2002-11-10; 11:09:06 EST
Member Since
2002-09-17
Posts: 4946
Wally, I would replace the bunks with treated 2 x 6's. The same as what you are replacing. The bow in the bunks comes from having the boat on the trailer and the new timbers will get the bow after a short while. When attaching the timbers, you will notice that there is some play in the bolt holes, allowing for the stretching and eventual bow. When taking off the old bunks, mark them as to location and which way they face. Use the old bunks to mark and drill new bolt holes and cut for length. I found reasonably priced bunk carpet which is UV and mildew protected at Lowe's Home Improvement store. I purchased stainless steel staples, but used mostly aluminum roofing nails to attach the carpet to the bunks. Attach the carpet prior to installing the bunks. I would also recommend replacing the bolts, nuts and washers with new as they are inexpensive. I used an air wrench to help with the removal and installation of the new bolts, otherwise it would have been a lot of manual labor. It's not a hard project, but a little planning and forethought will give you a nice looking job. One of the trickiest areas are doing the ends of the boards with carpet. Look carefully at how they are currently done and try to place all fasteners (nails or staples) on the bottom edge of the bunks, out of site and won't cause any problems scratching the hull. RummySee the original archive post