Would longer bunks be beneficial?

[JackBronson]

17' Whaler on a trailer with bunks. The bunks and the support brackets will have to all be replaced soon. It seems the bunks should be longer. Most of the boat is sitting on the keel on the solid rubber spool rollers.
When the time comes to replace them, would longer bunks be worth installing?

 

[Lawnpro979]

I just replaced mine, the wood was rotten. I made mine longer too..... from where mine bolted on. at the front of the trailer. I went a foot longer. it looks like yours should be longer too. I wouldnt go too far with out support. I only went a foot

 

[smokeonthewater]

Wouldn't hurt a thing to run em up to the next crossmember with 2 more brackets but probably wouldn't really be needed.... Moving the transom forward to be directly over the last crossmember would be far more beneficial to the hull.

 

[GA_Boater]

How is the tongue weight? Maybe the boat needs to move toward the coupler a little and the bunk length is just right?

 

[jayhanig]

No Title

My boat rests totally on its bunks. There is no contact with the keel at all.

I can't seem to upload a decent view of my bunks tonight. Sorry for the crappy one.

 

[H20Rat]

The portion of the bunks behind the last bracket don't really do much for support, they are more cosmetic and ease in loading. Once you are a foot or two back, the bunks are going to bend easily. You really want the transom as close to the back bracket as you can get it.

 

[JackBronson]

Thanks to all who've replied.

As I said, the boat is pretty much sitting on the keel on the rollers. As I look at the boat, right at about the middle of the keel where it sits on a roller I notice some hull deflection. In other words, the keel is getting pushed "up" or "in". Should I be concerned about this?

 

[smokeonthewater]

Yep...

As I said before... Get the transom over the last crossmember....
Then adjust the bunks up or rollers down till the weight is better supported by the bunks and if you want run the new bunks to the front crossmember.... Just make sure you add brackets... The only real support on the bunks is over each bracket... So you would go from 4 points to 6 points....

Spread out the weight on as much surface area as possible.