yet another trailer - looking for bunk advice

nworbekim

New Member
I recently purchased a 1977 sunfish and 1982 ez loader trailer from a nice guy in western PA where the sunfish had sat in his barn for the past 12+ years. The boat is in great shape and has cleaned up nicely. The story is the trailer was originally for a larger sailboat that got a new trailer and I suspect these bunks were put on later.

This trailer's bunks don't appear to match the advice I've seen in the sunfish forum. I looked in the Sunfish Bible and Sunfish Owners Guide for recommendations and ideas but am still not sure about how to configure the bunks. I intend to remove the mast support unless there's a way to reuse it for the sunfish.

Would you look at the attached pictures and let me know how you would configure the bunks for this trailer and what you'd use for mounting etc? I'm trying to keep it simple but also make it "right".

Here's pictures of the trailer
IMG_0342 (2).png

IMG_0345 (1).png


IMG_0343 (1).png



Trailer measurements

IMG_0347.png


3 bunk configuration options.

Optiion A - support at bow, hinged bunks at mast and bunks along about 7' of aft chine
IMG_0348.png


Option B - support at bow, hinged bunks at mast and cockpit plus 3' bunks along aft chine.

IMG_0349.png


Option C - support at bow, hinged bunks at mast, forward cockpit, aft cockpit and stern.

IMG_0350.png


Option D - ???? what would you do ????
 

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I recently purchased a 1977 sunfish and 1982 ez loader trailer from a nice guy
Option D - ???? what would you do ????
None of the above? :confused:

Will this boat be used in salt water?

The trailer is oversprung for one Sunfish. I'd cut the lowest leaf spring off. Both sides. ;) Then I'd buy two 5/4-inch boards about 14-feet long. (5/4-inch boards are typically used for sun decks).

Align the boards longitudinally with the Sunfish chines, and secure both ends—one end secured, but allowed some slack. The boards will conform to the trailer's ride, and won't present anything to damage the hull. Cover with indoor-outdoor carpeting. The above is a common design among larger sailboat trailers.

In salt water, (Great Bay?) use bronze or stainless-steel for screws and bolts. Use "finishing-washers" for grip on carpeting.

Or go to these guidelines:

Guidelines for Building a Cradle for a Sunfish Sailboat on a Trailer (archive.org)
 
Looks like the bunks were made to carry the boat deck-side down. That is a preferred way to carry the boat as the deck seems better able to support the boat during travel than having it sitting on its hull. But most people carry their boat right-side-up.
 
None of the above? :confused:

Will this boat be used in salt water?

The trailer is oversprung for one Sunfish. I'd cut the lowest leaf spring off. Both sides. ;) Then I'd buy two 5/4-inch boards about 14-feet long. (5/4-inch boards are typically used for sun decks).

Align the boards longitudinally with the Sunfish chines, and secure both ends—one end secured, but allowed some slack. The boards will conform to the trailer's ride, and won't present anything to damage the hull. Cover with indoor-outdoor carpeting. The above is a common design among larger sailboat trailers.

In salt water, (Great Bay?) use bronze or stainless-steel for screws and bolts. Use "finishing-washers" for grip on carpeting.

Or go to these guidelines:

Guidelines for Building a Cradle for a Sunfish Sailboat on a Trailer (archive.org)
None of the above? :confused:

Will this boat be used in salt water?

The trailer is oversprung for one Sunfish. I'd cut the lowest leaf spring off. Both sides. ;) Then I'd buy two 5/4-inch boards about 14-feet long. (5/4-inch boards are typically used for sun decks).

Align the boards longitudinally with the Sunfish chines, and secure both ends—one end secured, but allowed some slack. The boards will conform to the trailer's ride, and won't present anything to damage the hull. Cover with indoor-outdoor carpeting. The above is a common design among larger sailboat trailers.

In salt water, (Great Bay?) use bronze or stainless-steel for screws and bolts. Use "finishing-washers" for grip on carpeting.

Or go to these guidelines:

Guidelines for Building a Cradle for a Sunfish Sailboat on a Trailer (archive.org)
Hi,

Thanks for the link to the Internet wayback archive. Can someone add the frequently asked questions to this forum's resource page?

I don't completely understand your suggestion. Are the boards touching the sunfish on the 5/4" edge? What do you mean by "one end secured but allowed some slack"?

We'll primarily be using this boat in fresh water (near Lake Sunapee) but it may take occasional trips to salt water.
 
5/4 refers to lumber dimensions which is about 1 inch thick. L&VW is suggesting that you use planks that bend to conform to the shape of the hull and that they are placed along the chine or outside edge of the hull and are only attached to supports at either end of the plank.
 
Your name wouldn't be Mike Brown, would it? Lol. You could simply install custom-made (or custom-cut) bunks out of wooden 2" x 6"s or 2" x 8"s, doubling up the planks for each bunk and padding them afterward. Use a technique called "spiling" to transfer the exact shape of the hull to the wooden planks, then cut each plank, double 'em up, and sand 'em smooth. Add padding later in the form of a closed-cell sleeping pad, yoga mat or whatever... you can glue the padding in place, no hardware to scratch the hull. Two or three bunks placed athwart or across the trailer and bolted into place would do the trick. I made a simple cradle like this for one boat, I just went ahead and added planks to the sides to strengthen the cradle. Bolted it to an old utility trailer given to me by a friend, and that setup lasted for years. Gave the wood a lick o' paint for protection, using some paint left over from some other project. Minor hassle, but effective... Cheers!!! :rolleyes:

Edit: Oh, yeah, I used large stainless steel eye screws as tiedown points for that trailer, they went into the side of the cradle, but you could just as easily place them at the ends of the bunks (if you don't add sides).
 
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L&VW is suggesting that you use planks that bend to conform to the shape of the hull and that they are placed along the chine or outside edge of the hull and are only attached to supports at either end of the plank.
Correct. ;) Add the advantage of a trailer which accommodates other small boats, and which eliminates the need for tracing (or spiling).

I forgot to mention its full dimensions, which are 5/4ths-inches x 6-inches and (usually) 16 feet.

In Canada: 5/4ths-inches x 6-inches x and (usually) 16-feet. ;)

Now, 5/4ths is (usually-) pressured-treated wood that is known for its "bendiness". Use the softer side "up".

Even more bendy are the composites, "Trex", "Timbertech", or "Azek", which are "artificial" wood products. Though expensive, this would be better--but for its hard surface rubbing against gelcoat. Again, attaching carpet would protect against damage.

Addendum: My storage ramp to the lake has its lowest board made of Trex. When wet, it makes hauling the Sunfish up the ramp much easier. :)
 
5/4 refers to lumber dimensions which is about 1 inch thick. L&VW is suggesting that you use planks that bend to conform to the shape of the hull and that they are placed along the chine or outside edge of the hull and are only attached to supports at either end of the plank.
Correct--thanks...

My Mariner-class discussion group published this on 5/4" planks, rollers, and moving the axle above the springs ("overslinging") for LESS ground clearance:

"I like the 5/4 idea for a number of reasons (including that the amount of clearance between the bunks and fenders will be tight), and will try that tomorrow.

The wobble roller trailer I had the boat on had (at least) 4 issues:

The boat sat up super high and made it difficult to launch and retrieve.
  1. The (black) rollers constantly scuffed the hull.
  2. Sometimes the rollers would get in awkward positions, and the boat would slam down as I retrieved it (especially with steep ramps where I couldn't see the position of the aft rollers.
  3. The trailer I bought the boat on last year was majorly rusted, I'm lucky the tires didn't explode on me last year, the rollers were in deteriorating shape, and in general would have taken a significant amount of my time/money to get into a good enough condition that it wouldn't bug the living daylights out of me.
The boat sits VERY low on the new bunk trailer (the springs are underslung in addition to the natural height difference in the two trailer styles). Case in point: one of the keel roller brackets has ~6" of ground clearance. I may end up overslinging the springs to buy 3-4" of more clearance, but there isn't a top hole on the axle for the spring center bolt to go into. If I oversling, I will probably drill a hole for it."
 
Correct--thanks...

My Mariner-class discussion group published this on 5/4" planks, rollers, and moving the axle above the springs ("overslinging") for LESS ground clearance:

"I like the 5/4 idea for a number of reasons (including that the amount of clearance between the bunks and fenders will be tight), and will try that tomorrow.

The wobble roller trailer I had the boat on had (at least) 4 issues:

The boat sat up super high and made it difficult to launch and retrieve.
  1. The (black) rollers constantly scuffed the hull.
  2. Sometimes the rollers would get in awkward positions, and the boat would slam down as I retrieved it (especially with steep ramps where I couldn't see the position of the aft rollers.
  3. The trailer I bought the boat on last year was majorly rusted, I'm lucky the tires didn't explode on me last year, the rollers were in deteriorating shape, and in general would have taken a significant amount of my time/money to get into a good enough condition that it wouldn't bug the living daylights out of me.
The boat sits VERY low on the new bunk trailer (the springs are underslung in addition to the natural height difference in the two trailer styles). Case in point: one of the keel roller brackets has ~6" of ground clearance. I may end up overslinging the springs to buy 3-4" of more clearance, but there isn't a top hole on the axle for the spring center bolt to go into. If I oversling, I will probably drill a hole for it."
Do you have any pictures that show examples of this?
 
Do you have any pictures that show examples of this?
Don't remember if there were pix. I left that discussion group after I sold off my surplus Mariner hardware.

However, after an unsuccessful search using the killer-term, "overslinging", here's a start anyway:

 

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