I removed my F30 swim ladder when I added a swim platform (sugar
scoop stern) and gave it to another F30 owner on Chesapeake Bay–it
may have ended up with you!
The transom on the F30 is not cored, and the bolts holding the
ladder are just backed with washers–works fine. In order to fill
the outside of a hole with epoxy, just use epoxy with as much
additive as possible, and make a thin coat. You may have to repeat
several times in order to get the required thickness.
Was able to find an original F30 swim ladder from another Freedom
owner to install on my F28. A very solid piece of hardware I
might
add. In researching the old emails from the old message board,
unfortunately some related material didn’t load properly and
couldn’t
be pulled up. So, I need to cover some old ground.
Is the transom on the F28’s balsa cored? I have hull number 2,
which
I understand is really hull number one. The backing hardware
didn’t
come with the ladder. There are two round four inch stainless
plates
with three bolt holes each to mount the laddder. Should there be
a
stainless backing plate or is plywood better as a backing plate
which
I hear cushions the blow if the ladder takes a hit? Anyone
remember
seeing the back side of your ladder installation down there when
you
are lubing that rudder assembly!
Assuming it is balsa cored, how do you fill an oversized hole
with
epoxy on a vertical surface without it running out if you are
creating a solid epoxy plug to then redrill after the epoxy dries
to
seal the mounting hole??? Assuming the stern is balsa cored, I
get
nervous poking holes in a balsa cored area given all the warnings
I
have heard about water intrusion. Thanks for any help in advance!
I did it 3 winters ago. Freedom made one for me from a mold, it cost
something like $4000 delivered (delivery wasn’t cheap, since it is
large). I put it on myself, drilling 19 holes in the transom and
gluing with 5200. The difficult part is getting it to fit exactly on
the existing transom, since the stern flexes somewhat. I did not
glass over the joint initially, but I decided to do that this past
year and it looks great; hard to see that it wasn’t just part of the
hull initially.
Our boat is now in the Bahamas, so that it is great being able to
dive off the swim platform, or get off and on the dinghy from it.
The downside, theoretically, is that you have a less seaworthy
boat if waves break on your stern (as Bill Crealock points out), but
this is really only an issue if you cross oceans. Not something you
would do with a F30. Otherwise, with slightly longer waterline
length it actually sails somewhat faster.
I removed my F30 swim ladder when I added a swim platform (sugar
scoop stern) and gave it to another F30 owner on Chesapeake Bay–
it
may have ended up with you!
The transom on the F30 is not cored, and the bolts holding
the
ladder are just backed with washers–works fine. In order to
fill
the outside of a hole with epoxy, just use epoxy with as much
additive as possible, and make a thin coat. You may have to
repeat
several times in order to get the required thickness.
Was able to find an original F30 swim ladder from another
Freedom
owner to install on my F28. A very solid piece of hardware I
might
add. In researching the old emails from the old message board,
unfortunately some related material didn’t load properly and
couldn’t
be pulled up. So, I need to cover some old ground.
Is the transom on the F28’s balsa cored? I have hull number 2,
which
I understand is really hull number one. The backing hardware
didn’t
come with the ladder. There are two round four inch stainless
plates
with three bolt holes each to mount the laddder. Should there
be
a
stainless backing plate or is plywood better as a backing
plate
which
I hear cushions the blow if the ladder takes a hit? Anyone
remember
seeing the back side of your ladder installation down there
when
you
are lubing that rudder assembly!
Assuming it is balsa cored, how do you fill an oversized hole
with
epoxy on a vertical surface without it running out if you are
creating a solid epoxy plug to then redrill after the epoxy
dries
to
seal the mounting hole??? Assuming the stern is balsa
cored, I
get
nervous poking holes in a balsa cored area given all the
warnings
I
have heard about water intrusion. Thanks for any help in
advance!