Thread: Champ Trailer had Rotten Bunks

My Bud I bought the boat from goes to a Lake for a month at a time. He just replaced the bunks 3 years ago but didn't use Cypress wood. It's OK if you fish then the bunks get to dry but he fishes 28 days out of 30 so the poor treatment used in today's treated wood just can't hold up to that kind of use. After finding the Lag Bolts loose it's been nagging at me to do a deeper dive. I'm glad I did as the bunks were rotting in spots.



When I replaced the tires on my Fishin' Expedition I kept the old ones to use for resting boats on. Here I'm using them for a safety support as picking this boat up with my overhead lift put a load on it.



The carpet was installed properly for good drainage but it had long periods of time continuously wet from daily dunking when on the lake.



Once the old boards are removed and the new boards cut I align one at a time for drilling. The clamps keep the board secure while I drill from underneath so all the holes align perfectly the first time. You must pick through the wood stack and only buy as knot free and densely grained wood as possible. You can see the board has very dense grain and no knots big enough to weaken the bunk after installation.



I do not ever install Lag Bolts in trailer bunks. When you see a bunk loose on someone's trailer after launching their boat you're looking at bunks attached with Lag Bolts.



My Bud used high quality Lag Bolts but I only use hot dipped galvanized Carriage Bolts. They never let a bunk float off.



Traditionally I only use Monel Staples but have let my stash get too low so I had to go out and get stainless steel to keep working. Since this boat is going to The Rez and I always use a entire box of staples on a job like this I should be fine for a long time.



By leaving the bolts in the wood I never carpet the wrong side and by writing which position & direction on the bunk they install with a perfect fit the first time.



Buying the carpet in 100ft rolls for my shop I set a roll in a folding chair while measuring off what I need for the bunk I'm working on. In the second picture I hope you can see just how many staples I put in the carpet. Only a 1 inch space between each staple. If you don't use a whole box of staples you didn't do it right. I personally like to do the long bunks first and fully bolt them down before moving to the short bunks.



The outside bunks are cut on a 35 degree angle on the stern end. here I am covering them with carpet before installing both on the trailer frame. I put the boat back on the trailer before quitting yesterday evening, I don't like leaving a boat in the air overnight if possible.