I have a Lund SSV, which is a lightweight aluminum skiff. In addition to the extruded aluminum gunwhale piece, there are short aluminum stiffeners that are riveted at the gunnwhale and angled downward and screwed to the wooden seats. Over the years and pounding and vibrations from running across wind chop, the screws work loose from the wood. So I tighten them back in, but they don't stay long. In fact they keep coming loose faster than before. Thinking about how to keep them fastened tight, I've considered adding silicone cement or gorilla glue to the screw holes before re-tightening them. But before doing that I emailed Lund thinking I might get the most experienced advice. Lund emailed back that some owners fill the screw holes with wood putty and then re-insert the screws. I've never had much luck with wood dough or wood putty when the application was a wall or something where vibration and pounding weren't factors. So I thought I'd also check in with you folks and see what experiences you've had and what solutions worked and what ones didn't.

The other thing is my boat trailer winch. Or maybe it isn't the winch. Maybe the slick covers I installed on the trailer bunks aren't as slippery as they used to be. Or maybe I'm getting older. In any event, it's getting harder to winch the boat onto the trailer the final 3 or 4 feet, depending on the steepness of the ramp. I'd like to install a longer winch handle to increase the leverage, but haven't found any in the boat/marine stores I've looked at. I was thinking this might be a common item, but I haven't asked at any store if it's something they can order if they don't carry it in stock. Anybody else do this, and if so, where did you find the longer winch handles?

As always, thanks for your help.

Sg

Thru bolt with a stainless carriage bolt or use a good 2 part epoxy in the original holes...Try pacific trailers .com for a longer handle

My suggestion is 5 minute epoxy for the boat seat though gorilla glue might work also.

As far as your trailer....why are you not driving the boat on? I was having trouble getting my 21ft Seaswirl striper saltwater boat winched on straight and my dealer recommended driving on years ago. Works great and is much less work. I also load a 16ft Wooldridge this way. In both cases the mistake most people make is to put the trailer too far in the water. The few times I've had trouble that was my mistake. On the Wooldridge which is more similar to your Lund, only two feet of the bunks are in the water (maybe a little more on a shallow ramp). Drive on right up to the bow stop, step out and hook up the winch and snug it up. Couldn't be easier.

On the screws, shove a bamboo skewer in there, add some regular wood glue, and refasten. No need to go overboard.

Take a younger guy fishing with you, have him winch thr boat in for you.

Judging by the size of the screws and the fact that they come uncunted every now and then with no ill effects it tells me they aren't doing much.

I would advise take the easiest solution above and use lots of sticky stuff, whatever it is you choose. Screws on every boat ever come apart due to vibration/pounding.

Regarding the winch, do some pull-ups and pushups every day until you aren't such a wimp anymore.

Good idea.
Or chopstick pieces shaped and lightly driven into the old holes w/glue.
Shear off with a sharp chisel or knife.
Use a coarse threaded, stainless screw as long as the thickness of the wood seat.

Through-bolting would be the most durable solution but would require changing out the top rivets to through-bolts, also.

You might try looking into a winch with a deeper gear ratio.
3:1 is the 600# size (you prolly have this) and 4:1 would be the 1200# size, etc.

SG,
A little Marine Tex in the screw holes when your putting the seat back together will do the trick.
As for the recovery of your boat, it has bunks right and it sounds like you've added those slick bunk sliders on it, all plus's. My best an easiest solution would be get a good fix somewhere on your trailer in the water/ramp where you still able to retrieve your boat while it's still floating, and your able to not get too wet with your Xtra Tuffs on. My trailer's sweet spot at all boat ramps is when the water is just over the fenders. Heck I'm able to pull my boat onto the trailer with just the dock line connect the winch strap and crank in the last foot!!! I think my boat is similar to yours a smoker craft osprey.
If all else fails, as already mentioned above, take someone younger fishing with you!!!
Winterun

I'm with dogfish on the screw fix -- shards of bamboo are great, some excellent wood glue and go.

My 2c on the bunks is to WAX them. It'll cost you $3. Just drop your boat, go fish, let the bunks dry... Then before you retrieve the boat, rub a bunch of wax (blocks from grocery store) on them... It helped on my carpeted bunks, not sure about "Slick" covers but sure can't hurt.

no ill effects??? I've never had them come uncunted, especially when they judge the size of the screw...

Those angle braces from the gunnel to the seat do add rigidity to the hull and take quite a bit of torque in the chop. I'd through-bolt them with washers and nuts if you have access to to the underside. Otherwise waterproof glue and skewers to fill the hole then pre-drill (important and stronger) and use larger screws.

Depending on where your bow and any mounted equipment sit in relation to your winch, the longer handle may not have room to crank. If it's harder than it used to be, you may just need to take it apart, clean and grease. That or let the 40 gals of water out from under your floorboards. {;>)

Sounds like you should have the screws covered from the advice above. For the trailer and winch and without knowing how big your boat is, you might look into a set of roller bunks. I bought some for my dad 4 or 5 years ago for a 14 foot aluminum boat, a little over $100 from cabelas. Even with his fused spinal column he can get the boat loaded with the dog and duck gear on and off with no problems.

You might find this helpful,



EZ lock make them in brass. I use them on my boat to fasten the head to a plywood sole so I can easily remove and replace it. In Tacoma they are available from Tacoma Screw.

Where I have a damaged hole and I want to use a wood screw fastener. I epoxy in a piece of dowel and then use a new wood screw.

To funny------------sorry got a good laugh.

Uncunted
when you severly piss off a woman she can become uncunted.

When I was a kid, we eventually replaced the wood on the seats of our Lund skiff - partly because the screws loosened up. We replaced the wood with better quality marine plywood and we had no problems after that.

Time for new wood?

-S

SG, I am not as strong as I used to be and had the same problem---solved by TJ Carroll-----spray the bunks after dumping boat with a product called "Zep protect all" once a week or after 4 or 5 launches.
I think its similar to armor all...............stuff works.


Be careful if you drive on, because this stuff is slicker than snot on a hand rail,and you might be in the bed of your PU.
Chuck

I'm having a hard time with picturing your boat being difficult to trailer. If the winch is properly greased and the bow eye and winch are set up at the right height, the thing should be ridiculously easy. Make sure the winch line is slightly higher that the bow eye. Marine Tex was already mentioned for the screws. The stuff is expensive, but it is a really good epoxy. I have repaired broken transfer cases (yes, plural) with no leaks after repair. I always have a can on hand.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I think I'll try the bamboo skewers with glue, substituting Marine Tex for wood glue since wood glue isn't waterproof. Through bolting would be nice, but it isn't a convenient option as the undersides of the seats is shrouded in light aluminum - that's where the floatation foam is. Through bolts will be a last resort if the suggestions offered here don't hold up.

I'll see about re-slicking the bunks as well. With regard to the winch, I'm having a "Duh!" moment. I've never lubed or added any grease to the thing, ever. Don't know why, but I just never even thought about it. Obviously that is the action of first resort, altho doing more push ups and taking a younger man along to turn the winch are good ideas too. Good to know that winches with lower gear ratios can be obtained, if it comes to that.

Jam Session, driving the boat onto the trailer is logical and is what most jet sled drivers do. I adopted the habit of running the carburetor dry before loading the boat onto the trailer from the guy I bought my E'rude outboard 20 years ago. The old 2-stroke would sometimes sit for weeks or months in the garage between uses. I'm told that gummed up carburetors from oil and gas mix is a common problem in outboards. I think this contributed to my old outboard being so reliable for 41 years. Now that I've re-powered with a 4-stroke with electronic fuel injection, that shouldn't be an issue any longer. Old habits are hard to change I guess.

Sg

UNCUNTED!!!!

Glad you guys enjoy that term as much as I do. The first time I heard it was in a court-room. An expert witness used it when describing a landslide: " . . .and then the whole headscarp came uncunted and slid towards the bulkhead."

I have always wanted to find out what the court reporter put in the record when he said that. I should call the lawyer and see if he still has the court docs. I have used the term whenever possible since then.