Ideas on beefing up my swim platform?

I've always thought my platform was kind of spongy, especially when I put the added weight of a dinghy on it. I'm now looking at putting a more substantial davit system on it, and am considering adding some additional bracing to help support the weight better. Boogaboo on YouTube recently posted a mod he did for his custom swimplatforms.com install, where he installed an additional 5 or 6 SS tubes to the transom and platform. I'm considering doing something similar but thought I would check here to see if anyone has done similar. I couldn't find any threads on it that still had pics.

My current setup is attached, I can't believe it doesn't have any additional bracing!

GnrlPatton said:

I've always thought my platform was kind of spongy, especially when I put the added weight of a dinghy on it. I'm now looking at putting a more substantial davit system on it, and am considering adding some additional bracing to help support the weight better. Boogaboo on YouTube recently posted a mod he did for his custom swimplatforms.com install, where he installed an additional 5 or 6 SS tubes to the transom and platform. I'm considering doing something similar but thought I would check here to see if anyone has done similar. I couldn't find any threads on it that still had pics.

My current setup is attached, I can't believe it doesn't have any additional bracing!
View attachment 86054

Click to expand...

my friends 2000 380 had about 2.5 stringers rotted out. He ended up cutting those out and glueing/screwing new stringers in. Stiffened it quite a bit

GnrlPatton said:

I've always thought my platform was kind of spongy, especially when I put the added weight of a dinghy on it. I'm now looking at putting a more substantial davit system on it, and am considering adding some additional bracing to help support the weight better. Boogaboo on YouTube recently posted a mod he did for his custom swimplatforms.com install, where he installed an additional 5 or 6 SS tubes to the transom and platform. I'm considering doing something similar but thought I would check here to see if anyone has done similar. I couldn't find any threads on it that still had pics.

My current setup is attached, I can't believe it doesn't have any additional bracing!
View attachment 86054

Click to expand...

More stainless posts means more holes in your transom below the water line. For that reason...I'd avoid it. I like to keep the holes in my boat above the water line whenever possible.

If your platform is spongy it may be wet, rotten. Have you considered replacing it entirely?

I think those poles Boogaboo used were from swim platform ultra, they are very strong. You could switch out your current ones for those to added rigidity or add extra to what you currently have
Cheers

Stee6043 said:

More stainless posts means more holes in your transom below the water line. For that reason...I'd avoid it. I like to keep the holes in my boat above the water line whenever possible.

If your platform is spongy it may be wet, rotten. Have you considered replacing it entirely?

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By spongy, I meant that when I stand on it and can feel it flexing down a bit. I don't think the platform itself is wet/rotted, it could be just the through bolts into the transom have loosened up, that's an easy check I guess. Just looking at the design of mine, and seeing that it doesn't have any support poles, only those fiberglass wedge shaped pieces, I thought that I could increase the weight bearing amount by adding 3-4 additional posts down lower to the transom and up to the end of the platform.

I think those poles Boogaboo used were from swim platform ultra, they are very strong. You could switch out your current ones for those to added rigidity or add extra to what you currently have

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Yeah, they did look really strong to me, in my case it wouldn't be switching current ones out since I don't already have them. He already had (I think 4-5) them, and just added to them, which looked to me a little like overkill. I thought he said he had gotten them from swimplatforms.com, but I think you are right that it was ultra, so I'll check out what they have.

Thanks all, keep any feedback coming, really appreciate it!
Kevin

I would check your platform. I'm a calorie challenged dude and have yet to be on similar SR platforms that felt "spongy." So I don't think they necessarily need the support poles. Good luck.

I did some more investigation on this and found that the through bolts holding the swim platform on have loosened up. I think there are around a dozen bolts, and there are 4 in particular that are no longer tight. I tried to tighten them up but I think those 4 have also stripped some threads, so they won't get much tighter, so it's probably time to replace them all. Not sure I can/should do it while in the water, so probably need a haulout again to get it done. I'm a bit concerned that those bolts are a potential water intrusion point as well if they've loosened up, so I will need to rebed them all when I replace.

I looked at the design of a friends' 400 Sedan Bridge, and his platform is the same design as mine, with just the fiberglass "wedges" and no additional bracing, and he's got a substantial davit system on his (along with a massive, and very heavy dinghy), so I think the design is solid, it's just the bolts have loosened over time.