Swim Ladder Replacement No-go


Will40

Will40

Member
I thought would have been the easiest of all spring repairs was to replace the swim ladder on my PC 31. It turns out this wont be the case. The two bolts on the right I could not crack. The two on the left just spun and couldn't get them to come up at all.

I assumed the bolts would have been fastened in with some type of inserts in the swim platform. Are these some type of toggle or expansion bolts? Or even worse, through bolts with nuts/washers?

Anyone had to replace their ladder before and run into this and can offer some advice?

Thanks

Will

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There are washers and nuts on the bottom. You need a skinny guy to hold the bottom while you take the bolts out from up top.
 
I cleaned my ladder today with Barkeeper's Friend.. took all the rust off of the stainless steel.. looks great.
 
2006_31PC said:
There are washers and nuts on the bottom. You need a skinny guy to hold the bottom while you take the bolts out from up top.
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Arghhh...I was afraid of that. And a skinny guy might be tough finding :). I imagine the nuts will be ceased or the threads rusted and fight the whole way up. Thanks for the quick reply.

Anybody know of a good and strong toggle bolt or expansion bolt if I decide to drill these out?

Thanks
 
Will40 said:
Arghhh...I was afraid of that. And a skinny guy might be tough finding :). I imagine the nuts will be ceased or the threads rusted and fight the whole way up. Thanks for the quick reply.

Anybody know of a good and strong toggle bolt or expansion bolt if I decide to drill these out?

Thanks
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The nuts/bolts are stainless and should not be seized. The ones on my boat came out fine. It's easier to have the person on the bottom working the ratchet or ratcheting wrench, while you are just holding the top from spinning. The easiest route back there is to crawl back next to the port motor and wedge yourself into hole in the platform.

I just remembered....when i took mine off, my buddy couldn't reach the (2) bottom nuts towards the starboard side. So we used a piece of PVC pipe as an extension, and taped the ratcheting wrench inside of the ID of the pipe.

It's not an easy job, but do-able with some patience and a few beers.
 
I had my yard replace the ladder last year. They opted to cut a round hatch right in the center of the swim ladder under the swim ladder hatch and install a round screw in deck plate. It looks like it grew there. At first I was a little put off by this but it hasn't been an issue. Since the ladder hatch door is always down you never even see it.
 
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I could not see the nuts on underside but I stuck my phone in there and got a snap shot and there they are. Looks like a knuckle scraper for sure.

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and I didn't mess around trying to climb down under to reach the nuts either. This was a lot faster to swap the ladder out

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This is a hugely impractical design flaw. Classic!
Where can I purchase replacement ladder, though?
I cannot find anywhere.
 
Replace my ladder on the 2003 37 PC. Duct taped a box end 7/16 wrench in about a 3 foot long piece of pipe. A little tape on the wrench end to hold the nut and washer. Worked great!
 
I love how Formula has these huge expensive nice boats, and on every one the ladder isn't even an after thought... we love to swim and the ladder on our 292, which looks 99% like that, is such a letdown.
 
This thread I started was for my salt water 31 PC and that hatch I installed to access the hardware down under didn't bother me one bit being under the ladder door. Some folks that do swim off their boats often neglect rinsing down the ladder and rungs after a day out on the water.
 
That looks great Will40. I remember my first swim in the river with our new to us 400SS three years ago. Jumped in and proceeded to go up the ladder. Ladder hinges gave out and the ladder was inoperable. This is why they call these "pleasure crafts" as we get a ton of pleasure from them :) Anyhow, I did not replace the ladder but opted to weld the hinges. It's held up great for 3 years now.
 
Had only one hinge holding on, as and both were both split on my '07 310 SS. Mobile stainless welding service did a great job to repair like new $175.
 
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