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Posts: 238
Location: Rhinelander | All my past boats were aluminum and roller trailers......freshly purchased (used) rig is fiberglass and a bunk trailer, 690VS to be exact.
With the past boats, loading was never a problem, winch all the way up on very shallow landings or powerload to within a foot and winch the rest of of the way.
Now with the bunks, I have been experimenting with finding the trailer's "sweet spot" for depth in the water. Powerloading the boat at idle gets to about 2" from the winch and she won't go much further with out tons of throttle. Not what I really want to do. I can back the trailer in further and eliminate this concern but the back of the trailer is in way to deep allowing potentional current or wind to swing the rear of the boat out of position.
I've already broke the weathered winch strap once hand loading the last 2'.....not fun. Would wd-40 work spraying on the bunks? I'm asking and looking for ideas before my next practice run. |
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Posts: 307
| I've heard that silicone spray really makes those bunks slippery. The next time I remember to through the can in I'm going to try it. You do not want to unhook your chains though before you get the boat into the water otherwise you may be a very unhappy camper. |
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Posts: 462
Location: Madison Wi. Chain | I used the silicone spray on my bunk trailer. This will help. BG |
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| back it down with most of the wheel wells exposed. When you hit the trailer, give'er hell and power load it. It's not that difficult or hard. It's pretty dang easy.
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Posts: 742
Location: Grand Rapids MN | I used silicon spray last year mainly to help in unloading in shallow landings. There was a noticable difference when I would power load my boat. I have the same problem with my Tracker Targa's trailer as you described but I haven't broke a winch strap.... yet... |
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Location: Contrarian Island | I have a 690 as well and have never had issues of any kind ...for mine, if you back in the trailer so that just the inner 2, most forward bunks are out of the water about 9" to a foot that is where mine loads the best, i simply drive it slowly in idle on, then slowly hit the throttle and crawl it up the trailer,,,at times if the angle of the landing is shallow I do give it more gas and just nudge it up to the roller...never do i just gun it from the start...it's more walking it up the trailer w/ the throttle...once it hits the roller, trim up, shut off, walk up and climb out and winch it tight and tell the guy in the truck i'm good and pulls us out...try putting the trailer in about that far....on much more of an angled launch it will have to be out of the water quite a bit more....
I would never "give er h*ll" as guest said..if you are not on perfectly straight you will ding up the front of the boat on the sides of the roller/metal...simply use the motor to power up it slowly
Edited by MSKY HNR 5/4/2009 8:43 AM
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| ... silicone spray is a double-edged sword. sometimes you want that thing to stay on and not slide and slip back. i advise no spray ... just back in enough to get the bunks wet and then find your sweet spot for loading. you'll figure it out in time and just drive on as bn states ...
oh, make sure your hitch is solid on the ball and that it's adjusted properly. i know a guy who drove the whole trailer into the tailgate of his truck. .... : ) |
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Posts: 529
Location: Not Where I Want To Be | I agree with Sled. Back the trailer in to get the bunks fully wet. Then pull up a bit to find the sweet spot.
Silicone spray is great if you have someone helping you on the winch. |
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Posts: 90
Location: ne53 | To help the boat slide easier on the bunks, besides silicon, they also make bunk slicks from a hard plastic that makes it much easier to push or winch by hand. I've seen them at cabelas but would bet most other big outfitters or boat shop would have them. |
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Posts: 462
Location: Antioch, IL | Brad and sled are right on target. You don't want to make first contact with any force, but once you are on the bunks and lined up give it a slow steady increase in power and you have it down to a science in no time. |
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Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK | I'm with the above couple of posts as well. Skip the silicone, just get the bunks wet and find the sweet spot. Mine, I like to get it to where the outter bunks are just sticking out of the water. This allows me to slide the boat up at idle, and then winch on from there without powerloading. |
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Posts: 238
Location: Rhinelander | Thanks for all the tips guys. |
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Posts: 1462
Location: Davenport, IA | Sounds like you just need to back up a little further. I found out that I had to when switching from aluminum to fiberglass. You shouldn't have to use the winch at all. I use a boat buddy because even when I hit the front roller, sometimes the boat can slide back a couple inches on its own. With the boat buddy I am assured that the winch is only to hold the boat on the trailer. |
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Posts: 742
Location: Grand Rapids MN | When I first heard about the silicon spray on bunks people warned me that my boat will slide right off and to be careful. Even though I said it was noticable it wasn't much of a difference. I do like the other guys and idle up to the bunks make sure it's straight and then slowly throttle up to climb on. I have a smaller motor for the size of the boat and it can still climb up fairly easy. The spray is something I tried and it did ok. I don't think I will do it again just because it really doesn't do a whole lot. |
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Posts: 1906
Location: Oconto Falls, WI | These are what I use as Jackpine mentioned.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/pod/horizontal-pod.jsp?...
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Posts: 742
Location: Grand Rapids MN | Hey Travis... Have you had any issues with dirt/debris getting embedded into those? I've steered clear of those since I heard from a few people that their boats became significantly scratched up once dirt gets into the poly. They said yes that the original bunks left some marks but when they put these on it was a huge increase in scratching/wear.
Just looking for some input... thanks man.. |
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Posts: 333
Location: menasha wi 54952 | You will never have issues loading your 690 by yourself once you find what works for you. I agree that getting the entire bunk completely wet is a good idea. Another tip that will help especially if you are gunshy to bump the roller is to leave the motor running and in gear when cranking the last couple of inches. Those two tips will solve your problem.
MR |
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Posts: 1906
Location: Oconto Falls, WI | My boat is an aluminum boat so I don’t worry about the scratches. One of the reasons I own an aluminum boat as I don’t need to worry about every little thing in terms of scratches, rock dings (my cabin is on a gravel road), etc… So I can’t answer your question about the debris. I would assume that any debri that accumulates on the strips is coming from your boat (since the strips would be covered when the boat is on them) so it would have scratched anyway if you just had carpeted bunks.
I know my strips are all gouged up and such due to the rivets on my hull, but the strips still look fine. When you run your boat up on sand/rocks all the time on shore due to nature calling the strips are the least of your worries!
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| I have a 690 and used the silicone on the bunk method, and found it works good. Does any 690 owners ever try the lockable bow mate, i thought with siliconed bunks and a bow mate we would never have to leave the cockpit when loading, just yell to the truck driver that you are all loaded and he can pull out. This would save alot of time. Any thoughts on this one? |
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Posts: 1462
Location: Davenport, IA | MikeB - 5/6/2009 9:20 AM
I have a 690 and used the silicone on the bunk method, and found it works good. Does any 690 owners ever try the lockable bow mate, i thought with siliconed bunks and a bow mate we would never have to leave the cockpit when loading, just yell to the truck driver that you are all loaded and he can pull out. This would save alot of time. Any thoughts on this one? ;)
Sounds similar to the boat buddy I use. It is one of the greatest investments I ever made. One thing the instructions don't' tell you is that you have to crank the winch handle to loosen the device. I had one or 2 trips where I beat the lever with a hammer for 15 minutes to get it unsecured. If you crank that winch one click, you can pull the lever with one finger. I've never had to reposition the trailer since putting the boat buddy on and I launch the boat in heavy current often. |
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