Swim Ladder ideas

[MacGyver]

Just wondering what people have done to their swim ladders to make them a bit nicer on the feet.......
My wife and I rafted up to a 31 catalina this weekend, and swam off of their boat.

I decided this was a good time to try the ladder on ours, so I got it down and went up, not real bad but ouchy on my feet.......
Wife, same issue......
The curve hurts the center of the foot, and also frankly scares me a bit in the idea that you might slip off the wrung and slide between the ladder and the boat..... getting hurt isnt a good thing.

I searched the forums, finding some ideas, but nothing after that to say, "This is awesome and works really well!"

Sooooooooo......... anybody have good solution to this? it is the original ladder, round SS pipe. The bottom wrung is rounded like as in not a straight step........

Thanks
Mac

[Billy]

Someone, I think Brackish, added some plumbing insulation and wrapped it with sunbrella. Maybe he,ll chime in.

It was in a thread with a few other projects. One similar to your lifeline cushions.

[brackish]

This works well to cushion the feet.  investment is almost nothing.  pipe insulation, a little bit of sunbrella.  some velcro on the long seam and some more around the ends to help hold it on.  Thing is if you don't like it you have about five bucks invested.

[jimyoung]

I went a little overboard, but this is how I modified my ladder into a swim platform/ladder/outboard mount.



The platform has proved to be a really nice touch for swiming/diving.

[Salty19]

Greene made some nice wood step rungs on his old 19.

Basically 4 lengths of wood, one for each step, cut underneath with a half-round scallop to sit on the steps.  On top, looked like he used a router and cut out some shallow "traction strips".  Some sand on top covered with varnish would do the trick too.

I forgot how he fastened them (hose clamps?).  He had a picture of them but I searched and didn't find it.

Been meaning to make these myself...always too many projects and with the boat in a slip, pretty tough to do swim ladder work during the season!

I don't like the pipe insulation..looks like it would spin/rotate too easily and end up injuring you.

[capt_nemo]

jimyoung,

Nice multipurpose addition to the stern of your boat.

What material is your swim platform/ladder/outboard mount made out of?

capt_nemo

[jimyoung]

capt_nemo,

The entire assembly is made from aluminum tubing, welded then primed and painted with Awl Grip epoxy paint. So far we have really enjoyed it. Only negative so far is the dink needs to be lowered before the platform can really be used, but that's OK because not having to tow the dingy more than makes up for it.



Here is one of the completed project just before we took it out for a test weekend.

Jim

[Greene]

After a few sails on our 23 we found we really missed the wooden steps that were on our 19.  This weekend I scrounged up some used teak and made some steps for our ladder.  Wrinkles came with one step that was in poor condition, so I cleaned it up and mounted it on the top step.  After trying it and the new steps I preferred the new version, so I'll get another piece of teak and replace the original as well.

Starting to varnish the pieces.  A couple of V grooves in each for traction.


Each step is grooved to fit over about half of the horizontal bar and and on each end to wrap around the vertical bars.


Mounted and ready for use.  


You can see how the original step (top step) was mounted.  I'll be replacing that step soon.


Still need to trim off the excess on the stainless steel bolts and file them down to make them safe.  Much more comfortable on the feet.

Mike

[Greene]

I was wondering where you other folks find decent teak to work with.  Seems to be a tough item to find locally.

Mike

[brackish]

I was wondering where you other folks find decent teak to work with.  Seems to be a tough item to find locally.

Mike

Mike, they look great!  I agree, pitch or reconfigure the top step, the others that you did look much better.  I'm considering pitching my sunbrella/foam and making a set. They are certainly better on your feet than the SS tube, but Salty is right, you do have to be careful to keep them from rolling.  I've thought about some adhesive for that purpose, but may just make teak steps so they are flat.

I recently bought some teak from this site. http://www.woodshop102.com/50.html

Read all the site data so you know what you will be getting.  It is farm raised teak, which is the only legal new teak these days.  I bought 8 BF of 4/4 construction grade, rough in 4' long pieces so that it could ship FedEx.  I measured it upon receipt and I was actually sent 8.8 BF.  By the time shipping was added I ended up paying about $18.50/BF for what I received.  I would say that about 10-15% of each board is sapwood, but that is what you get with farm raised.  You can pay more and get appearance grade which has no sapwood.  I'm going to use it all, I've had some success with staining sapwood to match the unstained heartwood.

For your bottom step, did you make a cardboard template then cut it on band or scroll saw?  Mine has some flat on it, but would still like to lock it to the vertical post.

[Greene]

Thanks for the input.  I'll need to be purchasing some chunks of teak for this project and a couple of others I still have in mind.

The bottom step was a doozy to fit.  I wanted a radiused top surface while the stainless steel step actually has about 3" of nearly flat horizontal surface.  Some router work along with my molding blade set for the table saw gave me the rough shape inside.  Then I used a Forstner bit to drill out the flat portion inside.  Lots of sanding and handwork for that darn piece, but once it was on I was glad I spent the time.  I agree about the original step not being worth keeping.  Hard to believe they used 4 stainless steel clamping pieces and 4 bolts to do such a simple job.  I'll replace it as soon as I round up some more teak. 

Mike

[MacGyver]

Excellent Ideas, As much as I would like to make something awesome like JimYoung's I think I will do the same as Greene, that looks like a perfect fix to the issue.
Teak is a real bear to come by here..... even with my sources.

I might utilize another type of wood or maybe even HDPE if I can get my hands on some.

I know for sure I am going to make a temp part for the first step up on that ladder, once you pull up from that the last three arent all that bad to do.... but still a nuisance.... I best be hurrying up on this project, Id like to have it done by CLR.... :O

So much to do!!  I have that AC unit to do also!!   Yikes!  Someone turn down the heat so this guy can work!

Mac

[wes]

I have been using ipe as a substitute for teak, especially when strength is important. It's a very dense hardwood and has become popular for decks, so is readily available in my area (NC) from specialty lumber suppliers. A great material for outdoor projects - extremely resistant to the weather even when left unfinished. When vanished the color is similar to teak. When left unfinished it turns silver-gray like cedar. Hard as a rock - you can't drive a nail through it without drilling a pilot hole (even harder than white oak). I will probably use some for my swim ladder steps, copying Greene's brilliant design. Highly recommended.

Wes

[MacGyver]

It is literally called IPE?

Never heard of it....... looks like I need to find a source and get pricing....

How easy is it on tooling though?

Mac

[wes]

Here's a link to a supplier in my area. If you google "ipe wood supplier (town name)" I'm sure you'll find a bunch in your area too. This link also shows prices.

http://hardwoodstore.com/ipe-brazilian-walnut

Frankly it's hard on tooling. Carbide tipped saw blades a must.

Wes