A guy’s I hope this isn’t bad news

[Billy H]

Flat bottom, get rid of the rollers completely the only one you need will be on the winch tower. You’ll only need two bunks. You need to take some measurements when the boat is on the trailer to determine how much your bunks need to come up to clear the fenders, and distance between so as to not land on a strake. Make sure you’re figuring it so that the bunks will NOT be on edge and the brackets have some adjustment for up and down . They should be set to stick out past the transom an inch or two and go forward a bit more than half the length of the boat. You know you’ll have it right when you winch it up tight to the winch tower and the bunks are in full contact with the hull. Launching and loading will be a breeze.

 

[Douglasdzaster]

Flat bottom, get rid of the rollers completely the only one you need will be on the winch tower. You’ll only need two bunks. You need to take some measurements when the boat is on the trailer to determine how much your bunks need to come up to clear the fenders, and distance between so as to not land on a strake. Make sure you’re figuring it so that the bunks will NOT be on edge and the brackets have some adjustment for up and down . They should be set to stick out past the transom an inch or two and go forward a bit more than half the length of the boat. You know you’ll have it right when you winch it up tight to the winch tower and the bunks are in full contact with the hull. Launching and loading will be a breeze.

That’s close to what I had in mind when I’m able to redo it completely.
The trailer isn’t the original and I think it’s a little small.
With the bunks flat will I only need two with the boat being 52” wide on the bottom?
In order to make the bunks reach far enough I’m going to have to add a piece of angle for a cross brace so the bunks can support more of the weight.
Or something to that effect.
Right now I’m just trying to get by until I’m able to make changes.
The boat was rocking side to side and grinding into the small keel roller. The cross bunk helped but was still not wide enough so I made a 36” bunk which is just enough for all the strikes to rest on stop the rocking. But I set it to far back and to high the other night. I’m going to move it forward and lower it until the boat is back on the front of the bunks in the rear of the trailer. Since I adjusted those bunks first I’m going to see how the boat sits without the cross bunk now. Before putting the cross bunk back on.

Basically I have a trailer that doesn’t fit the boat I have and I’m going to have to make it work somehow. I’ve spent a lot of hours rebuilding the boat and not finished yet but the boat is usable enough for me to use until the dust settles enough for me to do the front deck. Not to mention what I put into the old outboard.
The Admiral (aka patient wife) needed the see me getting something back out of what I’ve been putting in and so did I.
Now the boats solid and safe, completely wired correctly. The Yamaha runs smoothly. Was hard starting but I dropped in three new spark plugs the other evening and the 40hp crank 2 nd pull. The old plugs are what I put in when I started all the work.
Now I’m just trying to get back and forth to the water while everything is biting. The trailer is next though. Got new hubs and replaced the bearings with better ones and new wheels and tires. Just got to rework with new bunks and brackets.
Who knows there may not be away to stop getting my feet wet but at least it’s going to support the boat better what ever I do.

I complained last year about the trailer and mentioned getting a different one and next thing I knew I received a new pair of waders for Christmas.

 

[Billy H]

That’s close to what I had in mind when I’m able to redo it completely.
The trailer isn’t the original and I think it’s a little small.
With the bunks flat will I only need two with the boat being 52” wide on the bottom?
In order to make the bunks reach far enough I’m going to have to add a piece of angle for a cross brace so the bunks can support more of the weight.

Two bunks are plenty for that boat. Do yourself a big favor and go to the launch or a marina/boat yard and take a look at trailers that are used for flat bottom boats tons of them use two bunks and only a roller on winch tower. That will give you an idea what you need to do or if your trailer frame is not feasible to be set up for your boat.

 

[Douglasdzaster]

Two bunks are plenty for that boat. Do yourself a big favor and go to the launch or a marina/boat yard and take a look at trailers that are used for flat bottom boats tons of them use two bunks and only a roller on winch tower. That will give you an idea what you need to do or if your trailer frame is not feasible to be set up for your boat.

I just measured and the two bunks on the outside are only 6 feet long. Any longer would rest on the frame where it starts to angle in towards the tongue.
How far from the bolster bracket can I go with a bunk and it still support. The transom is right at the edge of the bunks but it’s not far from where the bolster brackets are so I can make them a little longer? I want to bunks to stick out an inch or two past the transom anyway.

 

[thill]

Oh man, I'm just catching up on this one.

Doug,
Way to go with hanging in there! Sorry you are having these issues. I wish you lived closer, I'd give you a trailer that is better than that one. A neighbor gave me a decent bunk trailer that would be wide enough for your boat to fit on comfortably, and would be easy-loading.

When you say cross bunks, do you mean a bunk that runs side to side? Could you post a quick phone pic of the trailer? It would be helpful.

I've had trailers like that before. Sometimes, a trailer just won't work with your boat, especially when too small. When I get to the point where you are now, I've found the best solution is to clean it up and sell it on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace and buy a better fitting one. Most of the time they are about the same price, but often the better trailer costs less. But even if it's a bit more, it's always a huge upgrade and well worth the time.

 

[Douglasdzaster]

Oh man, I'm just catching up on this one.

Doug,
Way to go with hanging in there! Sorry you are having these issues. I wish you lived closer, I'd give you a trailer that is better than that one. A neighbor gave me a decent bunk trailer that would be wide enough for your boat to fit on comfortably, and would be easy-loading.

When you say cross bunks, do you mean a bunk that runs side to side? Could you post a quick phone pic of the trailer? It would be helpful.

I've had trailers like that before. Sometimes, a trailer just won't work with your boat, especially when too small. When I get to the point where you are now, I've found the best solution is to clean it up and sell it on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace and buy a better fitting one. Most of the time they are about the same price, but often the better trailer costs less. But even if it's a bit more, it's always a huge upgrade and well worth the time.

Thanks for the thoughts I appreciate it .
The cross bunk is just a support that mounts to the tongue for the bow to rest on. It’s a kit that comes with a 24” 2x4 that fits in the bracket on its edge.
The boat having a wide bottom would rock side to side on it some. Plus I think I should have put it a little closer to the bow. Over time the chims have put groves in the carpet and was getting into the wood of the bunk.
I made a 36” wide bunk from a 2x6 that fits under all the chins and the boat will not rock on it.
My intention was the new bunk would be flat.
The night I put it on at the launch was messed up. The bolster brackets I had were not going to place the 2x6 high enough.
I had already removed the short bunk . It was late and I was tired so I put the 2x6 in the slots the 2x4 came out of and lowered it as far as I could. I should have moved the whole thing forward to be on just the tongue and I’d have more adjustment room.
I loaded the boat and sure enough it’s to high. I was tired and back was killing me. There was no way I could shove the boat back off and start wrenching again.
I decided I’d go back to the ramp and then get it right.
On the way home when I hit the hey. My tow speed is 65mph. When I got close to 60mph everything started shaking. I thought I had a flat , wheel bearing about to come apart or a u joint on the truck.
I hit the eflashers. Got out with my light and couldn’t find anything wrong. I made it home doing 45mph with flashers on.
Next day I was still hurting but I unhooked the boat and drove my truck down the road up to 75mph and it was smooth.
I still haven’t gotten to look at the boat yet. But I’m hoping it was catching wind and causing the vibration. I’m going to raise it off the trailer enough to move that bunk toward the bow and lower it down. Hopefully the boat will sit better on the trailer. First I’m going to jack up each wheel and see if there is any play in the bearings.
The other thought would be a tire coming apart on the inside.
With the bearings checked and the boat lowered back down I’ll give it a test pull and see what happens.
The bow is high enough though I could see it in the mirror and the top of the boat was above my tail gate that the slope up underneath the bow could have been scooping wind under the boat.
My theory anyway.
It was tied down tight with two transom tie downs and tight on the bow but the boat was sitting crooked when I got home. I pushed on it and I could have slid it anywhere I wanted. Side to side even at an angle.
When ever I load and pull out the water. While I’m trying it down I make sure it’s straight. If it’s a little off center I have to shove with my weight to slide it in place. Now it slides across the slicks with a little more than leaning on it.

 

[Douglasdzaster]

Oh man, I'm just catching up on this one.

Doug,
Way to go with hanging in there! Sorry you are having these issues. I wish you lived closer, I'd give you a trailer that is better than that one. A neighbor gave me a decent bunk trailer that would be wide enough for your boat to fit on comfortably, and would be easy-loading.

When you say cross bunks, do you mean a bunk that runs side to side? Could you post a quick phone pic of the trailer? It would be helpful.

I've had trailers like that before. Sometimes, a trailer just won't work with your boat, especially when too small. When I get to the point where you are now, I've found the best solution is to clean it up and sell it on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace and buy a better fitting one. Most of the time they are about the same price, but often the better trailer costs less. But even if it's a bit more, it's always a huge upgrade and well worth the time.

Here’s a few pictures I took. When I first started having trouble with the trailer a while back I think even before the rebuild. I posted about it and got a lot of great advice but a lot of things wasn’t going to work on this trailer or I wasn’t able to do so. And I was told then I’d be better off getting another trailer. I looked and outside of going with new there just wasn’t any to fit my boat any better. Everyone around here hangs on to their tin boats and trailers and when they do sell the market lets them get top dollar.
I patched up what I had by making these few changes and it’s worked for a while but I was still having to push it off the trailer it was just easier. So I continued with the rebuild.
I just thought I knew about boats when I got this one. I knew it was going to be a lot of work but it was in my price range whereas all the others I looked at were unreachable and not what I really wanted. This was exactly what I was looking for at least 16’ and wide.
I’ve enjoyed and got a lot of satisfaction from bringing the old boat and motor back to life.
Had I of realized the trailer was going to be like this or all the corrosion I got lucky and got rid of I don’t know if it would be sitting in my driveway now.
It’s come to a point that the boat works good and outbound is great. Still need to replace front deck but put it on hold so I could fish and take it easy with being consumed with just the boat. I’ve neglected other things. My wife is patient and understanding but works full time. I’m seeing her struggle with trying to keep up with things here at home at the same time.
She needs more help from me.
So I started out with a bang getting things done and still making fishing trips as well as regular maintenance for the boat.
But with the trailer issues coming back it’s not enjoyable to spend time on it. I just need to get it working so that it’s not tearing up the boat. Later on after taking care of a few other things I’ll be able to fix it properly. I just have to figure out how I’m going to make the bunks longer whether it be ad a piece of angle across the frame or fabricate something else.
My wife is awesome but she will never understand why I need to swap trailers. It’s easier to make this one work and I don’t see it costing a lot of money.
Here’s pictures of how I brought it home. I’m going to move the cross bunk forward and maybe do away from the front roller you see.

 

[thill]

Okay, now I see what you are dealing with. A couple of thoughts hit me at first look:

1. If available, I would definitely use longer bunks. I had a trailer with similar issues, and I made them probably 3' longer in the front and 12" longer in the back as the ones pictured. Yes, it extended outside the angled part of the frame in the front, so I put a horizontal board under it to strengthen the front. It worked great. It was so much easier to load, and it was stable. The extended bunks in the back made it a lot easier to load, as you could really put the trailer down in the water.

2. How heavy is your boat? How big the motor? How big are those tires? 14"? They look nice and solid, but also look big for that trailer. I personally like at least a 13" D-rated tire as a minimum on most any trailer that I pull any distance, but on my last boat, I had to go with a wide,12" D-rated tire (570 series?)to make it work with the boat. I didn't like it, but it did fix my issue and was solid.

3. I would probably skip doing much more work, trying to make that one fit. I did a quick search of your area, within a 60 mile radius, and saw many, many trailers that will fit your boat much better. Many in the $100-$500 range. Not sure if the link will work, but here is the page I'm looking at:
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/103755132997293/search?query=boat trailer

We can talk via PM, if you like. I've done many, many trailers in the past. Hopefully, you can get a stable platform without breaking the bank or your back!