Silicone bunks

[FLboy3]

How many of you use silicone or something like that to make it easier to load and unload your boat? I have and it came to mind that some products could possibly cause blistering or some other gelcoat issue. I looked on my can of Gunk heavy duty silicone spray and it contains: Petroleum distillates, mineral oil, silicone, butoxy ethanol, carbon dioxide. Does anyone have a product that doesn't have petroleums or ethanols that could possibly harm the gelcoat when sitting on the bunks for long periods of time. I used it on my other boats and never had a problem that I know of. Anyone have any imput of better spray on lubricants.

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

How about installing sliks(spell?)That plastic cover that goes over the bunks.

[brokebeach5011]

I would love to have some of these if the price would ever come down.They are expensive.

www.bunkaps.com

[yellowdog]

www.surfixinc.com. Just got these for my Wesco trailer. Haven't put them on yet, but guys that have them say they are great. Everyone advises to not unhook the boat until it's in the water. It will slide off! Cost $135

[TooTall]

I put those slides on my tailer a couple of years ago and they are right don't disconnect to boat till you have a line in your hand. The first time I took the hook off the boat and there it went. I was on a shallow slope ramp and never thought the boat would go anywhere...WRONG!!!

Brokenback, I found my slides in a Boat World store in a old beat up bag. No one there knew if they were any good. I knew and stole them cheap.

[bigfish3]

I am with TT on the trailer slicks, I have a small power catamaran that was a mother to get off the trailer.

I installed the slicks, and now launching is an easy single handed affair.

I always throw the loop from a dockline over a bow cleat and tie a bowline to the trailer so that the thing doesn't get away from me when it is sliding off the trailer!

I never remove the winch line clip from the eye until I am ready to launch...

Cheers,
Butch

[Willie]

This is a less expensive alternative possibly one you have cluttering up your garage or back yard... They are cut from the plastic lattice you can buy at Home depot or Lowes or any such type store. I believe a 4 x 8 sheet cost 10 bucks or so. Slippery as all heck so keep the boat secure until its in the water.............Willie

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w172/wareese27/strips.jpg

[yellowdog]

I nominate Willie for the "Making the Best Use of All that Junk I've Got in my garage" award! Wished I'd seen his idea before buying the commercial ones.

[Willie]

Yellow dog, thats why you ( and I ) keep all that junk in the garage, to some day find a use for it. This idea and picture were from the other sight. I have a 4 car garage with a 1965 cadi fleetwood and my CS in it and the rest is used for storage, a thing my wife hates cause her car and mine sit out in the snow......... oh well Willie

[Harry]

I nominate Willie for the "Making the Best Use of All that Junk I've Got in my garage" award! Wished I'd seen his idea before buying the commercial ones.


That's why it is SO IMPORTANT to use the search tap here. Willie posted that about 6 months ago and if you type in Bunk slicks in the search, you would have saw them and saved a bundle.

CSO is not just another pretty face, we save you money. Kind of like switching to Geico ... ;D

and I stayed at a holiday Inn express last night .... 005

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

This is a less expensive alternative possibly one you have cluttering up your garage or back yard... They are cut from the plastic lattice you can buy at Home depot or Lowes or any such type store. I believe a 4 x 8 sheet cost 10 bucks or so. Slippery as all heck so keep the boat secure until its in the water.............Willie

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w172/wareese27/strips.jpg


Willie, is that plastic material safe on the gelcoat? I mean would it scratch the boat?Looks like a very good idea, and i do have junk in my garage too ;D
I was thinking of making them out of polypropelene(spell?) pieces or even starboard that i have in my garage, what you guys think?

[skunkape]

Flboy3, I have been using just plain ole silicone spray on my trailer bunks since 00' when my boat was new. And I have seen no ill effects. I just keep a can in the tool box in my truck and give them a shot at the ramp every once in a while. 012

[yellowdog]

Willie, I posted your idea on another site(I thought is was worth sharing) and someone asked how you attached the lattice. They were concerned about not being able to countersink the fasteners low enough to avoid scraping the hull.

[o2bfishn]

Nothing Else,

Some company out there makes slides out of starboard for sale, but you can make your own with ½” starboard and a router. Just counter sink the screw holes you drill for mounting the board, don’t want to scratch your hull.
014 015 016 018 017 021 020 019 013 003 001 006 005 004 010 011 012 009 002 ;D :o ??? :P 021 015 014


02bfishn

[Willie]

That picture came from the msn sight a while ago, I believe they just drilled and countersunk and used stainless steel flat head screws. I bought my boat and trailer used and it came with the commercial slicks on it. I have no idea about the wear on the gelcoat, but they are mighty slick.....Willie

[Familymanof5]

Well I took my slicks off my trailer last time I put the boat in. Not because they are scratching the hull. They are just so slick it is hard to put the boat back on the trailer. You have to keep power on the boat the entire time you are hooking up and winching. If anybody wants them locally they can have them. I also have a huge pile of 1" thick white plastic. Sorry but I am not going to ship this stuff. Seems like 90% of the price for anything is the shipping.


FM5

[yellowdog]

Familyman, i hadn't thought about the boat sliding off after you had pulled it up on the trailer. Do you mean your boat will slide off even after the bow lip is over the front roller? I pull my boat up over the bow roller and then cut the motor off, go up and hook the strap and safety chain. Was still hoping to be able to do it that way with the strips(haven't mounted them yet).

[Harry]

YELLOWDOG

See my last post in this thread that I seached up.

It tells of my issue of spraying down my plastic bunk slicks with silicone. It took me 3 tries to finally get the strap on. The boat kept sliding back off the trailer, & I was by myself.....

http://carolinaskiffowner.com/index.php?topic=108.0

BECAREFUL WHEN USING SILICONE SPRAY AND PLASTIC BUNKS !!!

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

You suppose to spray the carpet bunks with silicone not the slicks. 019 019 019 019 019

[Harry]

What did I know, Being from the NE I always has an EZ load wobble roller trailer ... ;D

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

What did I know, Being from the NE I always has an EZ load wobble roller trailer ... ;D


secret waving yay thumbsup 021 021 021 021 019 019 019 019 019 019 019 019 O0 003

[shaggy3131]

I'm a little confused. I had read somewhere the instuction to apply silicone spray to slicks. It does make them really slick and like someone said, the boat will slip back in the water when loading it on the trailer if you don't keep pull on the boat. But I figure the slicker the bunks, the less wear on the gel coat.

Can someone clarify whether or not it's OK to spray the slicks?

Actually, it had never occurred to me to spray the carpet? Does that really make the carpet slicker and the boat easier to load?

[Gunnar]

I would either put on the slicks or spray the carpeted bunks not both.

Gregg

[Familymanof5]

Yellow

I took my roller off and made a stop that the bow runs up.



FM5

[Willie]

I don't run the boat up on the trailer.....Back the trailer in till the wheel are a bit wet then pull / float the boat by rope onto the trailer and hook up the winch strap then just wind her on in......the slicks make this easy to do by hand............secure the boat by locking the winch and pull her out...........am I doing something different? Don't understand the problem....017

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

I would either put on the slicks or spray the carpeted bunks not both.

Gregg



Ditto.

[FLboy3]

So I guess the concenses is that the spray with the petroleum and junk will not hurt the gelcoat.....lol.

[Loki]

I use somthing called Liquid Rollers. About every 4th trip or so I spray down the bunks.

[fishfair]

Don't over spray your carpet bunks with silicone or you will need to keep your motor running to keep the boat on the trailer.The first time i over spray every time i ran up on the bunks and cut the motor i would slide back off just as fast as i went on. Now i just give it a light spray once a month and works great.Be sure your boat is in the water before you release winch strap from the boat

fishfair
Balto. Md 012

[Harry]

So I guess the concenses is that the spray with the petroleum and junk will not hurt the gelcoat.....lol.


Didn't hurt mine. But I only sparyed it on there once .. 006

[Big Will]

Silicone is super slick non reactive stuff. Probably won't hurt anything.

Most folks I know don't use anything except indoor outdoor carpet and that is slick enough to slide boat on and off and sticky enought to hold the boat in place for practical purposes.

Course, my hull looks like a old pair of drawers - holes - streaks- etc., so I don't know why I even mentioned it.