A (hopefully) final trailer question

V

vtsailer

Member
I've made custom bunks for my trailer. Two for the stern and one for the bow. The bunks are contoured to the hull, as shortypen has suggested. They run along the beam of the boat.

The bunk for the bow is approximately 12 to 16 inches long (port to starboard). It is made from a pressure treated board that is two inches wide (bow to stern). The galvanized steel beam on my trailer is two inches across the top, and three inches from top to bottom. The bunk needs to be attached to this beam.

I am struggling to find a way to attach this bunk to the beam. I'm hoping that there is some sort of bracket that can be attached to the board with bolts, and can be attached to the trailer with "U" bolts. I'd rather not weld something, since I'm not sure that I want a permanent fixture. I've also heard that welds can fail over time.

The bunk is not supporting much weight. Most of the weight is on the stern bunks.

Does anyone know if such a bracket exists? If so, what is it called? I live in a fairly rural area, so selection is limited. If needed, I can get to a Home Depot or Lowes.

Are there any other solutions that involve easy to obtain supplies?
 
Sometimes you just gotta do what has to be done. Welds will NOT fail over time if properly done. I've ridden in many aircraft made in the 1930's with a welded tube fuselage. The weld is just a strong as the surrounding material. Causes of weld failure can be poor penetration or poor surface perpetration. If you are welding galvanized steel you MUST wire brush the galvanization off the surface of the metal before starting to weld.
Personally, I would recommend Gas/Acetylene as the best way to be sure of a proper weld. If you ever want to remove the bracket, you can cut it off, grind the surface smooth and you are back where you started.

The other method would be to weld up a custom bracket that clamps on the frame. Anyway, fabricating your own parts teach you a lot, even the failures are valued lessons.
 
I was just about to fabricate some custom bunks for two of my trailers. I was stopped by the neighbor who complained to the town. It seems zoning only allows one trailer and one boat no matter what size. So I'm selling all my Sunfishes and buying the largest and ugliest boat I can find and parking on the property line--just kidding.

I too wondered how to attached these once I build them. I plan to bolt some normal bunk boards on and then glass those to the forms I was going to make. I was also planning on making forms to stack two boats. My trailers bounce around too much. I thought more weight would help, and also, I need to carry more boats.

In any event, please post some pictures with your progress and any lessons learned for the group. Good luck.
 
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