Boat lift bunk spacing

[SailingAbode]

Greetings Folks!

We just bought a waterfront house that came equipped with a 10,000 boat lift. The guy who owned the house before us had a fairly small powerboat that he kept on the lift so the bunks are only about 30 inches apart (a little narrower at the bow end), which looks really close together. The guy I hired to inspect the pier and boatlift wasn't any help as far as spacing, said he would measure the bunks on the trailer and match that. I couldn't get him to understand that MacGregor26X trailer bunks are perpendicular to the trailer frame, so that approach wouldn't work. Anyways, I'm sure some of you have 26X's parked on boat lifts so I'm hoping somebody could maybe measure and/or otherwise clue me in to how far apart the bunks should be? I'm hoping to put the boat in the water and on the lift this weekend, so any help anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated! The lift is exposed to winds blowing across the Chesapeake into the mouth of the Magothy River, so I'd hate to look out my bedroom window after a windy night to see my pride and joy lying on its side because the spacing wasn't right. Am looking forward to not having to raise and lower the mast so much, though do still plan to trailer it every now and then to some farther off favorite sailing spots. Thanks!

[RGF]

Mine are 37" apart and slightly toed in at the top

[SailingAbode]

Great, thanks! Looks like a great day today to make boat lift adjustments!

[mrron_tx]

Congrats on the new marina....I mean house Ron.

[Saxacussionist]

Sounds like a dream come true... Congrats!!

[Tomfoolery]

We just bought a waterfront house that came equipped with a 10,000 boat lift.

Almost didn't get past this. It's my dream.

Without seeing pics of the lift, what's to stop you from retrofitting with a pair of vee-bunks at the same spacing as the two main vee-bunks on the trailer? Maybe add a backbone and a soft stop so the bunks are at the right location along the centerline.

[RGF]

We just bought a waterfront house that came equipped with a 10,000 boat lift.

Almost didn't get past this. It's my dream.

Without seeing pics of the lift, what's to stop you from retrofitting with a pair of vee-bunks at the same spacing as the two main vee-bunks on the trailer? Maybe add a backbone and a soft stop so the bunks are at the right location along the centerline.

Without being able to post a pic, that is waaaaay too much trouble when the bunks are already there and mounted. All he has to do is loosen a few nuts (probably only 4) slide the bunks over on the arms and retighten the nuts.

[RGF]

sorry, 16 nuts...

[SailingAbode]

I actually did consider modifying the bunks to mimick the trailer, but the fore-aft spacing is several feet shorter on the lift and I wasn't sure how much the load bearing points on the hull mattered. Loosening the nuts is also turning out to be a challenge, so far nothing budges. I sprayed them good with penetrating oil and will try again in the morning. The current spacing is 28" at the rear and 26" at the front, so I've got to spread them out a bit to reach 37", plus I need to flatten them out a bit because the prior boat had a deeper vee hull. I was able to get that angle for the rear off of the trailer using one of my bazillion moving boxes and cutting a template. Then I need to adjust the spacing for the guide posts, which are currently at the extreme widest points of the cross rails (the bunks aren't even centered between them).

This house IS a dream come true and so much of a lifestyle change that it still feels disorienting, like I'm visiting someone else's house and constantly rearranging their furniture. It'll be nice when things get settled in, I'm constantly amazed at how many "little" things there are to do that eat huge chunks of time out of my day! Not to mention friends that stop by to say "hi" on their boats and entice me away with the offer of a boat ride and a cool beverage... Life is good!

Thanks again!