A Quandry at the Boat Ramp...

[MrSplitshot]

So I took the boat out a little while this afternoon, by myself. Launch, fish about 5 hours or so, catch 9 littleish bass, and head back to the ramp.

I'm backing my trailer down the ramp and I usually back it down until about half of the guide bunks are under water. To my dismay, I look back and one of my bunks is gone...like not there...like vanished...he gone.

I wasn't real sure what to do. I sat there a bit scratching my head for a solution. I figured that it must have come off when I launched...and figured it ought to float. I start looking around in the little cut next to the ramp and sure enough, in the back in some driftwood floats a carpeted bunk. It had drifted up and was laying across a goose nest where mama goose was sitting on eggs. I thought the goose was going to eat me as I motored the boat over to retrieve it.

So it's waterlogged...the bolts had busted out of it, so I had no bolts and no tools. I took some rope and MacGyvered it down to the trailer as tight as I could and managed to get the boat loaded on it.

I've never considered what to do if a bunk broke off, but I don't know how I could have loaded without it...

Now I guess I've got to launch somewhere and try to put on new bunks in the parking lot...

Pain in the butt!!!

[Tyme2fish]

I'm reading it as the actual support bunk came off, not a guide side wall bunk.

If that was the case, yes, you were up that creek without the paddle. I've had a fender bunk come off but never a support bunk.

There are various methods to remove a boat from a trailer on dry land, but I'd do as you suggest and just launch the boat and fix the trailer up in the parking lot. Pre-measure and cut and carpet the bunks (stainless staples) and have a good cordless drill and the necessary bolts,washers,and nuts and go at it.

We did this with Knute's (The Heathen) big pontoon.

[kygorski]

A marina with a lift can lift your boat[for a fee],The cordless drill a good set of shears, some carpeting,and you're in bidness,Staples or coated screws, try to avoid week ends to do the job,

[DJD]

Man that suckks! i would be totally screwed if that happened. I did have my support bunk break in the middle over there one year but it was still connected.

I replaced my support bunks in the garage a year ago using a few blocks of wood and my floor jack.....jack
If you need any assistance on land or at the ramp let me know. I have the stainless staples and staple gun as well. I purchased my precut carpet strips from Stokleys and got the wood from lowes....stapled it up before lifting the boat off the trailer.

Prolly get the big galvanized wood screws from lowes as well.....that's what my tracker trailer has. 30-45 minute job start to finish.

[Hlleonard]

I never had the problem of losing a bunk but I did have one break, I actually took a piece of oak 2x6 and a jack and raised the boat off the broken bunk and replaced it... My tracker has only one bunk on each side and I put the piece of oak beside the broken bunk and raised the boat off the bunk but replacing it with the boat off is likely a smarter solution as a slip could be a catastrophe.

[mhall]

Awe the pure joy of owning a boat, LOL....
And here I am feeling all sorry for myself thinking I'm the only one that this kinda ship happens to....

[Hlleonard]

There seems to be no limit to crap... Took the pontoon out for the first time yesterday and discovered the humminbird I put on it last year mysteriously won't turn off now, it starts great, operates same as last year but when it was time to turn it off it decided it wasn't ready to quit, unhooking the power cord worked but I see a monster in the woodwork, just a matter of when.... It's probably still under warrantee but thats just more crap to have to deal with.

[HURRICANEBOB]

There seems to be no limit to crap... Took the pontoon out for the first time yesterday and discovered the humminbird I put on it last year mysteriously won't turn off now, it starts great, operates same as last year but when it was time to turn it off it decided it wasn't ready to quit, unhooking the power cord worked but I see a monster in the woodwork, just a matter of when.... It's probably still under warrantee but thats just more crap to have to deal with.

RE: the Humminbird not powering down. Try this : http://www.humminbird.com/uploadedFi...oubleshoot.pdf

I had the same problem with one on my pontoon boat when I had it, and it turned out to be intermittent power to the head unit, in my case, fixed by readjusting the power cable position in the connector in the base.

Quick check, power up the unit, grab the power cable from below the mount and wiggle it some, then try to power down. Repest as necessary wiggling the power cable around to see if you hit a position where it will shut down. Lack of power or intermittent power to the head unit confuses the microprocessor and makes it fail to issue the shutdown command to the unit. Also remove the unit from the mount, and check to see if the pin that goes into the power cable, on the head unit is loose. If it is, then yep.....time to talk to Huminbird.

Hope it helps. I got lucky with mine and it was just the power cable not to tight or well positioned in the clip in the mount that allows it to mate to the head unit. All mine took was some repositioning and a little electrica tape around the cable to keep it snug.

[HURRICANEBOB]

Awe the pure joy of owning a boat, LOL....
And here I am feeling all sorry for myself thinking I'm the only one that this kinda ship happens to....

Atleast you don't have the "squirrel mafia" to deal with :-)
http://www.fishin.com/forums2/kentuc...-security.html

[HURRICANEBOB]

So I took the boat out a little while this afternoon, by myself. Launch, fish about 5 hours or so, catch 9 littleish bass, and head back to the ramp.

I'm backing my trailer down the ramp and I usually back it down until about half of the guide bunks are under water. To my dismay, I look back and one of my bunks is gone...like not there...like vanished...he gone.

I wasn't real sure what to do. I sat there a bit scratching my head for a solution. I figured that it must have come off when I launched...and figured it ought to float. I start looking around in the little cut next to the ramp and sure enough, in the back in some driftwood floats a carpeted bunk. It had drifted up and was laying across a goose nest where mama goose was sitting on eggs. I thought the goose was going to eat me as I motored the boat over to retrieve it.

So it's waterlogged...the bolts had busted out of it, so I had no bolts and no tools. I took some rope and MacGyvered it down to the trailer as tight as I could and managed to get the boat loaded on it.

I've never considered what to do if a bunk broke off, but I don't know how I could have loaded without it...

Now I guess I've got to launch somewhere and try to put on new bunks in the parking lot...

Pain in the butt!!!

I'm in Etown. Pick a lake in between, yell when, order the bunks and I'll come help ya bolt the new ones on. Been there and done that with a friend, not fun to do it your self.

Look at the good news: The goose didn't decide to fight to the death to save his new carpeted back deck ! :-)

[elnutsmalljaws]

I needed to put new carpet on my bunk boards a couple of years ago. My staple gun is electric so I went to Guist Creek and they charged me $5 to use electric at one of the campsites. Launched the boat, carpeted the trailer bunks and went fishing

[GeoFisher]

I lost them at KY lake a few years ago.........STINKS.

In my case, there was no way to get the bunks back.......they disintegrated into a billion pieces........

I ended up leaving the guy I was with and my boat in KY lake at Pisqua ramp, then Drove into Paducah and purchased some pressure treated 2 x 4's to get the boat out. I also ended up purchasing a drill and some lag bolts. 2 hrs later, I was back at the boat, fixed up the trailer, and was on my way.......wohoo.

SUCKED, but worked.

When I got home, I purchased better wood, got some marine carpet, and made some new bunks.

Later,

Geo