- Joined
- May 12, 2005
- RO Number
- 17353
- Messages
- 1,267
A few of you may recall that I was asking about dock steps a few months ago. Since we are now bow-in at the new slip, we cannot board from the swim platform. Boarding directly into the cockpit from the side is now required. The side of boat sits about 4' above the dock so we've been using a stepladder temporarily.
None of the ready-made products met our needs, so we went handmade. The same guy who did such an excellent job in wetsanding/buffing/waxing the topsides paint, also build decks, so he was the perfect choice for this project.
Anyway, our finger piers are about 26" wide and the slip is 44' long. The best place to board the boat is just aft of the radar arch where there are steps down into the cockpit. That equates to about 6-7' from the end of the slip. The marina asks that they be able to access the end of the finger pier, so if you made the top platform short, you would have to have steps coming back down the other side. That seemed like a hassle and a waste of space, so we decided to make the platform extend all the way to the end of the finger pier.
I had to explain all this so y'all would understand why this thing is so big! LOL! It's 8' long on top + about 4' for the steps. This thing is built like a tank and is quite heavy. The stairs and top are that composite decking material that weighs a ton and lasts forever (he had some leftover). We have the top broken into a 3' section and a 5' section. Each section is hinged so we have access to the 'cave' underneath that will provide a LOT of storage (maybe even a place to crash for unruly guests!). It's going to make it a breeze to get our large and older dog on board.
Once on the platform, there will be a handrail mounted directly to the vertical poles running up from the dock to the roof--they are about 8' apart. We'll also have a small handrail running across the poles and the end to form an L.
He's going to seal the outside (excluding the top) and paint white. He wants to add quarter round trim on all the edges and paint those black. Says it will match the black engine room vents on the boat. Gotta love the detail.
So here's where it is as of today. He just arrived (3:30pm CST) and should be able to knock it out tonight. We'll probably just need to wait for the paint to dry. After it's done, we'll load it onto my truck here at my house and head down to the marina to re-assemble it there.
Cost of materials (composite is free)-- about $125. Labor--$200.
Steps starting to take shape. They are on-end here.
Looking inside--
This is where he left off last night. The steps were just set there--not yet secured.
I'll post more pics as we continue.
Paul
None of the ready-made products met our needs, so we went handmade. The same guy who did such an excellent job in wetsanding/buffing/waxing the topsides paint, also build decks, so he was the perfect choice for this project.
Anyway, our finger piers are about 26" wide and the slip is 44' long. The best place to board the boat is just aft of the radar arch where there are steps down into the cockpit. That equates to about 6-7' from the end of the slip. The marina asks that they be able to access the end of the finger pier, so if you made the top platform short, you would have to have steps coming back down the other side. That seemed like a hassle and a waste of space, so we decided to make the platform extend all the way to the end of the finger pier.
I had to explain all this so y'all would understand why this thing is so big! LOL! It's 8' long on top + about 4' for the steps. This thing is built like a tank and is quite heavy. The stairs and top are that composite decking material that weighs a ton and lasts forever (he had some leftover). We have the top broken into a 3' section and a 5' section. Each section is hinged so we have access to the 'cave' underneath that will provide a LOT of storage (maybe even a place to crash for unruly guests!). It's going to make it a breeze to get our large and older dog on board.
Once on the platform, there will be a handrail mounted directly to the vertical poles running up from the dock to the roof--they are about 8' apart. We'll also have a small handrail running across the poles and the end to form an L.
He's going to seal the outside (excluding the top) and paint white. He wants to add quarter round trim on all the edges and paint those black. Says it will match the black engine room vents on the boat. Gotta love the detail.
So here's where it is as of today. He just arrived (3:30pm CST) and should be able to knock it out tonight. We'll probably just need to wait for the paint to dry. After it's done, we'll load it onto my truck here at my house and head down to the marina to re-assemble it there.
Cost of materials (composite is free)-- about $125. Labor--$200.
Steps starting to take shape. They are on-end here.
Looking inside--
This is where he left off last night. The steps were just set there--not yet secured.
I'll post more pics as we continue.
Paul
