Plastic Bunks on the Hydraulic Boat Hoist at Summit Marine Lift

Fri, Feb 19, 2010 @ 11:14 AM / by Jim Ampulski

Hey Folks, In response to changing to the new plastic bunks from the wood ones on our Hydraulic Boat Hoist...  After several requests over the past few years from customers and dealers for a plastic bunk, we took a long look at all the different styles of bunks that lift builders use, including swivel and fixed. Some folks use small V bunks in the front and 2 separate pads 2 foot long in the rear.  Other manufactures use a 2 x 10 laid on edge (1.5" of surface area x 10').  Good quality fiberglass and today's bulkhead design allows builders to even use wood blocks to support the front V of the bow (point loading) and 2 blocks for the rear to store or show their boats without adverse effect...

Factors that came into effect were customer acceptance of course and material and tooling cost as well as labor...


We settled on a style that could rotate without any fasteners (that could wear out and fail, leaving a big hull damage problem).
We widened the tube from the previous 2" wide to 2.25" for a stronger beam and we heightened them to 2.5.  The new bunks are now 50% stronger than the previous.  And they still fit into the existing hinge cavity (HL Lifts)
And when you viewed from the end you'll notice the bearing surface has doubled from the previous tube.
The durometer of the plastic selected is soft enough to conform to the nuance of different boat hulls, yet hard enough to support as wide a foot print as possible.  It rotates to help chine placement and the cable lift version also angles to form a V (wider in the back, narrower in the front) for better conformity... 
and lastly, the plastic was made wide enough to protect the hull from the fasteners needed to hold everything together..

See this feature up close and personal at a dealer near you.

 

 

Topics: Features

Jim Ampulski

Written by Jim Ampulski

© Summit Marine. All rights reserved.