Boat lift adjustment for 242 LS

[Chocaholic]

Taking delivery of a 2017 242 LS and would like to adjust my lift bunks to properly fit the hull ahead of time. Did a search but couldn’t find any actual measurements. Since I don’t have the boat yet, I don’t have trailer bunks to measure.

Can anyone tell me the correct distance between bunks (either by measuring your trailer bunks or boat lift bunks)? Thanks!

 

[rrmidden]

I have a 21' and this is my first year on a lift. For the first time on, I left the bunks as they were spaced during assembly, and since the bunks are pretty short in height off of the boat lift beams, I could only move them farther apart a few inches before the hull would start hitting the boat lift beams, so I left them as is. It also depends on your boat lift and bunks too, so any answer off of the internet may not be worth much. So you may want to start with them close together and see how much room you have before making too many adjustments. It would suck to start with them too far apart and hit the boat lift first time trying to drive the boat onto the lift.

 

[Cory]

I have my trailer in storage - luckily my cradle worked just fine for mine without adjustments. In the off season I'll take it to one of my redneck friends and have him rework it to better fit, but its good for a season. I had to take my tower off though, my lift isn't tall enough to handle it.

 

[rrmidden]

I have my trailer in storage - luckily my cradle worked just fine for mine without adjustments. In the off season I'll take it to one of my redneck friends and have him rework it to better fit, but its good for a season. I had to take my tower off though, my lift isn't tall enough to handle it.

We were worried about that too, luckily our canopy adjusted high enough where the boat stays out of water and the tower can remain up. Otherwise, the place we bought it from said they do have extension legs if we needed to go higher, so you may be able to make it work. Assuming you're talking about a free-standing aluminum tower!

 

[Cory]

Unfortunately mine is a dedicated boat house, I'll have to remove the roof structure and raise the sidewalls about six feet and build a new roof to get it to where I want it.

 

[Chocaholic]

Sorry if I wasn’t clear. Only looking for the distance between trailer bunks. Thanks.

 

[MMWalton1119]

I have 2015 242 LS. My trailer has front bunks 8ft long and the brackets are 20 inches apart (inside edge to inside edge). Back bunks are 5ft long and 47 1/2 inches inside edge to inside edge of the brackets. Hope that helps.

 

[Ilmmct]

As mentioned above use the trailer bunk spacing as your guide ... also insure that the bunks don’t rest on the chines.

 

[Chocaholic]

MMW...thanks for those measurements...but now I’m even more confused. The front bunks (carpeted boards) are only 20” apart? I’m trying to position my boat lift bunks to match the trailer bunks. Since your trailer brackets are surely different than my boat lift brackets, I really need bunk to bunk measurements. I received a call a few minutes ago from the dealership that has my boat...he told me the bunks were 46” apart!

I’m sure your 15 and my 17 are the exact same hull. Guessing I’ll have to wait until the boat is here to be sure. Thanks for your help.

 

[Ilmmct]

https://jetboaters.net/threads/boat-lift-questions.11341/

 

[Chocaholic]

Thanks for the link. Read through and....no bunk spacing measurements. Thought this would be an easy one.

 

[Ilmmct]

Sorry thought it would help. Found the link in an old email around the time my lift was installed. Much of the measurement specifics “depend” on the Lift manufacturer and the keel. For example, the distance the cradles rest above the crossbar need to insure the keel sits safely (above this crossbar). If your move the cradle spacing out wider, due to the “V” shape of our boats, the spacing of the keel above this crossbar decreases.

 

[Chocaholic]

No worries....I did order the insecticide mentioned in that thread to get rid of all the spider mess on the dock. will play with the bunk spacing once the boat is here. Definitely don’t want to risk damaging the keel.

 

[Patriot]

I tweaked mine the first couple seasons as I started with the trailer measurements first. It felt sloppy catching the bunks so I moved them in some the next year and finally have them set equally front to back at approx 28 inches where the outer edge of the bunks makes contact with the boat. At this width it grabs the bow early and slides right on thru. Very helpful solo'ing or when windy.

 

[Chocaholic]

Thanks Patriot. I just came up from the dock and randomly set them at about 28” between the inner corner of the bunks. So, if I understand correctly, mine may be just a few inches further apart than yours (yours are 28” at the outer corner of the bunks). Sound correct? If so, I may tweak them a bit to match yours. Thanks!

 

[Weeb]

I’m actually interested in this information also. I’m in the process of getting a hydrohoist set up for a tritoon that I have to change. The instructions say to typically set the rear between 40” and 48” and the front three inches narrower (full length bunks). I have 44” between my rear trailer bunks so I don’t know if it will be narrow enough at the front. I also don’t won’t it resting on the transducer. My boat is in the water so if anyone with a 24’er has some input I’d appreciate it.

 

[Chocaholic]

Will be interested in your results. Won’t have my boat for two weeks, so you’re ahead of me in that regard. 40-48” just seems too wide and could risk keel contact with your lift. I plan to start narrower as indicated above. I will pull my bunks in a few inches to closer match Patriots measurements.

 

[seabrooktx]

I put mine at 45” to make sure I didn’t load the jet intakes on the bunks.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/2019-242-le-boat-lift-cradle.21857/

 

[Weeb]

Will be interested in your results. Won’t have my boat for two weeks, so you’re ahead of me in that regard. 40-48” just seems too wide and could risk keel contact with your lift. I plan to start narrower as indicated above. I will pull my bunks in a few inches to closer match Patriots measurements.

I’m not picking it up for a few weeks then I have to bring it home and swap out a bunch of hardware.

 

[Weeb]

I put mine at 45” to make sure I didn’t load the jet intakes on the bunks.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/2019-242-le-boat-lift-cradle.21857/

Nice job. Do you recall where the transducer ended up in relation to the bunks. I’ll be using 2x4 bunks. I’m going to look at a few boats at the marina.