hull. Here's what I did over the winter when lakes were frozen:<br /><br />Remove ALL the lag screws from both left side bunks. Put blocks under a floor jack to get it up high enough to reach, then jack up on the underside of one of the two loosened bunks to lift that side of the boat maybe 1/4 inch at most. This relieves pressure from the other bunk on the same side allowing you to slide the loose bunk out. Recarpet, put it back in with LOOSE lag bolts, drop the jack, move it to the new bunk, jack it up 1/4 inch to relieve pressure from the other old bunk and remove it. Repeat as necessary. I had no problems. If you have bolts all the way through your bunks, this may be more difficult as you'll have to lift the boat further to get the bolts out.<br /><br />Explore the "Restoration" threads here on I-boats, you'll see photos of all sorts of creative ways of lifting boats off trailers in your back yard...most involve a really stout tree to hang your boat from. Good luck!

 

[QC]

Re: Reline Bunks

Originally posted by craze1cars:<br /> If you have bolts all the way through your bunks, this may be more difficult as you'll have to lift the boat further to get the bolts out.

I would replace any lags with bolts while I was replacing the carpet on the bunks. In fact I would just make up new bunks ahead of time and chuck the old ones.<br /><br />I wish I had a dollar for every time I have tightned loose lags. My latest trailer has bolts and they have two nuts on to lock it. Much better setup.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Reline Bunks

I have adjusted the bunks on my trailer with the boat on it. I put 2x6 across one rear corner and some 2x4 under the chine and used a scissor jack to lift the boat off the bunk. The boat was resting on the front keel roller, the other bunk and the jack. It was secure, and if it fell, it would only have fallen a few inches to the bunk. My boat is a lot smaller than yours, but it should still work. You might want to use multiple jacks but I'm sure you can support it enough to unbolt the bunk for an hour or so while you re-cover it.