Ladder installation... opinions please

[Ramathorn]

First off... HELLO! =) This place is sa-weeeet.
I bought my first boat 2 weeks ago, and now I'm 'making it mine'
Its an '89 Reinell 18' open bow with a brand new 4.3L v6 new(er) paint and great interior. I absolutely love it, but may be upgrading to a v8 in the future.

On to my first question to the guru's.

My boat doesnt have a ladder. This is the second painful lesson that I've learned (first was no cup holders... ). We have to step on the planing/stabilizer on the outdrive to get in the boat... please dont yell at me... I'm 'fixing the problem'.
So I bought a 3 step telescoping garelick over platform drop ladder.
my plan:
buy/pre-drill two 4"x15" steel mounting brackets.
JB weld one on top and one on bottom of the swim step.
Drill through fiberglass platform.
Mount ladder with bolts (I still have to measure, but they will be approx. 4" long)
silicon all holes thoroughly.

Is this the proper method? Is JB weld needed (think it'll make things a bit more sturdy)? Is it OK TO DRILL THE STEP????

This is the best picture I can give to explain my plan. Red=metal brackets Green=bolts. (that is my boat in the pic).

Please give me your honest opinions.
THANKS a TON.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Ladder installation... opinions please

i don't like you idea at all. i would have an aluminum plate made. and mount it on the step, let it hang far enough out for the ladder to clear. bolt the ladder to it. and thru bolt the whole thing on the step. then the ladder will swing all the way up.

 

[Ramathorn]

Re: Ladder installation... opinions please

i don't like you idea at all. i would have an aluminum plate made. and mount it on the step, let it hang far enough out for the ladder to clear. bolt the ladder to it. and thru bolt the whole thing on the step. then the ladder will swing all the way up.

Just to make sure I understand you... instead of using a 4x15 piece of metal, use something like a 15-20x15 piece, still bolting that through the boat... then bolt the ladder to the over hanging piece of aluminum?

Thanks for your ideas.

 

[Ramathorn]

Re: Ladder installation... opinions please

I stole these pictures from costco.com
This is (should be) how my ladder will be mounted. I want to JB weld 2 plates (top and bottom of swim step) for extra durability. If the bolts cant shift at all then I dont have to worry about them weakening the fiberglass.

the first pic is kinda what it should look like folded up (though I dont have the extended swim platform)
the second pic is almost exactly what it should look like down (though mine will mount directly behind the driver not over the prop.

any other thoughts? I'm gonna start tonight.