Stern ladder on Hunter 23

[Bill Leathen]

If it ever warms up in Wisconsin, I am planning to mount a stern ladder on the transom of my Hunter 23. The ladder brackets holes are keyhole type so that the ladder can be easily removed. The bolt that goes through the keyhole is just a 1/4" dia. - one on each bracket. My plan is to drill the two 3/8" dia holes, fill them with marine tex, redrill them with 1/4" holes, put as big a washer as I can on the back side of the transome and mount the ladder. What do you all think of this plan. My main concern is stress on the transom. An alternative plan is to make some kind of a custom made steel sleeve that the bolt will go through, so that the bolt itself is not pushing on the fiberglass. The theory is the sleeve will distribute the load more evenly. Any thoughts will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Bill Leathen

 

[DJN51]

Swim ladder

How about strap toggles.Mounted a ladder on Chrysler 20 30 years ago.Still there,no problem with movement.Big box hardware stores carry dif sizes.Think about theft as past post I believe in Baltimore had ladders taken off # of boats.

 

[spenc]

As long as you only use the swim ladder when the boat is in the water, what your planning sounds fine. I just remounted my gudgeons in a similar way. Never use the swim ladder to get in the boat when its on the trailer, in my experience bad things happen. Always use a ladder near the bow.

 

[C Jones]

Bill, I have the key hole type upper ladder brackets on my h23, the PO bolted 2 teak strips to the stern and attached the key hole brackets to it. The lower teak strip is for the ladder legs to rest on. Pictures of it in my profile. I never knew why he did this until you asked your question. Hope this helps, Charles