2007 Hunter 25 Shoal Draft Keel Bunk

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The original factory Load Rite trailer on this '07 Hunter 25 has no keel bunk material and boat was lying to one side during recovery. Boat is raised, centered, and moved to cg correct placement. Hull bunks are replaced but there is no keel bunk. The most forward trailer crossmember will contact keel about 1 1/2" before the 2 rear crossmembers. I have found no images of this models' keel bunk. Anyone got pictures or suggestions of wood/dimensions? Otherwise, I'm thinking 2X4 under 3/4" plywood with bunk carpet. As always, I'm very thankful for any suggestions/images of what others have done.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Load rite trailers were not ordered by the factory. They ordered them from Magic Tilt and they had keel trays and either 3 or 4 bunk supports, not two. Suggest you look at photos under boat info and then correct that trailer as some one ordered the trailer third hand. Former dealer who introduced the boat

 

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The original factory Load Rite trailer on this '07 Hunter 25 has no keel bunk material and boat was lying to one side during recovery. Boat is raised, centered, and moved to cg correct placement. Hull bunks are replaced but there is no keel bunk. The most forward trailer crossmember will contact keel about 1 1/2" before the 2 rear crossmembers. I have found no images of this models' keel bunk. Anyone got pictures or suggestions of wood/dimensions? Otherwise, I'm thinking 2X4 under 3/4" plywood with bunk carpet. As always, I'm very thankful for any suggestions/images of what others have done. View attachment 174470

Load rite trailers were not ordered by the factory. They ordered them from Magic Tilt and they had keel trays and either 3 or 4 bunk supports, not two. Suggest you look at photos under boat info and then correct that trailer as some one ordered the trailer third hand. Former dealer who introduced the boat

Thanks Dave, Will do. Quite right, the original invoice was from a New York Dealer, not the factory. The dealer must have gotten the Load Rite at a better price...More to follow. Chester/2001

 

[caverun]

Hunter may have switched to Load-Rite for trailers- here's another 2007 H25 with a Load-Rite trailer, with keel tray and guides:

2007 Hunter 25

View a large selection of Hunter boats for sale at Edwards Yacht Sales, the source of brokerage boats and yachts on the web.

www.edwardsyachtsales.com

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Sorry Cave Run.

Magic Tilt all the way

 

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Thanks Cave Run, those were the best pictures I've found of the Load Rite/H25. So, I got a keel bed in there, let the boat down to adjust the hull bunks and found someone had hacked off the 3in I needed on the front (2). Now I remember the seller had told me they had used this trailer to haul another boat.... Parts on order from the nearest Load Rite dealer (Delaware). More to follow

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Add bunk supports or the ends of the bunk boards wil curl up into hull

 

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Yes Dave, adding bunk supports (bolsters) this a great idea, I noticed same condition on the starboard bunk I replaced. All parts are available with 3-day ground shipping (ISAA 1-800-628-1819, Load-Rite Parts Distributor) and cost is not much compared to the peace of mind...

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

I learned designing trailers for sailboats from several but most notably from Ron Frisosky who was respected as the top sailboat trailer designer

 

[Sailavie1]

Looks like you have the same trailer and boat as I do so this should help.
On the two centre drop axles beams I have a 2x4 on the flat. On top of that a 2x8 with carpet spans from the rear to the front frame beams.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

There should be no weight on the axles carrying the weight of the boat. Unite a modification that should not be. Why. The load weight direct on the axle could cause it to bend blowing out the tires not to mention the bearings and racers. Unsafe!
The frame carries the weight

 

[Sailavie1]

There should be no weight on the axles carrying the weight of the boat. Unite a modification that should not be. Why. The load weight direct on the axle could cause it to bend blowing out the tires not to mention the bearings and racers. Unsafe!
The frame carries the weight

So true Dave. The frame is higher than the axle thus carries the weight. There is contact with the front axle but it doesn’t support the boat much if at all. Perhaps the best solution would be to use steal channel that spans from the rear to the front frame cross members. I think I will make that happen this summer.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Any weight in the middle will collapse the axle which is why basic trailer engineering calls for a frame attached to each side on leaf springs. Thus the center of the axle is made to avoid the frame and boat

 

[waveform]

Looks like you have the same trailer and boat as I do so this should help.
On the two centre drop axles beams I have a 2x4 on the flat. On top of that a 2x8 with carpet spans from the rear to the front frame beams.
View attachment 178876View attachment 178880View attachment 178879

Again Dave has a good point, axles were designed to carry the frame and whatever load it bears. Looking at Sailavie 1's keel bunk I see both forward and rear crossmembers are bearing load along with the axles, meaning all things being equal, there would be about 1250lbs on each. We should also consider the hull bunks(not at right angle) and what they were intended to carry. Guessing 5000lb for the total load, we're down to 833lbs each supporting member(again assuming each carries an equal share). Grab a tape measure and measure the length from the center of each support to the frame attachment(convert inches to feet) and multiply this times .5X833lb, this should give the torque(ft/lbs) applied to the frame member at the point of attachment. Now you can make a wag, whether set up as it is, whats the probability you will distort the frame enough to change the camber of any of the 4 wheels..... Another thing to consider is the c.g. of our boat in relation to the c.g. of the trailer. I've noticed that it appears our boats sit forward of the trailer c.g. Bottom line, I would love to see how these boats sat on the Loadrite trailers as they left the dealer (especially the keel bunk construction). Thanks to everyone for the replies!!