Jan 20. More Bunks

Now that I had the measurements I needed to complete the side bunks, I took the boat out and launched it off the trailer onto the snowbank in the front yard. It slid right down the far side and almost into the street. Had me worried for a moment. Then it was back into the garage with the trailer to weld and wood up the final bunks before darkness fell and the boat would have to stay out for the night. That's why these pictures all show this ugly cut astroturf on the bunks. I would normally use a small cuts of outdoor carpet for bunk padding, but we are just now replacing ancient astroturf from the playroom also I recycled some to keep project costs lower. It's ugly, and I was racing daylight so it's not perfectly fit. 

I could either put an expensive v-shaped rubber bumper above the winch to hold the stem of the boat, or I could mount a couple of wood blocks on the ends of the front bunk, angled at just the right locations. I did the latter because it was free, and I think it does a better job of securing the boat. 

Side bunks installed. The side of the boat is curved, but the bunk is not. It's as wide as the widest part of the boat, which it has to be to allow that to pass through. Ugly cut astroturf. 

Temporarily mounted winch to get an idea of the best location. This will do. Drift boats have the painter eye mounted fairly low to get the forefoot of the boat up onto the roller when using only the winch. I haven't mounted (or figured out how to mount) the painter eye yet. And that's probably not the right name for that part anyhow. I'll look up the proper name later. 

I got the welding done and the new wood pieces painted and quickly covered then in turf before the paint dried so I could get the boat back up on the trailer and inside before dark. Barely made it. The winch is not yet operational so I had to push the boat back up the snow bank and onto the trailer by myself. It too two tries.