vinyl slats on trailer bunks

[redneckpunk]

Any opinions (yes I know its dangerous to put this on this board) on the vinyl slats that mount on trailer bunks. I have a 19ft riveted hull tinny and have received different opinions from dealers and mechanics. Some say no problems and some say not good on rivets whicj makes little since to me as I see little difference between the rivets sliding on carpets vs. slick vinyl. And yes, I know, if I do decide to use them the boat needs to stay attached to winch intil in the water and before being pulled out, which I do anyway

~RNP

 

[mrdancer]

Re: vinyl slats on trailer bunks

I doubt the issue is with the rivets sliding on the slats during launching/loading, but probably while the boat is resting on the bunks or sliding around sideways on the trailer if not securely fastened while going down the road. If your carpet is thick enough, it could provide some support to the hull beyond the rivets (rivets sink down into carpet, rest of hull comes in contact with the carpet enough to support it). Also, if the slides don't have good edge-to-edge mating surfaces, that could play havoc with your rivets.

That being said, good rivets shouldn't have a problem. Poor rivets will need to be repaired anyway, and repairing rivets is much easier than welding aluminum. I like the Surfix brand of bunk slides as you can get them in the same width as the bunks, so they provide plenty of support, and they have decent hardware in their kit as well as good countersinking on the holes.

Carpet can be bad for aluminum if you are using the newer pressure-treated wood and especially if running in saltwater.