lifting boat off trailer

[lost sailor]

i have a 18' lund pro-v tiller on a vanguard trailer. i would like to replace the bunks myself this winter. is there a best way to lift the boat off the trailer a few inches to get this done? the bunks are 9' long and i'm thinking if i use several jacks i can do this without damaging the hull of the boat. would i be better off cutting some 4x4's to fit the shape of the hull and go down the center of the keel or should i place the blocks off center?
thanks for any help,
skip

[BF]

Jack up the entire boat and trailer. Place all of your supports under the boat. I used cement blocks, 2x4's, 4x4's and a couple old tires. Then lower your trailer down and away from the boat leaving the boat supported above the trailer.

[MarkG]

Yikes! Is it worth it to risk damage to your boat? Would a dealer charge you that much to lift it properly and change them out? But Im sure cost can be an issue since we are all in a crunch for every dollar,so why not just wait til spring,launch the boat and beach it or make some arrangment to dock it someplace for a day,then do your project. Just a thought.

[PTC]

Wait until spring. Or hurry before the water freezes. Put the boat in the water then work on the trailer.

I would not risk the damage to my boat.

[Erie Drifter]

When I first looked at my 22 foot SportCraft (2,500+ lbs) at the dealer
they had the bow sitting on a cement block and a 4X4, the rear was supported by one stand on each side of the boat below the transom, me and the sales man both climbed in the boat using a ladder and it was as stable as if it were on a trailer.

Bill W. (War-N-Peace-ch 68)

[Brad]

It's easy. About 7 years ago I re-positioned the bunks on the trailer I had at that time (to correct the DEALER's inability to set it up right in the first place). The boat was an 18ft Starcraft Islander. Here's what I did. I took a 10ft long 2 by 8, carpeted over it, then placed it under the boat on one side of the trailer, parrallel to the existing bunks. Then I jacked up that side of the trailer (make sure you've got the winch strap and transom strap disconnected on the side your working on), put supports under the 2 by 8 (cement blocks with would wedges on top to match the angle of the hull) then lowered the trailer back down until the boat was resting on the 2 by 8. You don't want the boat too high above the trailer, just a couple inches above the trailer bunk is perfect. I then re-positioned the bunk on that side (in your case, you'd be removing and replacing the bunk), jacked the trailer back up until the bunk met the boat and it was off of the 2 by 8, removed the 2 by 8 and supports, and lowered the trailer back down.

The nice thing about having the boat just above the trailer when you do this is that you can position the bunks to match your hull better.

[Daren]

I agree with the post of just putting the boat in the water while you do this. Boats supported well, have a friend or brother do the actual work, and you get another day of fishing in. Well, ok, you may have to help your friend or brother then both of you can get one more day of fishing. Also, if you Ice Fish (Psychotic thought) then now is the time to locate fish for first ice marking the location on a portable GPS.

Daren

[GofishIWish]

This is easy to do. First stack up concrete blocks close to the
height of the stern of your boat and trailer, with the tongue jack as
low as you can get it. put some foam insulation to pad the blocks.
then crank the tongue jack up. The stern will lift off the trailer up
to 3-4 inch's. This will alow you to replace/ adjust as needed by just going up and down with the tongue.The bow will rest on the front
keel roller.
Hope this helps

[Fishingdog]

I bought a 1700 Pro-V several years ago and I wanted to paint the trailer. I took about 15 old tires and laid them on the ground. I pushed and backed the boat off of the trailer very slowly, onto the transom on some tires and carefully continued until the entire boat was off the trailer resting on a bed of tires.

I then proceded to fix up the trailer.

When I finished, getting the boat back on the trailer was simple. I hooked the winch strap up to the boat with the trailer not connected to a vehicle and winched the boat on the trailer with ease. Actually I winched the trailer up under the boat. The trailer pulled iteself under the boat until it balanced, the trailer slowly eased to level, I winched the boat the rest of the way.

NOT A SCRATCH AND I DID IT ALL BY MYSELF....SIMPLE AS PIE! Of course, I did have rollers and that made the job a little easier but I still think you could do it on a bunk too. It just may take hooking the boat up to a tree and pull it slowly off (driving vehicle forward).

[tompgrouse]

Too much work and risk for me. I did the carpet thing this spring. Put the boat in the water and get to work at the landing. It should not take you too long to carpet the bunks.

[jason]

Get your bunks all cut to length and all carpeted first. Next go to the ramp and put you boat in the water. Take off your old bunks and replace them with your new ones that you pre-made already. Should only take you about an hour max at the marina.

And if you have a generator and a impact gun, it should take you less time. Don't forget to keep the staples down.

[Eyecrosser]

I had to do this once myself. I'm lucky enough to have a father-in-law who is a retired machanic. He has an engine picker in his garage. I just backed the boat under the chain hoist and hooked it to the transom. If you do this, just make sure you unhook the trailer strap in front so it doesn't take all the pressure. Good luck.

[Fishingdog]

Actually, not much risk at all if you take it slow. I do agree that it is more work than it is worth for just replacing bunk carpet but if you need to do any major trailer work, it works pretty easy. I couldn't believe how nice it worked to winch the trailer under the boat with no vehicle attached.

[lost sailor]

thanks for the tips. after i get the bunks cut and carpeted i'll decide which route to go. if there's open water that will give me one more reason to go fishing this year. if not i still get to be out in the garage working on the boat.
thanks, skip