# Trailer Concern



## BottomDweller (Mar 6, 2010)

Hey guys, Hoping you can give me some insight and some suggestions. I bought a 15 ft alum semi V boat, trailer, and trolling motor for $300. I am excited since this is my first boat. I am ready to get busy on a conversion. I posted some questions in another area when I first purchased but now I have some trailer qestions. My first concern surfaced when I started thinking about a new motor. I read in another post that the trailer/bunks needs to support the transom especially for a decent size motor. Well, mine does not. My trailer (as seen in the pictures) is much shorter than my boat and the bunks do not go far enough backward to support the transom. Is this a problem? Are my bunks and trailer long enough? In the pictures, you can see where my bunks end. 

Also, my bunks sit on a pivot point that allows them to rock forward and backward when loading. I am however having a lot of problems backing up when the boat is not on the trailer. The bunks fall backward when the boat is not on the trailer and the bunks dig into the ground when I backup.


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## lckstckn2smknbrls (Mar 6, 2010)

How much farther can you move the winch post forward? My boat is too long for my trailer. The bunks were 24" long when I replaced them I made them 5' long with bunge straps to keep them from hanging to low when backing.


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## Brine (Mar 6, 2010)

That boat looks too long for that trailer unless you have alot of tongue not in the picture.


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## BottomDweller (Mar 7, 2010)

The winch is only a foot away from the hitch. I don't have much room to move this at all. I am assumng you at least need this much clearance from the bumper or truck. Any sugestions on how I could make this trailer work? If I continue to use the trailer the way it is now, will it cause damage to my boat? I plan on puting a 10 hp (85 lb) motor on it.


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## Captain Ahab (Mar 7, 2010)

You will not have any problems with a 10 hp motor set up like you are. I assume that this will be a tiller steer motor? Just take the motor off for any long trips


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## BottomDweller (Mar 7, 2010)

Thanks Captain Ahab. Do you or anyone else suggest to at least extend the bunks to the end of the transom? Will this make a difference?


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## BottomDweller (Mar 7, 2010)

Thanks Captain Ahab. Do you or anyone else suggest to at least extend the bunks to the end of the transom? Will this make a difference?

By the way, the motor will be tiller and it will be a new 4-stroke weighing 85 lbs.


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## Captain Ahab (Mar 7, 2010)

Hard to judge from the pictures whether extending the bunks will help. I woudl go fishing and not worry about it so long as the boat was stable and safe. Make sure that your transom is sound and has minimum flex with the motor installed

85 lb is not much strain - but safety 1st!


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## Nussy (Mar 10, 2010)

I'd just extend the bunks and figure a way to mount them so they are stationary and don't pivot That way you have more support and you lose the tipping problem when backing.


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## Quackrstackr (Mar 11, 2010)

It may just be a random dent but it looks like you may already have the effect of having too much boat and weight hanging past the bunks. There is a dent between rivets right where I would expect one to be, caused by weight buckling. There also looks to be some internal dents that are usually caused by batteries.. more weight. Short bunks will also cause a hook in your hull which is probably not much of a concern on low power boats.

There appears to be another crossmember ahead of your axle. You could buy another set of bunk mounts to attach to that one and then run bunks from there to just past your transom (1" or so). You would kill two birds with one stone.

Thost tilting bunks aid with launching in water that is not deep enough to float the boat off of the trailer. The trailer under my 1442 actually hinges up toward the tongue. I think that I've used that feature once since I've had it.


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## BottomDweller (Mar 11, 2010)

Thx for the info Quackrstackr. I think I might try your suggestion with the bunks.........The dents shouldn't cause any issue with motoring should they?


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## Quackrstackr (Mar 11, 2010)

No, it should be fine.


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