I’ve seen several posts about liquid rollers being discontinued recently and can’t seem to find it anywhere. Just curious to see what others have been using in place of this? I’ve been told food grade silicone works well.
Waxing/Spraying Trailer Bunks
Kcampbell
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If Liquid Rollers is really discontinued, that's good news. Read the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) on it. Here's a line from it:
"Ecotoxicity: Harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects. Accumulation in aquatic organisms is expected."
Silicone spray works best for me. I tried Gulf Wax and did not like it. I let it melt in the hot sun like instructed too. Got smeared streaks of the tacky wax on my hull as well. Ended up replacing the carpet on the bunks to get rid of it.
"Ecotoxicity: Harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects. Accumulation in aquatic organisms is expected."
Silicone spray works best for me. I tried Gulf Wax and did not like it. I let it melt in the hot sun like instructed too. Got smeared streaks of the tacky wax on my hull as well. Ended up replacing the carpet on the bunks to get rid of it.
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94 Posts
One of my fishing partners used silicone spray on his bunk and it worked incredible.
He wound up being "that guy" at the ramp his boat slid off the trailer onto concrete.
I'm talking about a 21' aluminum hulled sled with a 200 on it.
Wasn't pretty.
Remember to leave the boat secure on the trailer until in the water!
He wound up being "that guy" at the ramp his boat slid off the trailer onto concrete.
I'm talking about a 21' aluminum hulled sled with a 200 on it.
Wasn't pretty.
Remember to leave the boat secure on the trailer until in the water!
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2,678 Posts
First time I siliconed my bunks, we were recovering the boat. My son drove up on the trailer and took it out of gear. The boat slid back before I could grab the bow and hook up the winch strap. Surprised us both but fortunately he just put it in gear and drove back on the trailer. We now keep the boat in gear until the winch strap is connected. Even with my expectation of the boat sliding off the trailer, I've had it almost get away from me. I just made a quick release clip with a lanyard long enough to go back to the helm from the bow eye. I copied the idea from another Microskiffer. We'll see how it works this weekend on our trip out of town.
I experienced the same thing when I sprayed my bunks. I sprayed the back half of the bunks, and she slid off when I took the winch strap off. Then when I loaded, I had to leave the boat in gear while I leaned over the bow and connected the strap. Take it out of gear and it slides right back into the water. Be careful out there!
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943 Posts
I have never sprayed my bunks. I power on and power off. Since I load/ unload by myself 99% of the time, I don't know I would want the thing sliding off easy.
What's the benefit of slippery bunks? It takes hardly any effort on the kicker to pull my hull off.
What's the benefit of slippery bunks? It takes hardly any effort on the kicker to pull my hull off.
YouTube is friends to old and young. Check it out
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64 Posts
Another Gulf Wax vote. But I never remember to reapply when I come in for the day. Still launches well despite lack of upkeep.
There is a significant difference between DRY launch and recovery and dry launch and power recovery. I use LR and everything else has been sub par; I have tried all of these other materials, including silicone. My RIMS never touch the water, and I recover with an electric winch. I think these differences are important to understand when selecting which of these items to use.
Liquid rollers is good stuff (and it does appear to be discontinued by CRC). I put it on my bunks a few years ago and have never had to reapply. Had to chuckle about others experiences of this stuff working almost too good-I had the same learning curve; first time I launched with the stuff on the bunks I had to quickly grab the bow before it slid off into the river without me! I think the advice on just applying it to the forward section is excellent.
Can we stop with the DRAMA about it being toxic to marine life? Much of the food grade silicone contains the same ingredients (hexane being one) and is also “toxic” to aquatic life, under whatever conditions they had to expose the product to the fish during testing. Maybe don’t spray it in your aquarium at home? Keep in mind these MSDS sheets are written with lawyers in mind. I‘d say there are way bigger things being introduced to the waterways we need to be more concerned about.
Can we stop with the DRAMA about it being toxic to marine life? Much of the food grade silicone contains the same ingredients (hexane being one) and is also “toxic” to aquatic life, under whatever conditions they had to expose the product to the fish during testing. Maybe don’t spray it in your aquarium at home? Keep in mind these MSDS sheets are written with lawyers in mind. I‘d say there are way bigger things being introduced to the waterways we need to be more concerned about.
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25 Posts
Been using liquid rollers but after reading here and other places will no longer. Switched to food grade silicone.. use that on fly line and rod guides too.
Dry launch with spray on the bunks allows me to keep axle and hubs out of the water.. disconnect with transom floating.. nudge the skiff or hop on is enough to slide off and in water.
Solo recovering, I pull the strap out.. lay it on the trailer.. drive up, clip, get out and winch up.
Dry launch with spray on the bunks allows me to keep axle and hubs out of the water.. disconnect with transom floating.. nudge the skiff or hop on is enough to slide off and in water.
Solo recovering, I pull the strap out.. lay it on the trailer.. drive up, clip, get out and winch up.
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17,374 Posts
And sand trapped between those bunks and your hull makes sandpaper. Been there, done that. No matter how well you strap the hull down you’ll get serious wear on the areas where the bunks contact the hull, especially the fronts.
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