Do your bunks wiggle?

[jrctexas]

I have a newly acquired 190 Bay from 2004. The person I bought it from was not exactly meticulous, put in other words, I'm not sure he ever did ANY maintenance. The boat seems pretty good but I was worried about the trailer. I took it to a good shop and had them replace the springs and hubs and miscellaneous bolts and nuts. I didn't have them tackle the bunks because I was unsure of the whole lifting, supporting the boat while they worked on it. And, I thought I may be able to do it myself while the boat was in the water. Currently the bunks are tight on their supports.

So after the long windup here is the question: The bunk brackets attached to the bunks pivot a little from side to side (less than a ¼ inch) slightly changing the angle of the bunks. All 4 bunks move the same amount, that combined with the idea that the slight wiggle could help the bunks "self-adjust" to the angle of the hull if needed. This made me wonder if it was done on purpose. So, is the wiggle good or a sign of bolts and brackets that need to be tightened/replaced?
Your thoughts?

p.s. I have already downloaded the specs on the trailer - no wiggle tolerances were mentioned

 

[john f]

Great question jrctexas! I have noticed the same "wiggle" in the bunks for my 195CC. I assumed that this was to allow for some degree of self adjustment, especially while loading your boat back onto the trailer. I'm sure that mine have been like this since new -2008.

 

[Harper]

I'm pretty sure the pivoting of the bunk brackets is by design, since the mount is made with nylon bushings to prevent binding. I'm not convinced that the ability to rotate is necessary, but I do think it's purposely made that way.

 

[jrctexas]

Thanks for the response boys, I don't want any illicit wiggling going on in my bunks. I will probably replace the nuts and bolts holding the brackets one because they look like they are starting to disintergrate. Harper, you mentioned nylon bushings, I'm not sure I saw those on my setup. Are they on the nut side, bolt side or both?

On a related note, my plan was to replace the nuts and bolts with stainless hardware rather than galvanized because I thought it would last longer. A friend said not to do that (mix metals) stick with galvanized so as to not promote the electrolytic process. These are things that make me go hmmmmm?

 

[Harper]

JRC I think on mine it looks like an actual bushing......all the way through the bracket, with the bolt going through the nylon bushing. The bushing is longer than the width of the bracket, so no metal-to-metal between the bolt and the brackets.


Edit......I just went out and looked at the trailer. They are not bushings, but washers. They might be flanged washers; can't tell without disassembly. But the bunks definitely swivel easily, like they're floating in a bushing.

 

[jrctexas]

I don't think I have bushings or flanged washers but my boat is not at my house for me to check. Let me ask you this; do you think you can replace the bolts and nuts witht he boat on the trailer? There aren't many support points but I was going to try one.

john

 

[Harper]

No, I don't think it can be done with the boat on the trailer, or at least with the weight of the boat on the bunks. There's about 1/2" or so clearance between the part of the bracket bolted to the bunk and the eyes that the bolts go through, so if you were to knock the bolt out (that would take a big hammer) the bunk would drop. You'd have to lift it back somehow to align the holes. Maybe you could use a jack of some sort, but it just seems the hard way to go. I understand why you ask, because I've wondered also how I would go about finding somewhere to park the boat while working on the trailer.