Bunk spacing for '17 ProStar

[Jboss]

Hey Gang,

 

I finally got my '17 ProStar in the water and over to my Shore-Station. Now, I'm struggling big time with bunk spacing. I can't seem to achieve the correct width and height (for fin clearance over cross-bar). It shouldn't be this hard. If I go with 54" upfront and 60" in the back (which was recommended to me), it (I think) will make the boat sit a little lower (vs. closer-spaced bunks) and may cause the fins underneath to hit the crossbar when entering the Shore-Station. I also want to be sure that the boat is properly supported. Has someone cracked this nut and would be willing to enlighten me on the best way to go about this? Thanks in advance for your help!

[skimtb]

Louder boats are easier to set up bunks for. Sorry, couldn’t resist.

 

Check this thread out:

https://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/21444/hoist-lift-bunk-setup-for-2014-prostar

 

Not sure how high your bunks go. Hopefully your hoist isn’t 20 years old, as the “newer” shorestations have the “v” cradle, which is good for skegs...

 

[Jboss]

@skimtb Here are a few pics. One shows that i have the bunks set one notch above the highest setting. The other pics show where/how the bunks are hitting the hull near the rear. I'll checkout the link. Oh, and haha on the "loud" joke. Everyone's a comedian!

 

[skimtb]

@Jboss Your 2nd pic is why I started the other thread. You can see big time gap btw the bunk and boat due to the lip on bottom of hull. I think I saw in manual they want 500 sq. Inch of bunk Support. Check that, I could be wrong.

You may be able to go really narrow, or get longer bunk support brackets?

[Jboss]

@skimtb I didn't know there are manufacturer guidelines for support. It certainly makes sense. I am going to look into taller support brackets and move the bunks out to the "flat spot". Hopefully, that will put me in good shape. Oh, and I forgot to mention that my Shore Station is 6 years old.

[skihacker]

Narrow will bring problems towards the bow with the clamshell.

[Jboss]

@skihacker I'm not quite following you. What are you referring to as the clamshell?

[skihacker]

If you run the bunks narrow enough to miss those lifting steps in the rear the front of the right side bunk will hit the water intake, which protrudes an is plastic.

[Jboss]

@skihacker Ahhhhhh, gotcha. I'll make sure I'm clear of it. Thanks for the tip.

[DavidinTexas]

I have a 19 pro star and went through this last year. There are guidelines in the owners manual (under “Storage Cradle”)for minimum support area do 500 sq inches but it does not recommend bunk placement. In the end I went with the outside bunk locations on the trailer for my lift cradle, which is on the flat sections on the hull. Spacing is 57” between the bunks. Seemed a little wide but looked like the best option to me. I do have the advantage of a v cradle frame that gives me extra clearance of all the running hardware and prop.

[jhughes]

Keep in mind the middle of those bunks don't support anything, really. The Shorestation aluminum bunks are not even bolted down completely fixed on one side, so that they can slide a bit to accommodate some bending of the bunk. For all intents and purposes your boat is taking the loads in 4 spots in pretty small areas no matter what.

[Jboss]

@jhughes Great point!

[skihacker]

True but if your boat is sitting on those lifting chines the entire back half of the boat is sitting on probably a couple square inches.

[epnault]

I did mine different than any boat I have done in the past. My bunks are actually wider at the bow and narrow toward the transom. Much of this was based on the 4 bunk trailer and trying to match it with 2 bunks on the lift. Also there is some funky geometry on the as the hull transitions to the transom and I did one a single load case on that bump. See pics

 

[Jboss]

@epnault Looks like a pretty good setup. Do you happen to know the center-to-center measurements for front and back?

[epnault]

@Jboss I will get you them later today. Stay tuned

 

[Jboss]

@epnault Thank you, Sir!

[epnault]

@Jboss

Ok Check this out. Crude I apologize but when you become a leader they take your CAD away :)

 

 

[Jboss]

@epnault This is fantastic, Eric. Thanks so much for putting it together. I wonder if there is a "best practices" section or thread where you can post this. I'll be there are many others who could benefit from it.

[LoopSki]

just finished setting mine up, went with @epnault spacing

 

 

 

 

[epnault]

Nice. Lets see it loaded now!

[LoopSki]

worked great , thanks!

 

 

[MDB1056]

Easy way us to space them to match the trailer spacing- which is factory

[LoopSki]

@MDB1056 obviously you don't have a Prostar!

[epnault]

Looks great @LoopSki

[skimtb]

@epnault @LoopSki Does the boat feel stable like that when on hoist with a person or three? Seems narrow?

[skihacker]

That's kind of what i was wondering, 2 guys in the same rear corner loading gear or whatever.

[LoopSki]

ive only been in the boat by myself so far and it feels fine. i will never have more than one person on it. really only to wipe it down. people will get on and off when its in the down position.

[epnault]

Rock solid guys. From about engine forward it sits "in" to the bunks toward the bow. It would take a lot of force to rotate the boat out of that position. Sometimes the wife and kids like to hop in before the boat is loaded and still now issues at all. Most of the time it is just me in the boat.

 

[MDB1056]

@LoopSki you're correct - I don't have a prostar, so please help me understand why a prostar owner cant use the trailer bunk spacing to set up the same on a lift? I'm obviously missing something as a non prostar owner. Curious . Thanks much

[LoopSki]

@MDB1056 4 sets of bunks, rear ones hard to see in pic are actually different heights. if you can get that spacing on a lift , good luck

 

 

 

 

[MDB1056]

Yikes.... I get it now. Glad I have an older boat...........

[LoopSki]

I'm having a hard time loading boat with the narrow set up. It is really hard to get on just right by myself. I would like to go wider. What other spacing are you 2014+ guys using?

[skihacker]

The narrow set up leaves very little room to get the tracking fins through, i just built a set of bunks with a gap for the lifting chines to sit in, 2-2×6 stacked with a gap around 1 foot long in the top board towards the rear. I set the rear width at about 30 inches, so far works better but only been a few days.

[Eljaybee]

I have a Shoremaster lift and I used the measurement of the rear bunks on my trailer w no issues. I hope this is helpful

[epnault]

@LoopSki @skihacker

 

Are you guys floating the boat into your lift? Do you have rub rail guide poles on your lift?

 

I have an L dock section next to my lift. I park the boat driver side on the dock and then hop out of the boat and float it by hand into the lift. I then use a reference point for the forward position (mine is the rear gas cap and the rear/transom rub rail guide poles)

[skihacker]

I float on or off, I've always had my lift set up so the drive shaft stays behind the rear cross bar. Water is usually pretty low in the fall. I have a pole clamped to the rear of the cradle as a reference point, the water is way too murky to see through. The nav light socket is the reference point on the boat. The narrow setup for the bunks works but I kept hitting the back end of the bunks with the tracking fins.