Submerging the Trailer when launching and loading boat

[Mainah]

First and foremost make sure your bunks are free from tiny pieces of sand that you may pick up from the road. Once your are sure of that make sure that after loading your boat you give a hard stop to force the boat foward on the trailer and retighten the straps. This will make sure it is not shifting around and road debris is not getting between the boat and the bunks.

As @Bruce said also may sure your bunks are completely wet. I don't use the silicone because I am aftaid of accident or injury and water should be enough.

Lastly the carpet on the shorelandr trailers sucks. There are a couple of threads out there on where to find better carpet.

 

[jameskeller76]

We back the boat into the water and then unwinch it.. becareful that the winch handle doesnt get away from u

I always let out a foot of winch line first and then lock it. If the winch line is tight it could put undue stress on the bow eye and fiberglass as the back of the boat starts to float.

 

[bronze_10]

I always let out a foot of winch line first and then lock it. If the winch line is tight it could put undue stress on the bow eye and fiberglass as the back of the boat starts to float.

We let out a few inches for the same reason.. but i worry about letting that much out incase the boat does start to slide it will gain momentum and slamm the bow eye..

 

[jameskeller76]

We let out a few inches for the same reason.. but i worry about letting that much out incase the boat does start to slide it will gain momentum and slamm the bow eye..

I've never had it move until it starts to float but I back her in gently.

 

[bronze_10]

I've never had it move until it starts to float but I back her in gently.

Do u use liquid rollers? Mine has never moved.... u less i have somekinda silicon spray on the bunks.. then all bets are off.

 

[jameskeller76]

Do u use liquid rollers? Mine has never moved.... u less i have somekinda silicon spray on the bunks.. then all bets are off.

No, just the standard carpet.

 

[KXCam22]

I use silicone spray. It helps but it's not THAT slippery. People make it sound like the boat will skid right off, but the only noticeable difference is that I can tug the boat up tight to the roll with the winch (out of the water), whereas I could not do it before. Cam.

 

[swatski]

Yes, Julian, UBB's are exactly the type I tried in the past with horrible results. These units I am referencing are not like those. I remember my ski feeling like it was 'sticking' some when loading with those UBB's. They split where mounted and scratched my hull badly. I spent $1,200 repairing the hull and switched to these from Surfix. Much higher quality and after 4 years, my 1k pound ski has no visible marks where it loads and glides every time on and off.

That sounds great. Would you recommend those for the AR? I'm very interested but had seen so many pictures of hull gelcoat damage from various bunk pads, didn't even consider. But this Surfix thing sounds like a real deal.

--

 

[Cory]

am I the only one that puts the trailer in the water and backs the boat off under power?

 

[bronze_10]

We almost do that.. i put it in reverse and my wafe gives me a little backwars push and the. Jams the breaks

 

[jameskeller76]

am I the only one that puts the trailer in the water and backs the boat off under power?

I always back off the trailer under power. Our ramp seems to be perfect because it backs off really easily.

 

[Betik]

has anyone tried to spray only 2 of the 4 bunk boards ?

 

[rsg1963]

That sounds great. Would you recommend those for the AR? I'm very interested but had seen so many pictures of hull gelcoat damage from various bunk pads, didn't even consider. But this Surfix thing sounds like a real deal.

--

Hey swatski, yes I would and yes they are the real deal. The other types of pads folks had such bad luck with, were the softer, almost 'plastic' feeling types. I tried those first and they are junk. Some boaters even use silicone spray on top of the Surfix units to really get the glide going. They have an 8k pound limit so our 4-4.5k 240's (loaded) are definitely in the safe zone. As soon as my new trailer is built (and I drive to Ohio to get it), I will be ordering and installing these right over the bunk carpet. I usually like to winch my boat on to save my bow stop and prevent any ingestion of shallow dock-area debris, so their units are even more important to me. But....they ain't cheap.

 

[rsg1963]

has anyone tried to spray only 2 of the 4 bunk boards ?

I have and I've tried all 4 with the same results: A cloud of silicon or me forgetting to do it at all, since the bunks should be dry to apply properly and by that time I'm in another zone mentally. I'm done with that mess.

 

[swatski]

Hey swatski, yes I would and yes they are the real deal. The other types of pads folks had such bad luck with, were the softer, almost 'plastic' feeling types. I tried those first and they are junk. Some boaters even use silicone spray on top of the Surfix units to really get the glide going. They have an 8k pound limit so our 4-4.5k 240's (loaded) are definitely in the safe zone. As soon as my new trailer is built (and I drive to Ohio to get it), I will be ordering and installing these right over the bunk carpet. I usually like to winch my boat on to save my bow stop and prevent any ingestion of shallow dock-area debris, so their units are even more important to me. But....they ain't cheap.

Great info, thanks!
I think I'll be getting those for my trailer, should be easier to keep clean and free of sand and silt that settles in the carpet. I have been surprised how much wear I see on my (black bottom) 2016 hull - where the bunks sit - no real damage but a lot of scratching/dulling.

--

 

[KXCam22]

I usually spray only the front bunks since the hull doesnt touch the rear when loading. My typical routine is to give them a spray when i go get the empty trailer to put the boat on. Bunks have been drying in the sun all day. Mostly dries by the time I hit the ramp. Cam.

 

[Hannibal]

How far forward on the bunks should our boats be? The transom or trailing edge of my FSH is about 1/2" forward of the rear edge of the bunk. The winch looks pretty far forward on the tongue and it has more than 150 lbs of tongue weight using the strong arm scale. I can't lift it by hand. My FSH is also difficult to launch and retrieve using engine power. I see other people with other boats making it look easy with fenders and bunks just tipping the water like the book says. I have no choice but to winch it on the last 2'~. Will give the silicone or similar bunk spray a try.

 

[Dan_NC]

@swatski how did the surfix units turn out for you? I am having the same scratching issues with my black hull and the bunk carpet is toast.

 

[swatski]

@swatski how did the surfix units turn out for you? I am having the same scratching issues with my black hull and the bunk carpet is toast.

I'm sticking with the traditional carpeted bunks, for now.

--

 

[Dan_NC]

@rsg1963 are you still liking the surfix? Any issues ever develop?