Custom Extended Swim Platform

I'm going to add some braces on the sides to stiffen up those areas . . .

First I cut & shaped the foam core pieces.





Then I covered them with 1708 cloth. Here they are after curing, but still needing a bit of trimming.



I'll tab these into the sides with more 1708.

 

I am traveling the next couple of weeks, so I won’t be back at it until Memorial Day weekend.

Remaining work is:

Aft area
Pylon stiffeners
A few touch-up spots

Then, I will be ‘popping’ the platform out of the mold.

Targeting to be done/installed mid-June.

 

A friendly tip...stainless steel luvs to gall. Despite the issues with grease in the fabrication area, make sure and grease the bolts if you are putting nuts on them.

I had one of four of my hardware connections on a project fail and it took an hour to remove and the bolt basically came apart due to the galling.

I had told myself I was going to lube the connections immediately after my glasswork. Fail. Fortunately, the rivnut installation (female side) was so tough, I was able to simply tap it and while less thread, still enough to avoid removing the rivnut.

 

These look great and the gc will thank you.

 

Galling. . . I had to Google that.

A definite yes on the grease, as it will be salt water exposure, which will add its own challenges.

 

“gc”. ???

 

Gelcoat won't get a stress fracture.

 

Update . . .

After a couple of weeks doing other stuff, I am back at it with the swim platform.

I made the rear structure shapes out of the foam board stock that I used for the coring.



Then I filled them with the pour-in foam and sanded them smooth, rounded corners, etc.



Then came the glass . . .



Now I am setting up the infusion.



Still casing a leak or 2 . . . so won't do the resin until tomorrow.

TTFN . . .

 

I am rather surprised you didn't jist wetbag that section.

 

I thought about it, not for long though . . . With all the various shapes and irregularities, I figured wet bagging would be a race of time before the resin kicked. I think I am better off doing it by infusion.

 

The aft structure and side stiffeners are all glassed. Just finishing up a few odds and ends, then I will be pulling the platform from the mold next weekend (June 1st)

 

Question for the membership . . .

In terms of adhering the 'slab' portion of the extended platform over the existing swim deck . . . 3M 5200 (permanent) or 3m 4200 (semi permanent) ???

Thoughts either way?

 

The platform is now out of the mold . . .





Overall it looks OK . . . There are a few dry spots, so those will need some touch-up. I think I'll take care of those before washing off the PVA film.

Next steps will be trimming and some sanding.

 

Pretty nice outcome.

How heavy?

As for the gluing, how much gets glue?

I don't think I'd use 5200.

I'd use 4000 UV

 

The touch up is to be expected, but I don't understand how leaving the pva on will help unless it highlights the areas needing work. I would worry about it contaminating the repair.