Swim platform ideas for older Sea Ray

tobnpr said:
As was mentioned in one of the other posts above- you need to allow for expansion/contraction in an application that large.

The material changes dimensionally 1/32" per foot, per 40 degrees of temp change. So roughly double that to 1/16" per foot (winter vs. summer temp) and over a 6' (72") length, it will change 3/8" in length across those temperature extremes.

My suggestion is to substantially overdrill the size of the mounting holes in the Starboard sheet, and use large finish washers and panhead screws- rather than countersinking to allow for some movement of the material. Trust me (from experience, here)- this stuff WILL expand and contract just like they say, and if you fail to allow for it you'll likely crack the material and end up starting over.

These HDPE plastics are great stuff, but have their limitations. Lack of structural strength and the expansion/contraction issue are the biggest drawbacks.

Good luck!
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Sandwiching the supports to the deck is gonna leave screws/washers on the topside..that ain't gonna fly.Especially for little toes.Not to mention be pretty rickity.

Maybe I should send KING some pics of my deck and see what they have to say.Cause it goes right against what they/you say will happen.
 
I did a bit more work today. It's being held to the boat with only four 3/8" bolts, up into the existing platform. I can actually remove the temporary supports and it doesn't sage at all. Without the aluminum tubes it would bend like a wet noodle! And yes, that is a stick ball ball (stuck in a tripod base). If anyone uses 3/4" Starboard I'd recommend the aluminum square tubes.

Next, I'll add the four "L" braces, then the stainless tubes. I'm using bolts, so they will be higher on the transom than Shore's. I'm not sure there is a need to attach to the transom when you can put eight bolts up into the existing platform, but I made the brackets and I'll use them. Can't hurt, I guess. Just a little more work.

As far as expansion, I'll wait and see what happens, but I will be very surprised if there is an issue on this boat. We're having at least 40 degree temp swings right now, while it's on land. Also, the lighter the color the less it will be an issue in the hot sun. It's something I'll keep an eye on, and deal with it if and when.....
 
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Support poles to each of the tubes and that looks to be plenty strong.Once you start putting the poles under it you'll see how the angle is very important.People tend to spend most of their time on the very edge.It looks like from this pic that if you attach the support poles somewhere near those middle set of bolts that would be good.

I'm questioning the strength of the right and left sides though.Can you stand/sit on the edge without it bending?

Show me a pic of the topside with it on the boat.
 
Today I finished adding the aluminum "L" brackets to the transom. I also started drilling the holes in the lower transom for the SS support tubes. I bent up two, and have two more to go. I over-estimated the need for long bolts, and wound up needing more of the shorter bolts, so that held me up. Took a trip to Home Depot, and luckily they had stainless 3/8" hex bolts in stock. Weather permitting I should finish up tomorrow and I'll post pics of the finished product.

Shore, I didn't install the SS tubes yet, so I can't test the outer edge of the platform for bending. The edge is about 8 to 10 inches from the square support tube, so I'm hoping it will be rigid. King recommends support every 18 inches, so I should be OK.

Ka1oxd, good luck with your new platform. Definitely the way to go if you don't have access to tools that cut stainless steel, cobalt drill bits, and a huge vise for crushing the ends of the SS tubes (if you do it as I did). If you use Shore's system you eliminate that problem, but you will have to bend some tubing.
 
Nice job Danny may even have a go at one myself.......... next year.
 
Looking good so far. I'd like to see how you mounted it to the existing platform - you have a topside view?
 
Isola - not to hijack this thread but how does that Yanmar do in your 220DA? Looks like it would be a really cool setup! Any pictures of the engine compartment?
 
I'm pretty sure he thru-bolted it to the original deck bottom side.That's the way I did mine.


I'm seriously considering adding a couple vents in my deck.
 
tdappleman said:
Isola - not to hijack this thread but how does that Yanmar do in your 220DA? Looks like it would be a really cool setup! Any pictures of the engine compartment?
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Ya know, I see soo many of our boats over there(europe) with diesels.It must be cheaper to do the install over there.
 
Sorry guys, no pics of the completed topside until tomorrow night. I got sidetracked with some home plumbing problems, and also had rain putting a damper on working on the boat. Should hopefully finish up tomorrow. Everything is finished, except to bolts the four stainless braces to the transom. All holes are drilled already. The two outer holes in the transom will only require 2" bolts. The center two holes go through the backing plate, so they will likely be 4" bolts there.

And yes, as Shore said, I just bolted up into the existing platform. Two rows of four, of 3/8" hex bolts there.

Shore, yes I'm thinking about those vents also. I have three rows, between the four square braces, that I can make a pattern on. I'm thinking of just using a 3/8" drill bit, and drilling a mess of holes, following a pattern. Should be real easy. With the bracing, it should still be plenty strong.
 
Tdapplemen
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Isola - not to hijack this thread but how does that Yanmar do in your 220DA? Looks like it would be a really cool setup! Any pictures of the engine compartment?

There has been a bit of interest in my wee boats engine ill get some pictures soon and post them on the 220DA trend.

SHORE Ya know, I see soo many of our boats over there (europe) with diesels.It must be cheaper to do the install over there.

It’s not that it’s cheaper to install the red diesel I run it on is a lot cheaper the price of fuel in the UK and Ireland has some of the highest prices in the world and the government duty on fuel almost doubling the price to about £6 a gallon. We can however buy red diesel, a duty free fuel which is for off-road use i.e. tractors, boats, machinery this is the same diesel that you can run your car on except with a red dye in it. This is half the price of petrol/gas and road diesel which helps to offset the installation price.:smt001
 
That's kinda what I meant isola, that it would be finacially smart to run diesel for some reason.....I've seen plenty over there in smaller boats and NONE here is the states.I knew there had to be a reason for it.
 
Danny Troy said:
Sorry guys, no pics of the completed topside until tomorrow night. I got sidetracked with some home plumbing problems, and also had rain putting a damper on working on the boat. Should hopefully finish up tomorrow. Everything is finished, except to bolts the four stainless braces to the transom. All holes are drilled already. The two outer holes in the transom will only require 2" bolts. The center two holes go through the backing plate, so they will likely be 4" bolts there.

And yes, as Shore said, I just bolted up into the existing platform. Two rows of four, of 3/8" hex bolts there.

Shore, yes I'm thinking about those vents also. I have three rows, between the four square braces, that I can make a pattern on. I'm thinking of just using a 3/8" drill bit, and drilling a mess of holes, following a pattern. Should be real easy. With the bracing, it should still be plenty strong.
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I'm really contemplating it.I was thinking 2 10" long slots about 1.5" wide and spaced about 3" apart.Then just router the edge like the edge of the deck.I have to take into account the screws under mine though.
 
How about something like this. Just found this on a Google search. Might be good for you, but I can see my dogs getting their paws caught in the slots.
 
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Danny Troy said:
How about something like this. Just found this on a Google search. Might be good for you, but I can see my dogs getting their paws caught in the slots.
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That's about what I'm thinking but closer and thinner to avoid what you are saying might happen.I just don't know of the science behind the vents to really be accurate on what size they need to be.

I even had this idea....2 vents in the deck that are larger blow-out type,on cords,if the pressure ever commands.:huh:
 
Yes, but you would want it to blow up or down, depending on where the water is coming from. On the www.swim-platform.com site they say they haven't had any issues with damage due to water pressure, and that their vents are optional and only for cosmetic appearance.
http://www.swim-platform.com/faqs.html#What_is_the_purpose_of_the_vents

Logically, I feel they're probably a good idea, especially if the platform is over sized lengthwise. Mine is at least 4 inches larger than the swimplatform.com fiberglass unit. Your's is even larger!

If we screw it up we can always get something like this to re-cover. Assumming it will stick to anti-skid Starboard: http://www.seadek.com/Page_0_Swimplatforms.html
 
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