swim platform added

[Brent Evans]

More photos of Tranquility

[Brent Evans]

One more photo.  In my opinion, the step does not detract from the lines of the boat . . .

[Kevin Henderson]

brent,

That is a wonderfull platform.  I would love to hear more how you installed it and the materials you used. 
I would probably actually consider having a step like that.   

[patrice]

Hi Brent,

Thanks for the pictures, that is exactly what i had imagined i wanted.
Now i have a picture to look at.


The support look like the one sold at defender, is this what you used ?
Did you installed additional support under the starbrite plank.

[Brent Evans]

Hi again.  I had Marine Plastics Innovatins,  West Babylon, NY, http://www.marineplasticfab.com/, custom build the 3-ft by 18-inch platform out of Starboard for me.  It cost $300 plus $110 to expedite shipping to me on the West Coast.  I also bought their advertised brackets for $70 but found them utterly inadequate and returned them for refund.  Instead, I had the machine shop at my company fabricate/weld the brackets you see out of 3/8 (I think) stainless. The materials alone was over $100 but the labor was free in my case.  I'm guessing the two brackets alone could easily cost you $300-$400 to have a fabrication shop make them for you.

There are also backing plates inside the lazarette made of the same material with half-inch stainless bolts securing all together.  The smaller carriage bolts securing the platform to the bracket are recessed on the top with plastic caps covering the bolt-heads.  Here's another photo that may show that more clearly.  Notice that I also personally made a little starboard step to strap onto the old swim-ladder support.  This needed a little wedge-shaped starboard mount underneath the step to make the step level with the platform and make it easier to get over the stern-pulpit cross-bar.

In addition to having a MUCH safer way to get in and out of the dinghy, I love my little back porch and, when we're at anchor in some quiet cove, often sit there in the evenings and watch the sun go down, dangling my feet in the water.  Sweet!

[lazybone]

Plus your marina is less likely to notice the extra length and add it to your bill...

Gee ... I hope our marina doesn't realise that our 34 isn't really a 34 as it is. At $20.00 a ft/mth I hope they don't.

Tony

Our Cat measures over 36' ,so says our marina, who measures every boat when on the hard.  
They bill accordingly.

[patrice]

Hi Brent,
Thanks again for the extra info.
And the pictures

[patrice]

Hi,

So I finally decided to make one this summer.
Really like the use of it.
Just that I did not want to add new holes in the stern, so I made the bracket that is using the existing ladder step as the holding.
The support is hang and clamp from it.
Bought an under mount ladder, 4 steps, so it goes deep enough.
It make going in and out from the dinghy so much easier.

[Brent Evans]

Nice idea!  Looks great!  The under-mounted, collapsible ladder is the same as mine.  Sure adds peace-of-mind that, should someone fall overboard, they can quickly get themselves out of the water.  I store my dingy sideways on the swim-step too.  Good job!

[Footloose]

Brent,

I have considered adding a platform similar to this and carrying the dink sideways as you do.  I have worried about having the dink ripped off the back when healed and going through a wave.  How big is your dinghy?  I just acquired a 9'6'' dink and am wondering if it is too long to be carried that way.

[mregan]

Patrice
What did you make the platform out of?  Starboard?  Also how thick is the material.

[Stu Jackson]

I have considered adding a platform similar to this and carrying the dink sideways as you do.  I have worried about having the dink ripped off the back when healed and going through a wave.  How big is your dinghy?  I just acquired a 9'6'' dink and am wondering if it is too long to be carried that way.

Footloose,

Here's a waaaay old thread by Captain Al Watson, who used to own #55, Kindred Spirit, now owned by Dave Commando.

http://www.c34.org/projects/kindred-spirit/davits.html

You really have to check yourself with the trigonometry of the installation - width of dinghy, heeling angle, height of the swim step.

My gut feeling is that a 9'-6" dinghy might, just might, make it if the platform is high enough.  "How high?" you ask.  That's where YOU come in!  

I'd bet with a large piece of heavy cardboard you could check it out yourself the next time you go sailing.  Actually, all you'd need is a piece of 1x1 the length of the tubes of the dinghy, 'cuz it's only the bottom end that comes into play, right?  Hang the stick by some light line and move it up and down while you're sailing closehauled and you'll find out soon enough.

Good luck, your question has been raised, quite properly, almost every time the issue trailing a dinghy this way comes up.  IIRC, there is no ONE "right answer."

Let us know what you find if your do the "test."

[Brent Evans]

Footloose,
I have a Westmarine HP-275, 9-ft with the high-pressure floor.  If you look up at the photos above, you'll see the step is a good deal above the water; the dink will fit under the step when on the water.  I can't imagine the dinghy catching the water on a hard-over heel but perhaps it's possible.  I came thru the Tacoma Narrows last weekend barreling along at hull speed and heeled over 20 degrees and it wasn't remotely close.  But I'm sailing up in Puget Sound where we suffer from not enough wind.  Perhaps in a blow I'd tow it.  But for other conditions and for motoring, having the dinghy out of the water gives me a half-knot or more and keeps the dinghy pristine.  The platform is rock solid and makes deploying and retrieving the dingy easy not to mention getting into and out of the dinghy.  We love it.

[patrice]

Patrice
What did you make the platform out of?  Starboard?  Also how thick is the material.

Hi,

I actually used plywood 3/4'' thick.
Coated with 2 layers of epoxy.  And I sprinkle some fine sand on the last one to make the antislip.
Then added 2 coates of paint.

[Footloose]

I like the idea of having the platform high enough that the dink can go under it.  That way you can step down into the center of the boat and not out into it, pushing it away from the mothership.  Will try to do some measuring this weekend.  Sadly we are going on the hard shortly.  I will have all winter to mull it over.  The admiral has been wanting a swim platform for a while.

Like others I do not like towing a dinghy and would rather stow it on the foredeck.  Davits seem like an expensive option and I will get even more grief on the race course.  My BBQ and dodger stay on just to aggravate people.

Dave