added a swim platform to my 1987 Starcraft 1901S bow rider

[JackBronson]

Last year I purchased a boat for the primary purpose of towing to the local lakes to do some skiing and tubing, with an occasional ride out to Salem Harbor mixed in. The boat did not come with a swim platform, so the way to climb aboard after jumping in was via the outdrive. We all got good at that, but early on I knew this boat needed a platform, and it had to be teak to match the boat's vintage (and the fact that there are a few teak accents on her, like the ski well cover and the bow cupholder). Here in the Boston area there aren't a lot of teak swim platforms kicking around on CL, so it took me about 6 months to find one. I chased the guy for two weeks because it was reasonably priced, was exactly the size I needed, and I didn't want to lose it. Paid $200 for it plus $10 for a single step swing down ladder that later on I realized I can't use.
Anyway, the platform had been coated with a solid color orange stain, like you might put on a shed or a picnic table. So, with some help from my son, I put a lot of time into stripping that all off. Citri-Strip worked well, with scrapers initially and then Scotch scrub pads to get it out of the grainy areas. Overall it took about 10 hours to strip it. Here is a shot mid-strip, with my son trying to brush the dust off his shirt.


Then hit it with the palm sander and 100 grit paper (yes some will think that may be too much, but I knew this would be a one time thing to get the wood nice and smooth) and it came out pretty good.
Next step was to scrub it with acid, so I bought the crystal oxalic acid product from West Marine. Liberally soaked the platform with it and scrubbed it with a stiff plastic bristle brush from Home Depot. MAN what a difference! A lot of crap came off the platform from the acid. It looked so good after that, however the cleaning also exposed areas that still had stain on them, so back to the citri-strip and the scrub pads. After a while of that I gave up and declared it good enough. Lightly sanded a couple of more areas that had gotten a little "furry" from the acid wash.
Lastly was three coats of teak oil.
This is the finished result (ignore the ladder for now - that comes into play later):

 

[JackBronson]

Re: added a swim platform to my 1987 Starcraft 1901S bow rider

Allow me to state here that going into this boat, I knew the model was nothing special and I didn't pay a lot for her, which allows me to be a little more liberal with my modifications. The floor is getting soft in some areas, the gel coat is quite faded, the windshield needs love. I'm going to use this boat for 3-4 years and then sell it or scrap it. My point is that I'm making cosmetic changes in a way that are cost effective, and 'good-enough' for my needs. But always with safety in mind - I don't cut any corners from that perspective.
Next up was mounting the platform to the boat. The first step was to move the transom tie downs lower on the transom, so they'd be below the platform. I know some people run their transom straps beside or behind the platform. I figured if I dropped them 4 inches and moved them outboard more, I could avoid that, plus they were basically right where I wanted to put the platform AND since I added the SX trim tabs I could no longer run the straps to the trailer mount points where I can see them while towing. I used the same hardware except I replaced the rusty nuts. I then filled the old holes with 5200 (the holes are above the waterline and behind the platform. The 5200 is good stuff and I will put a dab of paint on it, if I can figure out how to match the color of 26 year old faded blue gel coat).

Here is a shot of the boat with no platform.


The platform came with the L brackets to attach to the transom, which I attached with #14 stainless 1.5" screws. I needed to source the supports that extend from the transom to the outer half of the platform. I bought an 8' length of 3/4' thick wall stainless steel tubing from Defender Marine for $40. Had my cousin the machinist cut to length, press the ends flat, and drill two holes in each end. These ended up being about 23" long. Into the transom I used #14 stainless screws, 1.75" long, and plenty of 5200 in each hole. Into the underside of the platform I used #14 stainless also. After getting it all installed I jumped up and down on it (worked up to the full jump carefully, of course) and it seems quite solid.
Here is a shot of the support brackets.


What an upgrade. Took it out on the lake last weekend and had three teenagers standing on it acting like teenagers. Time will tell how long this will last, but for now it seems good.

Here are some before and after photos.

 

[JackBronson]

Re: added a swim platform to my 1987 Starcraft 1901S bow rider




With the outdrive in the full up position there is about 4" of clearance. I initially thought the platform would be pretty high above the water, but when the kids are hanging out on the stern of the boat and jumping off the stern drops and the platform is only a few inches off the water. and when I power up and before she planes out its just above the water so overall I'm happy with where I mounted it.

Last was the ladder. I would have loved to have been able to find a teak ladder, but because the platform is so high I ended up buying a 4 step telescoping ladder. There is a little contrast between the vintage teak and the modern black plastic on the steps, but not really much I can do about that. This ladder does appear to be very stout.
Haven't figured out where to mount the ladder (see my other post about that).



Overall the project cost me about $350, although I saved for sure on the machining since I got that for no charge. A huge improvement on the usability of the boat for me.
I can't understand how this boat, in it's 25 years before I owned it, never had any kind of swim platform or ladder. Anyway, it's got one now.
Hope this post helps someone out who is thinking about the same project.

 

[JackBronson]

Re: added a swim platform to my 1987 Starcraft 1901S bow rider

I forgot to comment on how I made it "level". I determined I wanted the platform to be on the same line as the black rubber molding ("rub rail") that circles the upper hull, specifically level with the back half of the boat. I "leveled" the boat on the trailer by bringing the front of the trailer up so that a 4' level put on top of the side molding near the stern of the boat was level. I then temporarily mounted the L brackets to the transom and rested the platform onto the L brackets and the raised outdrive. I tweaked the L brackets in the vise until they were on the same line ("level") with the molding. I then installed them and by shimming the platform as it rested on the outdrive got the platform to level with the boat side molding.

Drilled one hole for the lower mount into the transom, snugged up the screw and after I determined the support was plumb, marked the second lower support hole and drilled it. (don't try to drill both at once without the support in place - do one at a time because there's not much margin for error if you don't get it right the first time).
I brought a vise out to the driveway and tweaked the angles on the stainless steel tube brackets as necessary as I was determining their mounting hole location on the underside of the platform. Took my time, did one at a time, stepped back often to make sure it was all level and plumb.

 

[Noltz]

Re: added a swim platform to my 1987 Starcraft 1901S bow rider

Great addition. I do wish more people would post modification threads like this. Thank you.

 

[utskicat]

Amazing article! Thanks for sharing...I am looking to do the exact same thing on my boat. Any pics of it in the water with the platform?

 

[sphelps]

Very nice work ! Looks great !

 

[Woodonglass]

Uhmmm, guys this Thread is 2 1/2 years old!!!!