Another newbie question... lift bunk placement?

[jsg73]

So I need to adjust the bunks on my lift for the new 2019 212x. I will measure to determine what I think they should be but it would be great if someone already knew how far apart the bunks should be for this particular model.

 

[Ilmmct]

Did your purchase include the OEM trailer? If so, this is a good starting point for the required spacing and height to insure your bunks don’t rest on the chines and also have enough height to support the keel passing safely through.

 

[jsg73]

Yes I have the trailer to use as a starting point.
I am just being lazy. Why repeat work someone else has done if you don’t have to?

 

[Weeb]

That dimension doesn’t always work because they drop the rear cross brace down to accommodate the keel. I set my lift bunks at 28”s in the rear and 25 in the front based on another members suggestion and it catches the boat great when coming in.

 

[jsg73]

Doesn’t that mean the rear is resting in the intake grates? I would think that was bad.
I have them set at 36 and 24 right now but have not launched the boat yet. I suppose I will examine the space for the nozzles before lifting the boat.

 

[Weeb]

What kinda of lift do you have? Is there 2 or 4 bunks? I only have two bunks so I narrowed the front of them 3”s. I have a hydrohoist lift the bunks don’t hit the grates their recessed a little in the front.

 

[jsg73]

2 bunk 4400 lb Hydrohoist.

I measured the inside width of the rear trailer bunks at the furthest point from the hitch to be acceptable (resting on the boat hull smoothly) at 37 to 42 inches.
I measured the inside width of the front trailer bunks at the furthest point from the hitch to be 23".

I set the bunks on the lift to be 23" (inside distance) at the front and 36" (inside distance) on the rear.
When I raised the lift the first time, I raised it very slowly and let it just kiss the hull. I then jumped in and determined how this bunk placement would work. Turns out that the lift still need to be set out a bit in the slip so my bunks are about a 10" short of reaching the very rear of the hull. and it literally was about 1/2" outside the intake grates on each side. There was also plenty of clearance for the keel in both the front and rear from the steel members.

The lift arms can be moved left and right by 3" increments. That means I could set the rear at 42" and be damn near perfect but I would need to widen the front of the bunks to 29". If make those changes, I am concerned the keel might touch the steel cross members so I have not done that yet and may just let it stay as is.

Any observations are welcome.

 

[MidnightRider]

@jsg73 I know this thread is old but hoping you can weigh in for me. I'm installing this same 4400 Hydrohoist lift next week so the numbers you provide will be very helpful. The other thing I was wondering is how the boat sits on the bunks back to front? For a level lift does the bottom of the back of the hull line up with the bunks or how does it sit on the bunks back to front to be level? Just trying to figure how far forward/back to attach the lift in the slip. Thanks!

 

[MNJets]

I have a 2019 212X and waited until this spring to purchase a boat lift. I have a 6,000 lb Beach King mechanical lift (cables and pulleys). I spent 2 hours adjusting the bunks as the dealer didn't have a good plan on the layout once the lift arrived on the lake. I have 2 sets of bunks (inner & outer) and each bunk is a solid bar from front to back unlike the trailer which has "split" bunks. The outside bunk is fairly wide which has 2 immediate benefits - it stabilizes the boat to keep from rocking once on the lift but more importantly it eliminates the boat from hitting the sides of the lift when navigating in. The outer bunks almost act like bumpers on a bowling alley.

 

[MNJets]

Conf call & distracted - I'll get some measurements later today along with a few pictures.

I have a 2019 212X and waited until this spring to purchase a boat lift. I have a 6,000 lb Beach King mechanical lift (cables and pulleys). I spent 2 hours adjusting the bunks as the dealer didn't have a good plan on the layout once the lift arrived on the lake. I have 2 sets of bunks (inner & outer) and each bunk is a solid bar from front to back unlike the trailer which has "split" bunks. The outside bunk is fairly wide which has 2 immediate benefits - it stabilizes the boat to keep from rocking once on the lift but more importantly it eliminates the boat from hitting the sides of the lift when navigating in. The outer bunks almost act like bumpers on a bowling alley.

 

[MNJets]

This might not be exactly what you were looking for but may provide some insight on your slip setup. My inner Bunks are 24" apart from each other. The outer bunks are 66" apart from each other. This allows the hull to ride approximately 3" above the cross beam and eliminates the chance of rubbing. The bow of the boat is not supported much by the bunks which hasn't been a problem due to the lack of weight in that section. I have the outer bunks set up to avoid the hull sitting on one of the "ribs".

 

[Weeb]

I installed a hydrolift. You can get the directions on line. Following the directions my bow is a little lower when placed to be able to step off the bow on to the dock. Witt that said my dock is covered and I have the mooring cover on so it’s not an issue. The bunk risers can be set to a four or six inch rise depending on which way you turn them. Mine are set to six inches. I have a 28” spread on the bunks in the rear and 25” in the front. It grabs the hull good when coming in. I have an AR240 so I. Don’t know off hand if they have the same beam. let me know if you have any question.

 

[jsg73]

Ideally you want the transom to be at the very end of the bunks. Most of the weight is in the back so you want it fully supported.

Weeb- “It grabs the hull good when coming in”, implies the hull is driven onto the lift like the trailer? That is a bad thing on a floating lift because it can put undue and unexpected forces on the point where the lift anchors to the dock. Over time it can mess-up the dock attachment points badly and possibly damage the lift frame.

On my floating hydrohoist, the lift is supposed to be completely submerged below the hull when coming into or leaving the slip.

Another thought in general... these boats are great backed into the slip because it is so easy to step on and off the rear platform. Unfortunately my slip has a dock anchor winch in the corner so I hesitate to moor it stern first.

 

[Weeb]

Ideally you want the transom to be at the very end of the bunks. Most of the weight is in the back so you want it fully supported.

Weeb- “It grabs the hull good when coming in”, implies the hull is driven onto the lift like the trailer? That is a bad thing on a floating lift because it can put undue and unexpected forces on the point where the lift anchors to the dock. Over time it can mess-up the dock attachment points badly and possibly damage the lift frame.

On my floating hydrohoist, the lift is supposed to be completely submerged below the hull when coming into or leaving the slip.

Another thought in general... these boats are great backed into the slip because it is so easy to step on and off the rear platform. Unfortunately my slip has a dock anchor winch in the corner so I hesitate to moor it stern first.

My meaning of grabs the hull is for centering as you come into the slip. I get the lift to where the boat just starts floating when I leave. This helps with the no thrust no steering when your almost all the way into the slip and it’s windy.

 

[MidnightRider]

Thanks all this will be very helpful to give me a starting place of setting up my lift. Appreciate it.

 

[Yamanator]

I have an 17 AR210 I just bought and I've been scratching my head about this as well. My son and I adjusted the bunks over the weekend but at one point the front crosses over one of the ridges. Wasn't sure if this was bad or not but I have just one bunk on each side, it's not set up like the trailer.

Also for those of you on lifts do you open the cleanout ports or do anything when it's sitting for a week on the lift?

 

[MidnightRider]

I have an 17 AR210 I just bought and I've been scratching my head about this as well. My son and I adjusted the bunks over the weekend but at one point the front crosses over one of the ridges. Wasn't sure if this was bad or not but I have just one bunk on each side, it's not set up like the trailer.

Also for those of you on lifts do you open the cleanout ports or do anything when it's sitting for a week on the lift?

I just got done setting mine up. Took me about 4 different setups to get to where I like it. Its completely different than what I thought I would do or tried in the beginning. The amount of width I could move the bunks out was too restricted to get outside the strake I wanted to and kept crossing over or sitting on the strake in the middle to bow section of the bunks. Basically I ended up with it fairly wide at the stern and very narrow at the bow. There is a strake that starts up about 3-4' from the stern and my bunks start on the outside of that to clear the grates but then head in at a very sharp angle to go inside where that strake starts and then up that "channel". This puts the bunks only 15" or so apart at the front of the bow. I think I ended up around 39-40" between the inside of the bunk in the back (I'll have to check again may be less) and only 15" or so between the inside of the bunks in the front. Two things that turned out really nice about this. #1. it just slightly catches the bow of the boat very nicely at the very point I need it to stop and holds it center on a rough day as you bring it into the slip. #2. the narrow bunks at the front puts the boat in a very slight bow up orientation to allow drainage of the deck and bilge to the back. At first it felt weird to set the bunks at the bow so close, but boat looks and feels very solid cause of the width in the back. I'll try and get the exact measurements next time I have the boat off the lift and post them here with a pic or two.

Edit: .... and yes, take the plugs out at the end of everyday is what I do and would be my suggestion. I use Lube Tube pool gasket lubricant on them every time before I put them it each day I use the boat - I just keep a tube and a rag in the clean out tray all the time (also use it on the drain plug O-ring, although I have seen a need to remove that yet since I started using the lift)

Amazon.com : 4oz Lube Tube - Pool Gasket Lubricant : Swimming Pool Pump Parts : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : 4oz Lube Tube - Pool Gasket Lubricant : Swimming Pool Pump Parts : Garden & Outdoor

www.amazon.com

 

[Yamanator]

I just got done setting mine up. Took me about 4 different setups to get to where I like it. Its completely different than what I thought I would do or tried in the beginning. The amount of width I could move the bunks out was too restricted to get outside the strake I wanted to and kept crossing over or sitting on the strake in the middle to bow section of the bunks. Basically I ended up with it fairly wide at the stern and very narrow at the bow. There is a strake that starts up about 3-4' from the stern and my bunks start on the outside of that to clear the grates but then head in at a very sharp angle to go inside where that strake starts and then up that "channel". This puts the bunks only 15" or so apart at the front of the bow. I think I ended up around 39-40" between the inside of the bunk in the back (I'll have to check again may be less) and only 15" or so between the inside of the bunks in the front. Two things that turned out really nice about this. #1. it catches the bow of the boat very nicely and holds it center on a rough day as you bring it into the slip. #2. the narrow bunks at the front puts the boat in a very slight bow up orientation to allow drainage of the deck and bilge to the back. At first it felt weird to set the bunks at the bow so close, but boat looks and feels very solid cause of the width in the back. I'll try and get the exact measurements next time I have the boat off the lift and post them here with a pic or two.

Edit: .... and yes, take the plugs out at the end of everyday is what I do and would be my suggestion. I use Lube Tube pool gasket lubricant on them every time before I put them it each day I use the boat - I just keep a tube and a rag in the clean out tray all the time (also use it on the drain plug O-ring, although I have seen a need to remove that yet since I started using the lift)

Amazon.com : 4oz Lube Tube - Pool Gasket Lubricant : Swimming Pool Pump Parts : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : 4oz Lube Tube - Pool Gasket Lubricant : Swimming Pool Pump Parts : Garden & Outdoor

www.amazon.com

Thanks for the reply. I'll have to play with the lift some more. Is the purpose of removing the plugs just to keep them from drying out? Would it actually do any damage if left in?

 

[MidnightRider]

Thanks for the reply. I'll have to play with the lift some more. Is the purpose of removing the plugs just to keep them from drying out? Would it actually do any damage if left in?

They tend to build up junk around the seals and "dog ears" which eventually make them very hard to remove. Taking them out and lubercating them keep them easy to remove and replace for that time when you need them to clean something out of the pump.