Hull damage due to trailer bunks

[wroundey]

I just bought a '81 CP16 . The PO had set the trailer bunks too high so that the bunks were supporting the weight of the entire boat and the keel was and inch or two off the rollers. As I was cleaning the boat last month I noticed some cracking in the hull near the bunks and I am now wondering how back the cracking might be. Has anyone else had similar problems and come up with a good solution/repair. I am thinking about cutting access ports in the berths and then laying in some layers of fiberglass cloth with a good coating of resin to firm up the interior and then dealing with the exterior cracking as needed.

Suggestions

[skip1930]

Don't cut nothing...The majority of the boat's weight is to sit on the trailer rollers [or board].
So loosen the 3/4 in bolts and one by one lower the hull bunks down until the keel sits on the rollers.
Then just a little pressure with the hull bunks to keep the boat from rolling off the trailer. I use a T-shirt, one layer between the hull and the hull bunks. I have to be able to pull the t-shirt material out from under the boat. That's when I know it's set.

Probably just stress cracks in the outer most 'gel' coat which is brittle. Cracks are not structural nor very deep?
Good glass under neath? O.K. mix up some Marine-Tex, grab a plastic squeezy and troll some on as thin as possible.
Wipe the excess away, you almost won't see the epoxy if you just fill the crack. Lightly sand and forget about it. Or paint it if it's in the bottom paint.

It's best to fit the trailer to the boat. When I work on my own C-P 19 I crank the bow into the vee blocks and drop the hull bunks out of the way. She's not going anywhere if the trailer is on jackstands and level. Not that I'm recommending this. I saw a picture once of a guy standing next to his C-P 16 and the boat was just sitting on his grass in his yard. Not a thing around it.

skip.

[MacGyver]

All of the weight is supposed to sit on the KEEL. so the PO was wrong to do what he did, but you are probably okay.

Grind out a crack some, (or grind them all out) and see if past the gelcoat is crack in the glass. I doubt you will find that to be a issue though.

I would suggest just tieing the opposite side of the boat to the trailer and remove the bunk from the other side, then sanding it with 80 grit and applying Interlux 2000 to the areas (or do the whole boat if you want )
This will actually seal those cracks for the most part and keep water from infiltrating them.

Skip does make a good point. The bunks should just touch the boat, as they are there only to keep it from falling over.
A slight amount of weight on em is fine,

At the marina, when we pull a boat, we normally set the boat on its keel first, then raise the pads up to the hull, then adjust accordingly.

Mac