Bunks causing hull damage...

[MystyBlue2]

Hi folks today ive replaced by bunks from a crappy metal bunk with rubber covering to nice new carpeted timber.

On removal of old bunks, Bearing in mind these where only about 500mm long which is why i replaced them to make longer ones to spread the load a bit better, So after i removed the bunks and removed grease from the hull it exposed 2 spots of spider leg fractures in the gelcoat roughly 4" forward of transom.

Fortunately his has only happened on one side and they are about 2inches in diameter side by side and they where directly above where the old bunk made contact with the hull.

They are super fine and wouldn't say "cracks" as of yet just a mere human hair type of damage.

Could i use some "plactic padding" type gelcoat bodge and fill over the cracks lightly and sand, And be back on my way or is this a bit more serious and needing proper permanent repair?

Unfortunately i have no pics sorry,

Cheers folks

 

[Caraway]

You could grind them out and repair properly finishing with gel coat.
But if you boat lives on the trailer and only gets wet when you are using it, I would just forget about it (if it were my boat).

 

[MystyBlue2]

You could grind them out and repair properly finishing with gel coat.
But if you boat lives on the trailer and only gets wet when you are using it, I would just forget about it (if it were my boat).

And not even bodge over the top?

Just leave it as is and forget?

 

[ontheplane]

Sand back and paint with some clear gelcoat?

 

[ontheplane]

Why not take the opportunity and fit some rollers to the trailer, make life massively easier

 

[MystyBlue2]

At this moment in time i cant afford hundreds of pounds for a full set of roller bunks and self levelling cradle system.

They are really expensive and the rollers need replacing often just like wooden bunks do. The wooden carpeted ones are considerably cheaper to maintain.

I already have 5 keel rollers down the spine of the trailer drawbar and 1 roller either side mounted on the axle to support the outer keels (my boat is a tri hull) and now 2 long carpeted bunks supporting underside of chines which extends 3" past the transom and are 1.2m in length.

All in all i suppose I have a hybrid trailer....Bunks aswell as rollers.

I like it that way as the boat rolls off the trailer nicely with the rollers i have and the bunks at the stern offer solid support for the outboard and on transom.

 

[Caraway]

I had a similar set-up which worked for various boats. I had 6 ft long, carpeted bunks which were, happily, in clamps front and rear. They were raised to support the hull when the boat was up to the bow post on the rollers when setting up the trailer. As the hulls had some longtitudional taper to their shape the bunks only really contacted in the last few inches so they just prevented the boat rocking during transit. That is to say, they sloped upwards from the back of the trailer and the hull only contacted them as it was pulled home to the bow post.

You could sand back, but that would thin a lot of perfectly good gel coat. I have ground out spider cracks with a Dremel-type tool and repaired with gel repair, although epoxy is easier. UV considerations are minimal as it is under the hull.

 

[MystyBlue2]

I had a similar set-up which worked for various boats. I had 6 ft long, carpeted bunks which were, happily, in clamps front and rear. They were raised to support the hull when the boat was up to the bow post on the rollers when setting up the trailer. As the hulls had some longtitudional taper to their shape the bunks only really contacted in the last few inches so they just prevented the boat rocking during transit. That is to say, they sloped upwards from the back of the trailer and the hull only contacted them as it was pulled home to the bow post.

You could sand back, but that would thin a lot of perfectly good gel coat. I have ground out spider cracks with a Dremel-type tool and repaired with gel repair, although epoxy is easier. UV considerations are minimal as it is under the hull.

Yeah this setup works really well the hybrid trailer il call it haha.

As you've probably guessed by now I'm sort of a panicker and would rather be safe than sorry.

I like the epoxy idea as ive heard alot of horror stories with gelcoat if not 100% isolated from the atmosphere.

Cheers