Lifting stern of an A-25 several inches off trailer

[NickScheuer]

The rear trailer bunks on my trailer need to be raised an inch or so, perhaps just the one on the starboard side. The boat is supported by the keel/skeg rollers and leans over to st'bd to rest on the bunk, leaving some space between the hull and the port bunk. Raising the bunks so the hull rests level on both bunks and keel rollers require longer U-bolts, as the nuts are near the ends of the existing bolts. My bunk posts have no provision for slide adjustment. They are secured with bolts through round holes, so I will accomplish the elevation with shims under the carpeted bunk boards.

My question is, should I jack up the keel? Or should I jack up the hull (first st'bd, then port) using a eight-distributing wood platen, car tire, and carpet pad? I seem to remember having read here at some point that the keel is the strongest weight-bearing portion of the hull. I will be jacking with a 3-ton floor jack on a paved parking space.

[WillieC]

I have lifted my A25 off the trailer using boat stands at the very corners of the stern (drop the tongue as low as possible first, shove the stand under the corners, raise them a few inches, then raise the tongue as far as possible) then a 6 ton bottle jack under the front of the keel and blockins the keel in at least two places.. Little by little with the bottle jack (with a sufficient block to spread out the load there,I used a hunk of steel about 6" long) adding 2X atop my keel blocks.

Hope this helps. I ended up with three substantial keel blocks, plus the stands at the rear corners. hard to make sure the keel blocks are evenly loaded, but I had no problems.

Then for stability, I added a bunch of 2X8s along the gunwales after I removed the trailer from under the boat. I realize you aren't planning to go this far, just adjusting your bunks.

[DesertAlbin736]

How far aft do your bunks go? Don't take it for gospel, but I would guess jacking up the keel, preferably at more than one point with more than one jack would be the preferred option. Just be careful & stay safe. Here's what I did with the help of a sailboat shop to pull the trailer for bottom painting: gantry crane & chain fall & strap to lift the bow (should have used a spreader bar or 2nd chain hoist too, lesson learned) while the shop guy used a fork to lift under the stern. Bear in mind my boat is the early version & doesn't have the semi-displacement flare a the stern. Also my bunks are adjustable & able to drop down. When putting the boat back on the trailer we rolled the trailer back under the boat then rested the boat on the keel rollers while keeping the boat supported & leveled with the chain hoist & fork lift, then jacked up the struts one at a time to snug the bunks up under the hull & level the boat.

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By far these I think these are the preferred type of adjustable bunk struts. One would think it wouldn't be too huge a project to make or obtain these types of adjustable bunk struts.

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Bunk adjuster.jpg

[nebulatech]

Steve, what is your actual bunk board dimension? Is it 2x8 pressure treated?