How do you support your boat?

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How do you support your boat?

Postby charsmith » Mon Apr 22, 2013 11:26 pm

I'm making some improvements to my trailer and noticed that when I hoisted the rear of the boat up that the bottom of the boat flexes a fair amount(maybe an inch?). I plan on trailering my vessel to the lakes and don't want to cause damage. Right now it's supported by 3 keel rollers and a set of 3.5' 2x4s on their side covered in carpet. Does that seem like enough?
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Re: How do you support your boat?

Postby GreenLake » Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:24 am

Make the bunks as large as you can manage. And definitely make sure that they support the place where the seat meets the bottom of the hull. 3.5' is way too short, the limit in length and width is really the entire flat area of the hull. I only trailer for moderate distances, so I compromised by using 8" x 6' because that's what worked well with the existing bunk supports, but as far as the hull is concerned I could have gone for much wider bunks.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Re: How do you support your boat?

Postby K.C. Walker » Tue Apr 23, 2013 9:20 am

Trailering can and does soften up the bottom of boats, much more so than anything else we do with our boats. Our boats have very flat bottoms with very little support, it's what makes them light and agile on the water. However, they are not the strongest boats. Anything you can do to spread out the load is a good thing. Rollers are basically a point load. Bunks fit well to the bottom are the best you can do. I went for 10 foot 2 x 12's laid flat and curved to fit the bottom with only one roller at the bow. It actually launches and retrieves easier than it did with the rollers, at least more controllable. It retrieves like it's on rails. I do trailer long-distance but feel that every bump you go over is trying to bounce the stiffness out of the bottom of the boat. Each time the boat flexes its breaking down the fiberglass laminate.
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