Milfoil on Bunk Trailers (between boat and bunk)

[tashit]

I've always had a roller trailer and felt that it was fairly simple to keep the milfoil off. I would get everything off when I left the lake and if I were going to a non-infested lake I would again get under the trailer and search with a fine tooth comb in the driveway before I went to the next lake. I would also roll the boat back 6-12 inches to make sure nothing was caught between the rollers and the boat.

I recently bought a boat with a bunk trailer and I'm very concerned about milfoil that may get trapped between the boat and the bunk when loading. The only option I can think of is to jack the back of the boat up and check, and then jack the front of the boat up and check to make sure there's no milfoil. This is not a real simple thing to do with a 2500 lb boat and I was wondering if anybody had any tips or tricks they use to make sure you aren't transporting milfoil with bunk trailers?

Also, how long does milfoil need to be out of water before it no longer will have the ability to spread?

[pinkfloyd4ever]

guess I have never thought of that question, I have bunk trailer too. I thought the "rule" was 7 days out of water?

[Musky_Madness]

Unfortunately, that is a long time for some of us!

[pinkfloyd4ever]

oh I hear ya on that

[tashit]

Does nobody else worry about this? The last two times I've had the boat out I've found weeds on the bunk after I put the boat in. It was all the same lake so it's not a big deal right now but it could be when I go to a different lake. No wonder milfoil is in so many lakes...

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Was at Waconia yesterday with a friend (his boat) and received the talk from the DNR rep about the whole invasive species problem.

He suggested power washing the entire boat, outside & inside and then leaving it sit in the sun for 4 days! Or, he said you could use bleach!

I'm sorry, but that is not going to work for me. I'm afraid we are fighting a losing battle and we are only slowing the inevitable.

[Musky_Madness]

That's a lot of work for a boat...all to have some one else not even pull the easy weeds off and transfer the milfoil for you.

[kg2]

Or have pelicans, geese, and cormorants move weed fragments between lakes. (It isn't only the fishermen.)

[NELS-BELLS]

I've always believed that its the bunk trailers that are the biggest culprits when it comes to transporting milfoil.

I was at a landing near St. Cloud recently and there was a DNR guy handing out brochures and explaining about the spread of milfoil etc. I asked him to take a look at a couple bunk trailers that were parked there and sure enough, he was able to identify numerous different plants just from the small fragments embedded into the carpeting. He said that it only takes a small fragment to spread milfoil.

I think they should come up with a spray or something that you apply to the bunks that would kill milfoil when it touches it. Something that you apply just before you load the boat and that doesn't wash off when you submerge the bunks. So if any vegetation gets trapped between the bunk and the boat, it would kill it right away.

Nels

[croixflats]

Would replacing the carpet with neoprene sleeve work. Just a thought

[SkunkedAgain]

There is also the livewells and bilges to consider. They all hold little pools of water typically and most boaters don't dry them out. People tend to be willing to put a little effort into the cause, but nothing that might inconvenience them though.

[Tman2]

What about replacing the carpet with that stuff that guys put on the bottoms of their portable fishhouses? Neoprene doesn't seem slippery enough, but what do i know.