[FSUDrew99]

A conversation got brought up yesterday with a buddy running Teflon bunks to help with dry launching his boat with ease over a waxed carpet bunk and he says does not bottom damage (he's a captain so he gets plenty of use).

Anyone else running them?

Here's something similar:

http://m.tackledirect.com/taco-prem...p06-06w.html?gclid=CL-Z3cC7780CFYQfhgodHMQMVA

 

[YnR]

A conversation got brought up yesterday with a buddy running Teflon bunks to help with dry launching his boat with ease over a waxed carpet bunk and he says does not bottom damage (he's a captain so he gets plenty of use).

Anyone else running them?

Here's something similar:

http://m.tackledirect.com/taco-prem...p06-06w.html?gclid=CL-Z3cC7780CFYQfhgodHMQMVA

Used them on a 25' cuddy in the past and no hull damage. The back few feet of each bunk was carpet to absorb the impact when loading on the trailer and to avoid having the boat fly into the water too quick when unloading.

 

[TheFrequentFlier]

Have you ever tried silicone on the carpet bunks? Works super nice. The guy I bought mine from said something about applying the silicone after fresh water washdown of the bunks, apply silicone and let dry while you're on the skiff for the day, and when you come back it should be nice. (I.e. avoid putting the silicone on and then immediately put the boat back on the bunks, cause it'll stick pretty good if you don't let it dry). Caveat: haven't actually done this method myself yet, since the carpet is still plenty slick from when I bought it. The skiff dry launches like a champ - just give the bow a nudge laterally and she slides all the way down, and not too briskly either.

 

[Pole Position]

Have you ever tried silicone on the carpet bunks? Works super nice. The guy I bought mine from said something about applying the silicone after fresh water washdown of the bunks, apply silicone and let dry while you're on the skiff for the day, and when you come back it should be nice. (I.e. avoid putting the silicone on and then immediately put the boat back on the bunks, cause it'll stick pretty good if you don't let it dry). Caveat: haven't actually done this method myself yet, since the carpet is still plenty slick from when I bought it. The skiff dry launches like a champ - just give the bow a nudge laterally and she slides all the way down, and not too briskly either.

Why is this reminding me of Chevy Chase riding the sled downhill in the movie Christmas Vacation?

 

[sjrobin]

Silicone spray on the bunk carpet works very well. Depending on the time interval between launches, re-apply every ten launches or so, or when the hull starts to stick. HB will not hull warranty teflon or plastic bunks.

 

[firecat1981]

Gulf wax works better and lasts longer then silicone spray imo. After you launch just rub some one and the sun will do the rest. It lasts months, takes about 30 seconds and no danger of discoloring the hull.

I'm not a fan of the hard teflon glides, to much impact when loading on steep ramps, unless you are gonna wade out and walk you boat each time.

 

[el9surf]

Been using gulf wax for years, it's cheap and effective. If you wax the entire bunk well the boat needs the bow hook to keep it from sliding off the trailer on an incline.

 

[blackmagic1]

Been using gulf wax for years, it's cheap and effective. If you wax the entire bunk well the boat needs the bow hook to keep it from sliding off the trailer on an incline.

Is that paraffin wax?

 

[el9surf]

Is that paraffin wax?

Yes. If you rub it into the bunks while they are warm with some force it will keep them slick for 6 + months at a time.

 

[yobata]

^ x2

This is also what I use on bunks

 

[GullsGoneWild]

My B-I-L and i picked up his BT micro and we launched it that afternoon. While i was parking the truck he had me spray silicon on the bunks. Not knowing any better, i used a whole can of silicon. The next morning we both forgot that we had applied the silicon and the boat started sliding backwards at an alarming rate. We did not have a guide line hooked to the skiff so my BIL dove head first into the skiff to stop it from ramming the dock. Fast forward a year later and we were launching his skiff in Cocodrie and we forgot about the silicon on the bunks again. Dove heard first into the skiff again!

 

[el9surf]

If you put anything on your bunks DO NOT UNHOOK it from the trailer till you have the boat backed down and ready to launch. I made that mistake once and only once.

 

[Net 30]

Buddy of mine had a new Egret and swapped the carpet bunks for Teflon. On the 3rd trip he kicked up some sand & shells at the ramp and they settled on the bunks. Next time he launched there was a grinding and scraping noise caused by the shells and crap stuck between the hull and Teflon bunks...made a bunch of nasty deep scratches in the bottom of the hull.

 

[walleyehunter13]

Gulf wax from Walmart, get it in the same aisle as jello.
I keep a bar inside a baggy in the trunk and if the boat was difficult to slide off it means time to reapply a coat and let it bake in while I'm fishing

 

[jimsmicro]

I had bunks made of that "Trex" lumber they sell at Home Depot etc. They'll sag if you don't back them with a 2x4 or standard wood bunk but they were good and slippery and a fraction of the price of some of the commercially made alternatives.

 

[walleyehunter13]

I've heard of people buying that pvc lattice for putting on or under fencing gaps and cutting it to strip and counter sinking it to the bunks with good success.

 

[devrep]

"If you put anything on your bunks DO NOT UNHOOK it from the trailer till you have the boat backed down and ready to launch. I made that mistake once and only once."

I worry about forgetting and doing that. Scares the crap out of me thinking about my boat laying on the ground.

 

[Grinch]

A can of Liquid roller works wonders! Cheap and slick! As Devrep stated "be careful"

 

[walleyehunter13]

The problem with spray on lubes is some contain silicon which is known to cause blisters in gelcoat

 

[el9surf]

"If you put anything on your bunks DO NOT UNHOOK it from the trailer till you have the boat backed down and ready to launch. I made that mistake once and only once."

I worry about forgetting and doing that. Scares the crap out of me thinking about my boat laying on the ground.

It happened to me about 10 years ago. I had the motor tilted down so when the boat slid off the lower unit caugh it. The bow was 10 ft up in the air, lower unit on the ground, hull resting on the tips of the bunks. No damage but it was an oh sh!t moment. Ever since then it is always fresh in my mind while at the ramp.