Bunk Boards

[Justbass11]

Looking at replacing my bunk boards and they are 10ft long. I could buy them all ready made or make them myself. Any thoughts??? I have seen them on BP and other online site but not in the 10ft range. Thanks for any inputs....

[Sam]

If you make them yourself please remember to use stainless steel staples or tacks when stapling the carpet onto the boards.

 

I made mine for my old Tracker and they are still going strong for my son who has the boat.

 

I purchased two ten foot pressure treated pine boards from one of my clients who owns a saw mill and bought the carpet at Lowe's along with the special glue.  I had the carpet cut to the correct length at Lowe's.

 

After making the bunks, I towed the boat 15 miles to a marina on Lake Chesdin; payed the $8 ramp fee; launched the boat and tied it to the pier; and then changed out the bunks in the parking lot.

 

Needless to say I had help from two wonderful friends and we did this on a weekday afternoon when there was no boat traffic.

 

Old bunks fell apart on us. We had no idea they were in such bad shape.

 

If you can purchase them already to go you will know they were professionally constructed and will save a lot of time and aggravation in creating them from scratch.

 

Good luck with your project.

[Maggiesmaster]

I've replaced bunk boards on several of my trailers and did it like this:  purchase pressure treated  boards of the proper length at Lowes or Home Depot,drill the proper holes to bolt them on, and that's it.  For the covers, I don't use carpet, but use plastic or polyethylene covers over the boards.

[tander]

If you have a aluminum boat, don't use pressure treated boards. The boards will eat the aluminum. I got boards and primed them with Kilz and then put several coats of paint. I ordered the carpet from bassboatseats.com. They really worked out nice, total cost was about $60 for 2 eight foot bunks. Forgot to mention, if your boat is fiberglass, no problem with pressure treated boards.

[Catt]

11 minutes ago, tander said:

If you have a aluminum boat, don't use pressure treated boards. The boards will eat the aluminum. I got boards and primed them with Kilz and then put several coats of paint. I ordered the carpet from bassboatseats.com. They really worked out nice, total cost was about $60 for 2 eight foot bunks. Forgot to mention, if your boat is fiberglass, no problem with pressure treated boards.

 

Absolutely false!

 

Pressure treated wood does not effect aluminum!

 

Wolmanized® wood does

 

What does Wolmanized mean?

Wolmanized® wood is poles, piles, timbers, posts, or plywood that is pressure-treated with CCA preservative to provide structural protection from termites and fungal decay.

[tander]

Look on the internet, there are tons of stories that show the pressure treated wood eating into aluminum. It is the copper in the treatment that eats into it. Do what you want to do, but I won't use pressure treated on aluminum. If you get you lumber ay Lowes, Home Depot, it will have the copper in it.

[Catt]

Just now, tander said:

Look on the internet, there are tons of stories that show the pressure treated wood eating into aluminum. It is the copper in the treatment that eats into it. Do what you want to do, but I won't use pressure treated on aluminum. If you get you lumber ay Lowes, Home Depot, it will have the copper in it.

 

Again no! If it's treated with copper it's Wolmanized!

 

All you have to do to use Wolmanized is be sure the aluminum is alodined, primed, & painted. The glue used to attach the carpet & the carpet will break the galvanic contact.

 

Galvanic corrosion (also called ' dissimilar metal corrosion' or wrongly 'electrolysis') refers to corrosion damage induced when two dissimilar materials are coupled in a corrosive electrolyte. It occurs when two (or more) dissimilar metals are brought into electrical contact under water.

[tander]

Really never heard of Wolmanized wood. I do know if you go to a Lowes, Home Depot and ask for pressure treated wood, they will sell you some than has the copper in it.Been there, done that. The first time I changed my bunks, I read about the copper affecting aluminum. I has used glue but I didn't want to take the chance. Better to spend another $50 than to eat holes in my boat.

[Catt]

8 minutes ago, tander said:

Really never heard of Wolmanized wood. 

 

There's the problem!

 

Google it & educate yourself

[fishnkamp]

I helped a friend fill in tons of tiny spots eaten into by pressure treated wood so the posters concept is bunk. We filled in and coated 16 feet of aluminum so trust me it eats aluminum. My fried coated every tiny hole, sealed a ton of rivets the coated the entire boat inside and out with basically bed liner paint.  I joked we were doing what they do in the Flex seal commercial. The boat turned out totally water tight even after a complete season. Now we built an electric only reservoir boat but since the boat came for free it was worth it.  Please do not feed us that garbage that pressure treated wood does not eat aluminum!!!!

[Catt]

2 hours ago, fishnkamp said:

I helped a friend fill in tons of tiny spots eaten into by pressure treated wood so the posters concept is bunk. We filled in and coated 16 feet of aluminum so trust me it eats aluminum. My fried coated every tiny hole, sealed a ton of rivets the coated the entire boat inside and out with basically bed liner paint.  I joked we were doing what they do in the Flex seal commercial. The boat turned out totally water tight even after a complete season. Now we built an electric only reservoir boat but since the boat came for free it was worth it.  Please do not feed us that garbage that pressure treated wood does not eat aluminum!!!!

 

Not all pressure teated wood is the same!

 

Try Google it's you friend!

 

If its eating aluminum it's Wolmanized & y'all buying the wrong wood!

 

If y'all going to Lowe's or Home Depot & asking for pressure treated & not specifying they will sell you Wolmanized because it is the most expensive!

[Fishes in trees]

5 or 6 years ago I had issues with the bunk boards on my boat trailer.   I bought some of the plastic ultimate bunk boards and I've had zero issues with them.   They will not rot.  They are a little more expensive in terms of up front cost, but over time their ability to stand up to the wear and tear and not break or rot makes them more affordable, in my opinion.

[WRB]

If you are interested in corrosion or galvanic compatible couples look at Mil-DTL-14072, page 48. Anything within anodic index of 25 is compatible. Copper @ 35 verses aluminum @ 90 = 55 are galvanic couples. Aluminum being a higher number is sacrificial to copper being lower more noble metal. Your aluminum boat hull is sacrificed to the copper treated boards unless seperated by a compatible coating.

 

Tom

[sarcazmo]

Did my boards a few months ago.  Bought some decent lumber and covered them in fiberglass resin, then topped them with the carpet.  Hoping they'll last me forever.

[WRB]

If you want bunk boards to last forever use structural grade plastic lumber in lieu of wood.

Tom

 

[Justbass11]

Thank you for all the input, I do have a 2003 Triton TR185 with a 150 Mercury and have decided to make my own. I did do a little research and believe I can do it....lol

[coachfozz]

My friend actually bought composite boards and carpeted it.  It was a little more expensive, but it was worth it.  It slides right in with no problem.   

[Fishing Rhino]

On 1/18/2017 at 11:07 PM, sarcazmo said:

Did my boards a few months ago.  Bought some decent lumber and covered them in fiberglass resin then topped them with the carpet.  Hoping they'll last me forever.

 

I have some bad news for you.  I work with fiberglass, and coating anything with fiberglass resin is a waste of time.  An epoxy resin like Gluvit will flex and withstand the swelling and contraction of wood without cracking or crazing.

 

Gel coats are waterproof, but are meant to be chemically bonded to to the composite, and should be covered with the composite materials before they are fully cured.  After that, you end up with a physical bond like glue used to join wood.  

 

You've probably seen fiberglass repairs where the repair starts to peel away from the old material after time.  That happens because you do not have a chemical bond where the molecules actually link together.

 

Fiberglass composite primarily consists of two components, the resin, and the material (mat and roving)  The resin gives the product its shape, the materials give it strength.  Another problem is that polyester fiberglass resin is not waterproof. It will absorb moisture unless it is sealed.

 

Polyester resin is the most common type found in hardware stores.  Vinylester and epoxy resins are waterproof, though for what you have done, epoxy would be the preferred material.  It has a much stronger bond, and withstands vibration and flexing much better than vinylester.  

 

Staples puncture the wood allowing water intrusion.  I hope you used stainless steel staples.  If not, get some to staple the carpeting.  You don't need to remove the other staples unless you want to.

 

Not to worry though.  Untreated bunks should last several years, unless they have sap wood in them.  Heart wood, near the center of the tree is much more durable than wood from the outer edges of a log.

 

If you see any gray colored wood, stay away from it for any exterior applications, such a boat bunks.  The gray colored wood is sap wood.

[tander]

Good info Tom !!!

[12poundbass]

Just a thought, what about using cedar? I know it costs more, but it naturally resists rot and decay. There seems to be a big confusion with pressure treated and wolmanized wood. A quick google search does clear it up, however after working at a lumber yard for several years as a "kid" I wouldn't have trusted me back then if Some one said I need pressure treated wood or wolmanized wood. Especially a big box store especially if it's a matter of my tin boat developing holes over the years. Whether they were educated in the difference between the two or not (kid or adult). That's a chance I'm not willing to take. So would cedar be an alternative? If so I think it would be money well spent for some peace of mind. Just a thought. 

[Fishing Rhino]

Cedar, fir, and cypress would last longer than the typical dimension stock at most lumber yards.  Even with them, you want to avoid the sap wood.  The core of a tree is not a living organism.  It's the outer layer (cambium) that has the tubes that sap travels up and down to bring water and nourishment to the tree.

 

In the image below you can see the difference in the heart wood and the sap wood.  The lighter ring is sap wood.  The darker is heart wood.  The heart wood is actually dead, and its sole purpose it to hold the tree upright.  It also has minerals in it that you do not find in sap wood which resist rot and decay.

 

Keep in mind that rot and decay is caused by fungus.  It can only grow under specific conditions involving moisture and temperature.  Without fungus, the earth would be buried under dead trees.

 

There are also other critters than can eat wood, such as termites and borers.  But they are not a problem for bunk boards.  It's the fungus that gets them.  

 

Which brings us to another point.  The fiberglass resin will crack or "alligator" allowing water into the wood every time you launch your boat.  However it does restrict the wood's ability to dry out, actually making matters worse.  

 

In the olden days of whaling and all wooden ships, they would place salt on the horizontal surfaces of structural timbers.  The salt attracts moisture which keeps the wood wet enough to prevent rot.

 

[BassnChris]

On January 15, 2017 at 4:43 AM, Sam said:

If you make them yourself please remember to use stainless steel staples or tacks when stapling the carpet onto the boards.

 

I made mine for my old Tracker and they are still going strong for my son who has the boat.

 

I purchased two ten foot pressure treated pine boards from one of my clients who owns a saw mill and bought the carpet at Lowe's along with the special glue.  I had the carpet cut to the correct length at Lowe's.

 

After making the bunks, I towed the boat 15 miles to a marina on Lake Chesdin; payed the $8 ramp fee; launched the boat and tied it to the pier; and then changed out the bunks in the parking lot.

 

Needless to say I had help from two wonderful friends and we did this on a weekday afternoon when there was no boat traffic.

 

Old bunks fell apart on us. We had no idea they were in such bad shape.

 

If you can purchase them already to go you will know they were professionally constructed and will save a lot of time and aggravation in creating them from scratch.

 

Good luck with your project.

 

X2

 

this has been the way I have done twice.....previous boat and my current boat.

[Tin Man]

Good info here. Will pick up my first / last boat soon so no need to replace bunk but it's good to know. In future I will be going with plastic composite material. I may even call manufacturer to see what they reccomend. Should be interesting.