Reinforcing aft deck

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Reinforcing aft deck

Postby marcusg » Tue Apr 11, 2023 11:42 am

Wife and I are dissatisfied with our rope/plastic hanging swim ladder, since it tends to swing your feet in under the boat and is very clumsy to climb. So I was thinking of getting one of these metal folding ones that bolt to the deck over the transom and have loops to grab on to on your way up. Bet our toddler can even learn to climb it, which would be awesome:

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/5lUAAOSw ... -l1600.jpg

But that aft deck has a fair bit of flex in it, and I'd be worried that overtime we're going to punch through it. And there used to be, I assume, laminated wooden members, glassed-in perpendicular to the transom under the aft deck, but now they'all all rotted. If I could, I'd just drill out the rotten wood and laminate new pieces, but last year I foolishly tried to fill the cavities with Thixxo, which just made a mess of Thixxo+rotted wood which will probably be very difficult to clean out well enough to make space for new laminated pieces. See pics:

Aft deck top (Small).jpg
Aft deck top (Small).jpg (39.24 KiB) Viewed 1207 times

I'd place the ladder opposite the motor well.

Aft deck bottom (Small).jpeg.jpg
Aft deck bottom (Small).jpeg.jpg (29.23 KiB) Viewed 1207 times

Here you can see the two fiberglass "channels" that are now filled with rotted wood and thixxo.

I basically just want to reinforce the deck in the easiest way possible. I'm fine with cutting off the existing fiberglass channels; it's just a pity because the glass channels themselves are in great condition. I guess I could even just leave them and through bolt a couple laminated pieces in different spots? Like...is the fiberglass wrapping even required if it's through-bolted and glued?
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Re: Reinforcing aft deck

Postby GreenLake » Tue Apr 11, 2023 1:36 pm

Marcus, as far as the channels go, the strength is in the glass. Assuming at least minimal thickness in the laminate, even a hollow channel provides stiffening. The exception would be if someone provided just a single layer of glass over a piece of wood to basically cover it without any strength in the skin. From what you write, that doesn't seem the case.

The way the channels are arranged, they should prevent flexing in the direction that's across. The other direction should be supported by the transom and the forward edge. Can the deck support the weight of someone stepping or standing on it?

To mount a ladder, you'd need backing plates for through bolting. Unless your deck is super thin, I wouldn't think that they would have to be much wider than the ladder bases shown in the image. Do you have space for them, or are the channels positioned to be just under the mounting points? If you have to place one close to a channel, you may get away with trimming it a bit on the side next to the channel, as long as there's room for the bolts and their fenders.

If this is intended as a safety device, make sure it has no quick-connect at the top. There are many reports of marine accidents where the ladder came unshipped while trying to get someone out of the water.
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