swim platform

May 14, 2019
17
Irwin 37' mark III Puget Sound
Think I have it figured out! Seeing what others have done has been a terrific help. Thanks to everyone for all the input.
Barnett
 
Dec 29, 2008
805
Treworgy 65' LOA Custom Steel Pilothouse Staysail Ketch St. Croix, Virgin Islands
"Found these while perusing boarding ladders. They were custom made for a Nauticat. My dream ladder! Love how it folds against the hull."
No idea. Found it through Google image search "sailboat swim ladder".
I'll see if I can track down more info.
Man, that folding stairway is what I have dreamed about! If someone comes up with details on that, I am extremely interested!
 
Mar 20, 2011
623
Hunter 31_83-87 New Orleans
There’s a YouTube channel called Sailing Saitori which is an older Morgan 44 center cockpit. He added a swim platform on his boat. Used pvc as a mock up and then had it fabricated in SS. It’s one of the earlier episodes (1 or 2) if u want to see this. They also have a website www.sailingsaitori.life Good luck.
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,796
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
Man, that folding stairway is what I have dreamed about! If someone comes up with details on that, I am extremely interested!
It couldn't be that hard to engineer. Looks pretty straight forward. It's all about making sure the attachment points have the strength to take the stress of someone with a full armload or dive gear walking up it. I weigh nearly 220lbs. I exceed the load limit for a lot of commercial ladders with just a toolbelt on.
I also want one for Dragonfly. My wife is worried she won't have the strength to climb aboard with a regular ladder and this concept would put her concerns to rest. It also doubles as part of your lifelines when folded up. Pretty snazzy!

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
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DArcy

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Feb 11, 2017
1,732
Islander Freeport 36 Ottawa
I talked to the owner of the Tanzer 10.5 with the swim platform. He used a shower wall liner strapped to the hull to get the outside shape. He waxed it then laid the glass in it. He then removed it, finished the layup with plywood for the inner walls trimmed and bonded it onto the transom. It looks like there are also a few bolts through the transom.

The exhaust is routed out the port side and you can see the fittings for the dinghy davits. The dinghy gets stored resting on its gunwale.

You can see the integrated rudder stops. There are lockers molded in, the propane tank is in the starboard side locker. The handle on the rudder is in the perfect place to grab when boarding as I found out going aboard.

Oh, and he has some wooden boards that fit around the rudder when not underway to make the platform easier to navigate; that's why there are fiddles around the inside of the rudder opening.
 

Tod

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Dec 30, 2010
82
Montgomery 17 trailered
Oh, here's one more. This guy built his whole boat. If you poke around, you might find better pictures than what you see on this page. I googled Justin Pipkorn Just Right to find this page; there are probably others on the web.

It is kind of a similar concept as on the Tanzer that DArcy posted...a hull extension with a v-notch. This boat is smaller though, only 20', iirc.

http://amateurboatbuilding.com/justright/Chap12.htm
 
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Nov 28, 2018
2
Island Packet 38 Las Vegad
I put a SS support on the transom of my IP38. You can see the frame in 1 picture then another is just the teak and a final pic with it together. I have a hydrovane so I had to adapt. I also did not want any through hull bolts below the waterline. It’s a little dirty in some pics. But works awesome. It’s worth the effort. Cheers Clint
 

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Nov 28, 2018
2
Island Packet 38 Las Vegad
I have had big following seas 5-10 meters. The IP rides up very well over them. I have not been in any breaking following seas though. Hopefully, I won’t be out there for that. I have about 30,000 NM under the keel and done 3 crossings at 18+ days. My experience is I have only had 3 rogue waves break on the boat and each time they hit broadside. 2 of them completely swamped the cockpit in seconds. I went through a super typhoon between PNG and Palau. Don’t care to do that again.
 
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Dec 29, 2008
805
Treworgy 65' LOA Custom Steel Pilothouse Staysail Ketch St. Croix, Virgin Islands
I have had big following seas 5-10 meters. The IP rides up very well over them. I have not been in any breaking following seas though. Hopefully, I won’t be out there for that. I have about 30,000 NM under the keel and done 3 crossings at 18+ days. My experience is I have only had 3 rogue waves break on the boat and each time they hit broadside. 2 of them completely swamped the cockpit in seconds. I went through a super typhoon between PNG and Palau. Don’t care to do that again.
Your platform looks beautifully crafted. I hear you about getting hit broadside. We've taken some broadside that had me worried. They were crashing against the glass on our pilothouse. If one had broken the glass, it wouldn't take many more of them to fill the boat faster than all 6 bilge pumps could pump it out! But, the armored glass did its job and didn't break, despite a night full of slams against it. Still, it worried the crap out of me until the weather passed. I didn't have any trouble staying awake on watch that night (or off watch, for that matter!).
 
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