Adjusting Bunks - Not Sure If I Did this Right

[jsfinn]

I searched for old posts and found a lot of different answers on this, so I'm not sure which is the right way to go.<br /><br />I got my boat on a new-to-me trailer today and I want to make sure my keel and bunk rollers are adjusted properly.<br /><br />My boat is wooden and has a fairly large keel - about mid-ship, it's probably 2 or 2 1/2 inches deep by 2 inches wide. it tapers down after that to be about 1/4 inch deep at the transom. It's 16 feet long and weighs about 500 pounds with no motor or anything in it. This is a picture (from the transom look forward to the bow) of it on the old trailer:<br />

<br /><br />The new trailer has bunks that have rollers built into them - they look sort of like this but are enclosed around the ends of the rollers:<br />

<br /><br />Some say that the weight should be on the keel rollers and others say that the weight should be on the bunks. <br /><br />which way is the right way?<br /><br />Thanks!

 

[jsfinn]

Re: Adjusting Bunks - Not Sure If I Did this Right

Anyone?

 

[TELMANMN]

Re: Adjusting Bunks - Not Sure If I Did this Right

Not an expert but I would try to have a balanced load. If too much rests on the keel then any weight on the sides would tend to be pulled down with gravity and stress the outer areas of the boat. On the other hand if you put too much on bunks it would flex the inner.

 

[lark2004]

Re: Adjusting Bunks - Not Sure If I Did this Right

Normally the bunks should just kiss the bottom of the hull. <br /><br />But with that system, I would brobably set it up to have even pressure on the keel and the bunks.<br /><br />Make sure that the boat is really well secured onto the trailer before you drive anywhere. This includes getting off the ramp. With a setup like that, the boat is likly to move very easily.<br /><br /><br />BTW, is that a crack along the edge of the keel and hull near the left hand side of the photo?

 

[tomatolord]

Re: Adjusting Bunks - Not Sure If I Did this Right

what matters is the boat not the trailer...<br /><br />My boat does NOT rest on the keel roller, the mfg of the boat designed the boat that way. <br /><br />On my boat the keel roller is just a guide onto the boat..<br /><br />Other boats do require you to rest on that roller, which is why those rollers can be moved up and down. <br /><br />So you can contact either the trailer mfg or the boat mfg to see what they say.<br /><br /><br />my boats rests only on the bunks in the rear and what I call a nose bunk in the front.<br /><br />tomatolord

 

[jsfinn]

Re: Adjusting Bunks - Not Sure If I Did this Right

Thanks, everyone. I think I'll adjust it so a little more pressure is on the bunks but still leave most of the load on the keel. <br /><br />The more I think about this, the more I feel comfortable putting most of the weight on the keel. The way this boat is built, the keel is the spine and is the strongest part of the boat.<br /><br />Lark - It's not a crack - that's the drain - there is a plug on the other side of that thing. Weird, huh?

 

[TwoWatt]

Re: Adjusting Bunks - Not Sure If I Did this Right

I searched a few threads & this is as close as I can come to an existing thread....so here we go.

New boat. 17' Key West Center Console. 2 Bunk trailer

First time out today & noticed the boat wants to pull to one side of the trailer when winching it on.

I noticed it before leaving....so I put the backed the boat into the water to where I could see the back moving......gave it some slack, repositioned the back end......tightened it back up & noticed it slid back to where it was..

So do I just have to adjust the bunk over to the "good side" ? Or adjust both?

The boat sits entirely on the bunks. No rollers.
(sorry for the newbieness of the question, but I'm not sure)


Thanks.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Adjusting Bunks - Not Sure If I Did this Right

If your boat has longitudinal stringers (for and aft) then the bunks should be positioned directly under them. The back end of the bunks should extend about and inch or so past the transom. It appears the boat is positioned too far back in the pictures. The transom should be carrying some of the load. On a wood boat I would also suggest you balance the adjustment between the keel and bunks. As for lateral bunk adjustment, they should be adjusted equal distance from the edge of the trailer and directly under any stringers in the boat. Centering is a loading issue.

 

[TwoWatt]

Re: Adjusting Bunks - Not Sure If I Did this Right

Sorry Silver. I bumped a post that was over a year old....hoping to get an answer to my question