Find me the slipperiest bunk carpet!

[txav8r]

Yeah, except this boat and trailer are designed from the git go to be a power loading trailer. And your not floating a boat on and off on a very windy day! But bottom line, I would politely disagree with sliding not being part of the design, Mark. If getting the boat to the bow stop, and off the trailer wasn't needed, they wouldn't have "bunks" at all, just nests over each support to cradle the boat during transport. Since it is necessary to actually "slide" the boat on and off the trailer, even if you do float it most of the way, bunks are a necessary evil.

Now you almost have me sold on those UBB's.
My rash on the boat is not where the boat rests on the bunks but the front of the boat where I first hit the bunks. Probably from not being in deep enough. Black hull looks nice in the water.
I appreciate the input sometimes I need to bounce these ideas off the pro's to see all sides of it.
Thanks again.

The bow marks were the first place I noticed scuffing on my boat. No way that should happen, but it does. And honestly, the composition of HDPE vs gelcoat says it won't hurt the gelcoat. @Julian has a theory that it is sand trapped between the bunk and the gelcoat that has caused the white powder chalking for those with UBB's. I know you can get sand on any bunk and scuff the hull, but the HDPE is slicker than snot. I don't think sand gets trapped but it could so I wouldn't argue the point. At least not to the point of scuffing over all of the back support posts. But something about them causes that, so don't run out and buy them based on some of the good reasons, just weigh all the reasons. Having been down that road, I would have the carpet, but it may be the lesser of two evils. Maybe two layers of carpet? I also had a steel support stringer welded between the two bunk supports on each side that was greater than 4' span with my UBB's. I am interested to see how Dericks ( @jetboater4life ) carpet on the UBB's does into his second season. But it is kind of defeating half the purpose of them. Sure, they won't rot, but the main reason to have HDPE is for its high pressure properties that reduce friction.

 

[2devine]

Those bow marks are my biggest concern. The bow marks lineup I believe with the bunks closest to the front of the boat so I wonder if I could do a hybrid system. I boat mainly in the river with a strong current. You have to always power a little bit otherwise you'll never get on the way the current flows and the angle of the ramp. It might be cheaper to go with the UBB's I just went on their site would have to give this some serious thought thanks everyone.

 

[maboat]

Yes Mel, and from the git go it was designed with carpeted wood bunks. So that's not really a good rebuttal when you are talking about a change in that design.
I really think the problem is only the forward 1-2' of the front bunks as that part is above the water when loading. I usually back the trailer in enough to fully dunk the bunks and then pull forward so there is 1-2' of wetted bunk above the water. I can see a desire to make that front section more slippery, but I definitely don't want the rear bunks to be slippery.

Yes, I power load. I still say there is a reason they are called "bunks" and not "slides"

 

[jetboat623]

Finally got my boat in the water today. Here are the front to bunks, look like. Only have one full season on them, anyone else have problems like this?

 

[KXCam22]

Those look just like mine, except mine have wood showing through. My theory is that the bunks dont align with the hull angle. Lots of bunk trailers have pivots to allow the bunk to self align. The MFI trailer is solid welded. I checked the fit on mine with a thin plastic shim. I may shim the new bunks to increase the angle. I am also going to router or plane the bunk edges to round them off. Cam.