Swim Ladder Spacers

[rschnack]

Last Summer I installed a small swim ladder on the back of my 2002 Smokercraft Stealth 162. The platform of the ladder seems to tilt downward quite a bit. I have noticed that other fishing boats like mine that have ladders also seem to tilt down. Apparently the transoms are not as vertical on these as other boats. I talked to a salesman at a recent boat show about this and he said they install spacers to better align the platforms. He did not go into detail as some prospective boat buyers showed up and he was much more interested in talking with them than me. What material should these spacers be made from? I was thinking of making the spacers out of aluminum. It seems that if the spacers were made out of something more flexible leaks would form where the mounting bolts pass through the transom. Anyone install such spacers?<br />RCS

 

[Jilly - 5]

Re: Swim Ladder Spacers

Yes - use small teak pads, with a small dollop of sealer between the pad and glass, around the bolt threads. With outside sealer, don't need any inside.

 

[umblecumbuz]

Re: Swim Ladder Spacers

If your swim ladder is stainless, don't allow it to come in contact with aluminum.<br /><br />Better use stainless spacers - or wood as suggested.

 

[rwidman]

Re: Swim Ladder Spacers

Certain types of plastic or nylon would work and be easy to machine and maintain. If there is a commercial plastic shop in your area, talk to them.<br /><br />If washers would work, they are available in nylon at home centers.

 

[rschnack]

Re: Swim Ladder Spacers

stillfishing,<br /><br /> Wouldn't stainless spacers be just as bad as letting the stainless frame of the ladder touch the aluminum? I do have access to machining equipment at work so I was thinking of making either stainless or aluminum spacers. If I understand correctly, all of the mounting hardware is also stainless steel. I also believe the bolts that hold the motor on are stainless. Would the frame of the swim platform be a different alloy than the bolts? Would be being a different alloy make it more likely to react with the aluminum? Sorry for so many questions, but now I am more concerned.<br />RCS

 

[levittownnick]

Re: Swim Ladder Spacers

I'm not familar with your particular boat but since you have access to machines, you may consider fabricating shoulder washers from a tough plastic such as nylon or delrin to electrically isolate the 2 different metals while building out to the desired thickness.<br />This will prevent galvanic interaction between the different metals.<br />Good Luck.

 

[umblecumbuz]

Re: Swim Ladder Spacers

rschnack,<br /><br />Hav a look at faq's up top. 'Dealing with corrosion ... etc'<br /><br />Maybe that'll answer your question. <br /><br />Dissimilar metals on a boat cause the 'weaker' to corrode. Contact between such metals speeds corrosion. If you can put, say, plastic spacers between any dissimilar metals, this helps lessen any potential corrosion. <br /><br />It's not a huge problem if you have adequate sacrificial anodes (zincs), so don't lose sleep over it. Warm, clear, moving salt water is the worst for corrosion. Cold, still, murky fresh water lakes give least corrosion (that is, galvanic corrosion. If the lake water is acid, then you may get corrosion of a different sort).<br /><br />Hope that helps.

 

[rschnack]

Re: Swim Ladder Spacers

Thanks for the input. Hopefully the snow will melt enough soon that I can start working on the boat.<br />RCS