Custom Extended Swim Platform

AGREED

 

All cleaned up . . . I trimmed the hatches and put the ladders in place for fitting.



I did lots and lots of measuring for the fitting of the platform. Probably will do a test fitting later this week and then mount the platform if all is well.

Yes, on the 4200 UV for the adhesive.

I weighed the platform to see how close I came to my target weight.

110 lbs. which is lighter than I thought it would be.

 

How is that non slip again?

Looks nice.

 

Thank you. Not sure I understand your question

 

Test Fitting of the Platform . . .

I did a test fitting of the platform today. . .





The sides need a little bit of trimming in order to tighten up the gap along the sides. I'll probably install for real tomorrow.

 

The platform is now on the boat. . .

I used 3M 4200 UV adhesive for the slab and to fill in the sides.



Here is a close up of the seam . . .



I have about 200 lbs. of water and other stuff holding the platform down while the adhesive sets.

Next steps are to do the hardware and fastening underneath.

 

Mechanical Fastening Update. . .

I started in on the mechanical fastening of the platform today. There are 26 bolts that will hold the platform to the boat. I got 18 of them done, so 8 more to go.

Here are a few pictures . . .

Getting the 8 studs that will fasten the struts to the underside all cleaned up and ready to go. . .



Here are the 4 struts fastened to the extended platform.



Since the studs were not a 100% thread, I had to add the white spacers that you see, and will have to do likewise on the other end of the struts that attach to the underside of the boat's existing swim deck. There is a bit of variation in the thickness of the additional spacers that I will need; a couple of them need to be 7/8" thick, one 13/16" and the remaining one 11/16". I'll probably get some 1" thick material and plane them accordingly.

Probably won't do much work for another week or so. Launch day is set for June 24th though . . .

 

You really put a lot of thought and effort into this project. Looks really nice. Having to make minor adjustments with those spacers is not unusual with projects like these. I had to do something similar when I did a swim platform a few years ago. My project worked out great but wasn't nearly as intricate as yours turned out to be. Enjoy it! MIA

 

Thank you for your kind words. It was certainly a learning process, and one of those things "if I knew then what I know now", it could have been quicker, easier and with better results. The gelcoat did not come out as well as I would like, but that is fixable.

I guess the real test will be to see if it supports the load that it is likely to see.

 

Quick Update . . .

I've got most of the remaining hardware and necessities on order. Things remaining on the platform before boat launching are:

Fasten the 4 struts to underside of existing swim deck
Install rubrail w/ stainless steel insert
Install ladders
Install hatches
Install pop-out cleats
Install cupholders

I also plan to re-coat some areas of the gelcoat that needed a bit of fixing. Thinking I can do some roll & tip application of the gelcoat. We shall see how that goes. Gelcoat has been killing me throughout this project.

 

This was a difficult project to take on as a rookie, you did a very good job.

Now just think how easy it will be to infuse a new 32’ boat for next year.

Come on, get with it, no time to waste.

 

Thanks @ondarvr . . . I appreciate your help along the way. The MCP harder recommendation was a life-saver.

 

Interesting thought, building a boat.

I occasionally have thoughts about building a 16 (ish) foot bowrider for ‘fun’. I was thinking of fiberglass over foam - unsinkable design. That could be a nice infusion project.

Perhaps a thread for another time.

 

Once I get the spaced blocks sized for the various thickness mentioned above, the real trick will be to see if I can get the bolts in the limited space between the upper and lower layers of the built-in swim platform.

I am using the same type of squared u-bolts that I used on the extended swim platform. Just got to figure out if/how I can get them inside the ‘gap’ of the built-in platform.

The built-in swim deck/platform is about 5.5” (height) with a 1” thick top surface and 1/4” thick bottom surface, leaving about a 4” air gap between them.

The biggest issue is that it is a long reach with poor access. Might have to fabricate some sort of tool to extend beyond where my arms can reach.

Any creative ideas ???

My ‘plan B’ will be to drill a couple of deck plate holes through the bottom side for access, but I’d like to avoid that route if possible.

 

My idea:

Send an "electrician's fish" backwards thru the bolt holes. Tape the bolts to the fish wire and pull them into place.