SBH2OMan
Well-known member
Some of you might recall my posts from late last year (or earlier this year) asking about swim steps. The OEM step was a POS and was flimsily screwed into the transom. The screw holes had not been sealed, and as a result, there was water intrusion into the transom (not bad - we drilled out the wet wood and filled it with epoxy, then topped with bottom paint).
I looked around and all the commercially available stuff (e.g. generic) looked like the same junk, so I spoke to a local shop run by a really nice family about having something custom made. They build great stuff for the local commercial fleet and are boaters themselves, so I felt it would be a great option. Until I saw the $1,800 price tag (before installation and anodization of the aluminum and not including a ladder). Yikes. I probably would have done it anyway, but my more practical partner thought I was nuts. As it turns out, I was. He had me look at a guy selling stuff on eBay. So I emailed the eBay guy and asked if he'd make something custom. We went back and forth and I penciled out some drawings to provide dimensions, angles, etc.
Here's the finished product. It is intended to come fill the area on the port side of the engine bracket and to be level with the bracket (designed to be at the same 4 degree upward rake). It will be through-bolted at the top, and lag screwed (with generous 5200) at the bottom. The ladder is an Armstrong 40" 3 step ladder that will remove with a simple twist, but also locks into an upright position. Because I am very forgetful, it also has a great feature of popping itself up if you try to get underway in the down position. The mounting bracket for the dive ladder was incorporated into the bottom of the swim step to give it a 15 degree angle facing the diver.
I'm obviously excited to pull the boat from the water and get this mounted, and I'll take lots of pictures when I do. My daughter just got SCUBA certified, so hopefully we'll get lots of use from it.
The other plan is to have a quick-disconnect system for our bait tank and mount the tank with either rubber yoke-type mounts or simple straps to the arms of the step when we want to do some offshore fishing with live bait.
Oh, and the cost? Under $600 including the ladder and shipping (I bought the ladder and had it shipped to the fabricator). He is located in Florida, and if anyone wants his contact info, shoot me a PM.
I looked around and all the commercially available stuff (e.g. generic) looked like the same junk, so I spoke to a local shop run by a really nice family about having something custom made. They build great stuff for the local commercial fleet and are boaters themselves, so I felt it would be a great option. Until I saw the $1,800 price tag (before installation and anodization of the aluminum and not including a ladder). Yikes. I probably would have done it anyway, but my more practical partner thought I was nuts. As it turns out, I was. He had me look at a guy selling stuff on eBay. So I emailed the eBay guy and asked if he'd make something custom. We went back and forth and I penciled out some drawings to provide dimensions, angles, etc.
Here's the finished product. It is intended to come fill the area on the port side of the engine bracket and to be level with the bracket (designed to be at the same 4 degree upward rake). It will be through-bolted at the top, and lag screwed (with generous 5200) at the bottom. The ladder is an Armstrong 40" 3 step ladder that will remove with a simple twist, but also locks into an upright position. Because I am very forgetful, it also has a great feature of popping itself up if you try to get underway in the down position. The mounting bracket for the dive ladder was incorporated into the bottom of the swim step to give it a 15 degree angle facing the diver.
I'm obviously excited to pull the boat from the water and get this mounted, and I'll take lots of pictures when I do. My daughter just got SCUBA certified, so hopefully we'll get lots of use from it.
The other plan is to have a quick-disconnect system for our bait tank and mount the tank with either rubber yoke-type mounts or simple straps to the arms of the step when we want to do some offshore fishing with live bait.
Oh, and the cost? Under $600 including the ladder and shipping (I bought the ladder and had it shipped to the fabricator). He is located in Florida, and if anyone wants his contact info, shoot me a PM.
. The only thing I would change is to not have a 4 degree upward tilt to the platform. I mis-measured it, so it has a wee bit too much rake to it, but few would notice it, really. 
