Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I really need to get the tops of my carpeted bunks more slippery - the carpet is just too new and grippy - and it makes my winch really groan when trying to load my boat. The winch ($40.00 at Horrible Freight) is rated for a straight line pull of 2,000 lbs. and I simply need to make it's job much easier.

So far I've tried:

1. Food grade silicone spray, but at $5.00 a can X 4 cans that's a lot of coin, and it *barely" helps.

2. A block of paraffin rubbed in. While inexpensive I really don't feel like spending the 20 minutes of hard labor that it takes. It didn't really seem to work that well either.

I haven't tried:

Vaseline is really cheap and it would probably work great - except that it will attract tons of dirt and eventually make a huge mess.

Synthetic grease smeared on lightly would probably be awesome, but once again the mess factor comes into play.

I know I can buy various overpriced UHMW strips, bunk glides and the like, but I've got almost 80 feet of bunks to cover (tritoon) and it gets silly expensive really quick. If I was loading/unloading a lot they would make sense, but I'm only using my boat four times a year.

I've been thinking seriously about getting one of those huge bottles of Dawn dish washing liquid at Costco and putting an "S" shaped bead down the center of each bunk prior to loading. Easy, quick, cheap and eco-friendly as well. Wetting the bunks first would of course be a huge help.

Any other ideas? Maybe butter flavored Pam?

I would suggest if possible to back in further. Let the boat float onto the trailer. When I load I just have about 4' of the front bunk out of the water. 2 or 3 turns of the winch and it is tight and ready to pull out of the water.

I would wet the bunks by submerging them in the water and the leave the trailer deeper in the water.

Go look at some of the treads about the hard plastic bunk covers. Guys are complaining that their boat comes off too easy.

Use a double pully on the winch. It will will reduce the muscle needed to winch it on by half.

Read all of the link, spend the money ONE time and be done with it. Bunk caps are the only way to go. Just say no to carpet and dry rot forever

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10639&p=82652#p82652

RonKMiller wrote:I really need to get the tops of my carpeted bunks more slippery - the carpet is just too new and grippy -
I know I can buy various overpriced UHMW strips, bunk glides and the like, but I've got almost 80 feet of bunks to cover (tritoon) and it gets silly expensive really quick.

I've been thinking seriously about getting one of those huge bottles of Dawn dish washing liquid at Costco and putting an "S" shaped bead down the center of each bunk prior to loading. Easy, quick, cheap and eco-friendly as well. Wetting the bunks first would of course be a huge help.

Any other ideas? Maybe butter flavored Pam?

Actually Pam works... The lady that cuts my hair told me last year she sprayed the bunks on their trailer... unfortunately when her husband was backing the boat down the launch ( with the strap already unhooked,) the boat slid off the trailer before he could get it in the water... it was an expensive ski boat... damage to the lower unit and the fiberglass hull... around 5 K in damage... there is also a product on the market that has gotten really good reviews for making bunks slippery..it's called Liquid Rollers... but remember, keep your boat strapped up when backing down the launch and when pulling you boat up out of the launch..

I won't even unhook until the toon's in the water and my wife has the engine running. Have to wonder why anyone would back a boat of any size down a ramp unsecured, but then I wonder about many folks and their mental capacity at the ramp

I also don't understand why you need to 'winch' the boat onto the trailer.
When my wife and I go fishing, I back the trailer into the water and she drives the boat on the trailer until the front bumps into the bow stop, I secure it to the winch and off we go.
When I am by myself, I pull the boat up to the bow stop with a bow line, then secure it to the winch and off I go..
Maybe you arn't backing into the water far enough..

Good boat launching to you,

Harry

Agree with most of what has been said to this point, especially about going deeper with the trailer. Before the drive on trailers, seems everyone was hipping float on trailers. Personally I like the fact that the bunks provide a little grip. Just in case the strap or winch malfunctioned. I use a half and half approach float on/power loading and only the last 3ft or so power loading. If I wanted a slicker surface probably try the Pam and then go to the glide bunks if that didn't work.
doc

Guys, believe me I'm in as far as I can go...

You've got to understand that my 28 foot Tritoon has more surface area and thereby more friction than a regular dual log boat - and also weighs in at almost 4,000 lbs - so there is a LOT of pressure on the bunks when trying to drag it on. Easily double what a "standard" toon would be.

https://picasaweb.google.com/MillerRonK ... ngTheYKnot

Back to my original question though - what slippery stuff have you tried that worked? I'm not interested in investing money in UHMW plastic (which degrades in about a year or two in our intense UV sunlight and bone dry air here in Arizona) or other expensive ad ons. I'm sure they're wonderful, but just not for me since I'm a really cheap bastard at heart.

I actually like the bunks having *some* friction - just not when I'm trying to load. That's why I thought the Dawn would work well. Once dry it should not be slippery...

How about some Slime or vegetable oil? Someone has GOT to have tried something that works well.

I KNOW: ASTRO LUBE! (seriously...)

http://www.astrolube.com/what.htm

Ron...

You've got a unique boat with some unique characteristics... Heck, I thought it was hard to crank my 20', two-log pontoon onto the boat when I had carpet... Bent the aluminum under the boat once... I couldn't imagine cranking your floating house/tank onto dry, carpeted bunks.

When I read your original post, the first thing in my mind was to 'back in further', but you say that you can't get much deeper...

You also say you don't want to spend a lot of money, since you're a <whatever term you used>, and would have to cover 6 full length bunks, AND you want 'some' sticky....

Perhaps you could try <I've heard of others doing it> covering just the front 8' of the two outside log bunks with the bunk glides, and see if that covers your needs. Should allow for some easier cranking, yet leaving some sticky of the carpet.

Here's a link to what I and Chillnthemost have added... http://www.easternmarine.com/review/pro ... t/id/4303/ and here is the review I posted.. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10844&hilit=glide+on+bunk

Good luck in this.... I'm sure it's frustrating - even though you only do it 4 or so times a year.

use search function and enter INEXPENSIVE TRAILER GLIDES you will see my earlier post on a great solution

idadell70 wrote:use search function and enter INEXPENSIVE TRAILER GLIDES you will see my earlier post on a great solution

Very clever.....

I need to take a spin over to Home Depot with my tape measure - I had thought of vinyl gutters... turned upside down, but I don't think they are wide enough to straddle the bunks and lay flat. At $89.00 for 100 feet they would be impossible to beat, and I just may go to the effort of cutting off the sides and just use the ribbed flat bottom portion. I wouldn't be surprised that if I just scored the sides with a utility knife they would snap off cleanly - after bending them back and forth a few times.

Stainless steel staples between the ribs would be more than adequate to hold them in place, the logs would glide on the raised ribs so they wouldn't rub/catch on the staples.

PlaynDoc wrote:Ron...

You've got a unique boat with some unique characteristics... Heck, I thought it was hard to crank my 20', two-log pontoon onto the boat when I had carpet... Bent the aluminum under the boat once... I couldn't imagine cranking your floating house/tank onto dry, carpeted bunks.

When I read your original post, the first thing in my mind was to 'back in further', but you say that you can't get much deeper...

You also say you don't want to spend a lot of money, since you're a <whatever term you used>, and would have to cover 6 full length bunks, AND you want 'some' sticky....

Perhaps you could try <I've heard of others doing it> covering just the front 8' of the two outside log bunks with the bunk glides, and see if that covers your needs. Should allow for some easier cranking, yet leaving some sticky of the carpet.

Here's a link to what I and Chillnthemost have added... http://www.easternmarine.com/review/pro ... t/id/4303/ and here is the review I posted.. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10844&hilit=glide+on+bunk

Good luck in this.... I'm sure it's frustrating - even though you only do it 4 or so times a year.

Yeah, it's got so much drag that the "stanchion" the holds the winch is under a LOT of tension, I've already had to reinforce the sides with some steel plate to make it stronger, and installed Grade 8 bolts where it attaches to the frame for piece of mind. If I've got leftover fuel (41 gallons total capacity) and left over water (52 gallons total capacity) it gets even crazier.