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Depending ont he angle of the boat and the depth in the water, it's possible one side of the hull can rub against the wheel fenders on my trailer - I know I need to raise the bunks/rollers, but until I can do that (they are already at the maximum extent of their brackets) I'm wondering if anyone has a good idea for a protective material to put on the trailers to let the boat slip over them when necessary - maybe something like what Keel Guards are made from, but cheaper?

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Most synthetic cutting boards are made of high density polyethylene. The material is extremely durable, slick, wont mar the boats hull, and can be purchased inexpensively at places such as Walmart. They have been a favorite source of mine for protection and friction pad material on many trailers I've had throughout the years. I've found them in a variety of thicknesses. The material can be cut and the edges routed with wood working tools.

If you don't need a lot, its usually cheaper to source a couple of inexpensive cutting boards locally than ordering the material.

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Couldn't you glue/fasten bunk carpet to the wheel fenders?

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Both great ideas - I was also thinking about the large furniture moving slick pads (for easily dragging heavy furniture around in a house without marring the floor). I have bunk carpet leftover and that should work too... thanks!

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The only downside to the high density polyethylene is it must be mechanically fastened. Almost no adhesive will stick to it.

The heads of any screws or bolts must be countersunk and and I try and keep the fasteners away from the most likely areas of heaviest wear.

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Another way to make sure the boat fits between the fenders without rubbing them is by installing guide posts on the trailer. The guide posts will rub against the boats rubrail and not the boat itself when loading it onto the trailer.

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The trailer is fairly narrow, so the fenders are under the boat - I have guide rollers which do help, but there's still some opportunity for the boat to slightly misalign and hit the fender on one side. I know I need to reconfigure it soon - I'm just getting my boat back on the water next weekend, so once the initial thrill has worn off I'll put some more work into the trailer, but for now I want to preserve the lovely LP paint job I just put on!

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I had the same problem with my 68 13'. I found it easiest to remove the fenders and mount them lower...about 1 inch above the tires. On mine, I bolted the fenders directly to the trailer frame. You may need to be a little creative. You might also want to forgo using the fenders as a step. Problem solved.

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Roger. I had the same problem as you do as my classic sits above the wheels and febders and the guide posts fixed it. Also the guide posts help with getting the boat straight on the trailer everytime you load her up. This is especially true in crosswind conditions.

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Are there not longer brackets available to raise the bunks? If nothing else, a local ironworks shop could make some to your specs fairly cheap.

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Yep, I plan to make more modifications to the trailer - it's an old beater that came with the boat... while working on the boat this summer I stripped the trailer hardware down, stripped the rust, repainted, and replaced all the bunks and rollers... then when I put the boat back up the other day we noticed the possibility of the fenders rubbing. I think it may be less of an issue when the boat is floated on, but eventually (once I've gotten a few weeks of kicks on the boat out of my system before summer ends here) I'll raise the bunks and rollers (need longer brackets).

Until then I'm just desperate to get back on the water - it's been 10 months since she's touched it (our 2 month restoration turned into much longer when we shifted work to restoring an old house we bought). So for now, I just wanna pad the fenders with something that'll prevent any major ugliness to the freshly repaired and painted hull.