Ladders and brackets for the insane

[Kern O]

OK, I found the glitch in Photobucket, so I'm posting pictures again. I can post 'em until even I am sick of them.......

The problem is that every boat seems to take a different bracket:

Here's the setup on the Parker 25:



This is the way I did the Stamas It had long brackets that bolted flat on the swimstep area and then I put a teak swimstep on top of it:



And here is how I underhung the brackets on the Jupiter:



In my first conversation with the insurance adjuster, I told them I wanted the ladders and my swimstep off the Jupiter. They said I could have them, so the ladders on the Venture are the ones of the Jupiter, but with different mounting brackets.

I'm not sure what I'll ever do with the swimstep, but I put too much time and effort into it to see it rot in the salvage yard. So, I've got it at home. Coffee table maybe? Oh yeah, Dianne would love that! It was just plain big by the time I got it done.

Here's the assembled blank:


And here is is completed:

[jenkinsph]

Very nice work, and looks flat and/or planar. Did you use biscuit joints or splines to
assemble this or jointer? What kind of glue did you use?


Steve

[Kern O]

I did it with an old 5 inch Craftsmas jointer/planer. I bought the teak at about 1 1/4 thick and planed it to as close as I could get to the same thickness. Then I cheated.......

I've done teak steps before and they always seem to separate somewhere. So now, I drill holes crosswise through all the pieces to clear several 10-32 stainless threaded rods. I put stainless t-nuts in the far edge of the last strip of teak, on side that will be hidden. Then on the edge you can see, I use acorn nuts and washers in counterbored holes. By drilling the holes dead center in the pieces, I can stack everything together. Then it takes two people brushing on enough Gorilla glue to get it together before the glue starts to go off and I can tighten it together with the studs. Once it is sanded and the edges rounded with the router, it is ready to go. The best part is that by keeping the nuts tight as the wood dries, no cracks develop in the joints This particular step has five rods running through it fore and aft. It has five 1 x 4 teak strips running for and aft on the bottom as well.

[Kern O]

I don't know if anyone but me could figure out what I meant by using the stainless threaded stock. You can see it sticking out of the edge of the step in the picture of it before it was trimmed to shape. Here's a shot of the edge of the finished step so you can see the recessed nuts and washers.

[jenkinsph]

Kerno, I understood about the all thread stock but , not seeing the 5/4x4" rails
beneath was my concern and you cleared that up in the prior post. Are the rails
fastened in such away to allow for expansion and contraction? I know the lateral
expansion is greater than the longitudinal expansion and I would think that slots to
allow for this in the rails would help alot.

Overall it looks real good, keep up the work.




Steve


Thanks for the referral too.

[Kern O]

Excellent question! The laterals are held on with fewer screws than usual, because they are not tasked with holding it together. They are only there to elevate the swim platform off the bracket so you can get your fingers in the slots. Those screws are not the usual countersunk variety, but are pan heads in slots. So there!

OK, now here's the real question: How did I attach the swim step to the painted bracket, since I had the bracket painted before I built the swim step and I did not want to drill through the paint and into the aluminum?

[jenkinsph]

Suction cups? Double stick adhesive strips?


Steve

[jenkinsph]

I also think it is possible to add some rubber plugs that could be thru bolted where the ladder bolts are mounted, then a corresponding hole in the wood above these with a snug fit would allow the tread to be pressed in place. Would want a ringed fastener
like is used for cabinet assembly.


Steve