Installing boarding ladder

[marc]

Just got my boarding ladder from Compac. Am I right in assuming that the transom is already reinforced to handle the ladder? Hoping that all I need to do is line up the ladder so it is parallel with the rudder, drill holes, caulk & put in backing plates. Anything else I should be aware of?
Thanks
Marc

[Salty19]

Hmm, well, that sounds about right but you'll also want to seal the actual hole by means of overdrilling it, filling with epoxy (or heavy coat the walls of the hole), letting cure then redrilling to match the bolts.  That will prevent any transom-destroying moisture into the core, which is plywood and yep they are "ladder ready".  A very good idea indeed as chaulks can and do fail or be misapplied, or be neglected. Might not happen for 10 years but eventually water will get in and you'll want to keep it from seeping into the wood.

According to Don Casey's book on fiberglass restoration, it encourages you to drill out the core more (with a bend nail in a drill chuck) first before filling with epoxy. This creates a thicker barrier between hole and core material.
I haven't done that, just overdrilled and epoxied holes. Doesn't sound like a bad idea it's the execution of it that makes me worry.

Enjoy that ladder!

[skip1930]

Here are two snaps of my ladder that was purchased from Com-Pac for my CP-19. I installed it in this location many years ago and have had zero problems. There was plywood 'hard points' for the 1/4-20 bolts, washers, and nyloc-nuts. Just locate, drill, goop and bolt. You'll need a person inside the transom holding the fastener and one outside the transom turning the bolt screw head. Just snug is good enough. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN and crack the gel coat.





First hard freeze coming this Saturday, 27 deg F. and 49 for a high, time to bring in the garden art and hoses...

skip.

[marc]

Good comments and photos guys. I forgot about over-drilling & filling. Thanks for the reminder.
Marc

[MacGyver]

I second Salty19 on the overdrill, great idea.

Use 2 inch tape in the areas you know the ladder will be, then use a marker to see where the ladder will be so when you over drill you dont drill too big and end up outside what the ladder flange will hide.

Also, I suggest stepping your drilling, start with a small bit and move up to final size.
Sure, extra work, but the holes are straighter, and a misalignment fixed easier.

USE FENDER WASHERS! and make sure it is quality SS hardware.

Mac   

[marc]

I'm tinkering with the ladder. Positioned it where I'd like it & looked things over. The 3 attachment points of the ladder are all in the same plane - perfectly level in relation to each other. The transom has a curve. The result is that the bottom ladder bracket is flush to the hull but both upper brackets only touch the hull on their inside edges. On the port side bracket, there is a 3/16" gap between the fiberglass and the bracket surface on the side closest to the rudder. On the starboard side bracket there is a 7/32" gap on the outside edge. I'm assuming I need to make shims which I foresee being a PITA. Seems like that is too much of a gap to close with bolts without cracking the fiberglass. Opinions?
Thanks again.
Marc

[skip1930]

I had some 1/4 inch thick UHMW plastic laying around in my garage and use this material to make pads with bolt holes under the steel feet for the ladder, the statsions, and the stern pulpit. None of which came with my boat.

Kind of a cushion if you will. You might see these in the photos above. Definitely in this photo below.

skip.

[MacGyver]

What I would probably do, if I am understanding it right, is use SS hardware, washers, probably fender If they didnt go outside the main plate too bad, then tighten down and fill with caulk.
It would be similar to Skips Idea, but typically no one has that kind of plastic around.

Can you post any pics? I am better if I can see it..... 

Mac

[skip1930]

"...then tighten down and fill with caulk. "

Might try fill with caulk and then tighten down.

skip.

[MacGyver]

I was talking about after it was caulked on, I guess you could let it spluge out of the assembly, but I thought it may be cleaner to do it while it was on........

Mac

[marc]

Raining hard so no pictures today. I'm going to give shims a try rather than go the fender washer route. I'll let you know how it goes.
Marc