What's up with the carpet on the bunks

[Miller13]

Hey all,
I'm reading on these threads about carpet on the bunks , I understand about the copper in the pt lumber but I have seen a lot of old timers just lumber on and roll with it maybe if you have a flashy jet boat or triton like I (had) the more you want to baby it. But wouldn't plain pine with thompsons be just fine for a tin boat? It seems to me the bottom of the boat is wet and if you dunk the bunks a little before you load it shouldn't be a big deal, and unloading it will float off . Maybe it's just the redneck in me but I can't see putting carpet on there for it to fall off in a few years anyway . Am I the only person that sees this in such a fashion, or am I really missing a big point here?
:beer: :beer:

 

[zseverns]

On my old trailer I just had plan pine on there and it done fine but the bottom of my boat was beat up from logs and stumps while duck hunting

 

[Miller13]

Yep, that's what I'm screaming most of us run tin boats for this reason mine will stay tied to a tree all day while we're hunting bouncing off the bank when a big barge comes by I cringe every time I hear one , And stumps and rocks and hopefully a couple gators thrashing the sides of it this summer. All and all I guess it's a hunting truck that floats :beer:

 

[zseverns]

Yea I put my boat threw a lot of crap ain't nothing better then bounceing off trees in flooded green timber that's why I'm not sure if I'm going to go all out on my next paint job. Back to the carpet on bunks I'm going to cut some pieces from a white cutting board so my boat slides off easy it will come in handy putting in the ditches on bayou meto

 

[Miller13]

I was looking at that on post the other day and I think people are putting that on top of the carpet , so that really seemed to me the Carpet will not act as a pad while trailering and where is the place you mentioned? la.

 

[JMichael]

and where is the place you mentioned? la.

No it's in AR like me but it covers a 150 mile stretch so it's pretty large and is known for it's great duck hunting. So what town are you in there zseverns? :mrgreen:

 

[zseverns]

I'm in white hall which is just north of pine bluff. Y'all been killing many ducks this year?

 

[JMichael]

I gave up on the ducks a few years back when the AG&F decided to burn our blinds and that we could only hunt from boats. But some of my friends that still hunt say they've done real good as long as they could find water. This years drought has limited the hunting areas but for the ones that still have water, it's been pretty good. BTW, I'm in Marked Tree.

 

[RiverBottomOutdoors]

The carpet acts something like a bushing. The wood can rub a hole through the relativity thin aluminum used on most boats and the boat can also wear down the wood. If your carpet falls off in a few years, you're not using the right carpet. The carpet on my trailer is 10+ years old and still looks great.

 

[Miller13]

Ok then that's why those old timers didn't worry about it then they never traveled any distance may two or three miles, I grew up in northeast Tennessee close to watauga lake not very many bodies of water there. I had a couple of tin boats then thought I needed a big triton (mistake) don't get me wrong they are nice. But we set out to do a little catfishing and it wasn't fun at all hearing stumps squeal of the bottom so I sold it let and let my two boys get a little older and to a mod v Jon we went . I do plan on trailering it a lot since we live in central alabama now. So even if it shams my hillbilly forefathers I guess it would make sense to add a little cloth to it.

 

[Jonboat Jerry]

Back to the carpet on bunks I'm going to cut some pieces from a white cutting board so my boat slides off easy it will come in handy putting in the ditches on bayou meto

+2
I'm also considering a plastic cap on my bunks, but thought I would go with composite deck boards
instead of the cutting board route. A local lumber mill will cut cypress bunks to any size, so I'm looking for two
3X12X13 ft bunks and cap them with the deck boards. I plan on sanding the tops smooth so they won't trap sand or water.

 

[theyyounggun]

I'm in white hall which is just north of pine bluff. Y'all been killing many ducks this year?

If we can find water we've been doing decent!

 

[Miller13]

Wouldn't the boat sitting on the cutting board be the same as sitting on just plain wood and it really seems that if its just sitting on some pieces of cutting board instead of the flush ride of a whole board length that it Would create pressure points on the boat. Now Im thinking like a redneck again and just gonna go with plain pine and thompsons. I have routers and miter saws for the edge slicking part of it.
I think I will just keep an eye on the paint wear at the bunks so that if it does show some noticeable wear I can add a little cloth the

 

[theyyounggun]

Back to the carpet on bunks I'm going to cut some pieces from a white cutting board so my boat slides off easy it will come in handy putting in the ditches on bayou meto

+2
I'm also considering a plastic cap on my bunks, but thought I would go with composite deck boards
instead of the cutting board route. A local lumber mill will cut cypress bunks to any size, so I'm looking for two
3X12X13 ft bunks and cap them with the deck boards. I plan on sanding the tops smooth so they won't trap sand or water.

What if you had them bottoms sides up that way there would be less friction?

 

[JMichael]

Wouldn't the boat sitting on the cutting board be the same as sitting on just plain wood and it really seems that if its just sitting on some pieces of cutting board instead of the flush ride of a whole board length that it Would create pressure points on the boat. Now Im thinking like a redneck again and just gonna go with plain pine and thompsons. I have routers and miter saws for the edge slicking part of it.
I think I will just keep an eye on the paint wear at the bunks so that if it does show some noticeable wear I can add a little cloth the

If all it were doing is sitting in one spot with no movement then it wouldn't matter if it were plain board, carpet, or anything else. And pressure really isn't an issue unless you have enough pressure in a small enough area to start deforming the metal (aka dents). The problem arises when the boat moves (and it attempts to move with every bump and vibration) and the amount of friction when it moves. The cutting boards as well as the carpet help reduce the friction and that is the whole point. If you do go with bare boards, I think the wear process will be so slow that you will have given up on checking for problems before any problems created by it will show up. In other words, by the time you notice a problem, it's gonna be too late. But, it's your boat so use what ever makes you happy.

 

[fish devil]

:twisted: Get yourself a set of bunk caps. They go for under $50 at BPS/Cabelas. The self centering feature also makes it a breeze to get the boat on the trailer on the first try. My 16' Tracker slides off way easier now. .

 

[Miller13]

I like the composite Z. Looks like that would be better than pieces spaced out good solid ride like that, plus I think by having a full length wouldn't create any pressure points or snags

 

[Miller13]

Yea man, now the composite deck is good no snags nice flush ride to if I put anything on the pine that would be the way to go. Looks like high speed low effort long time deal , thanks z,Jonboat jerry

 

[Miller13]

I like those to fish devil, they make those in 2x6?

 

[fish devil]

I like those to fish devil, they make those in 2x6?

:twisted: I think you can get them. Not sure through BPS though. You can also trim them very easily to cover the entire bunk.