Husband is afraid ladder will not hold~~

[571COALTON]

We just got a 1998 Premier Majestic pontoon and it had the marine plywood floors. It did not come with a ladder so I ordered a 4 step quick release ladder. When it arrived and he saw the "small" screws and the 2 small clips that the ladder will attach to, he about flipped out. He is thinking the when one of our heaver friends gets out of the water, it will rip it right of of the decking. The ladder says it hold 350lbs, but he says the ladder might hold that much, but those 2 little hooks wont!! Any suggestions on what I can tell him to do, or is he just worrying about nothing??

 

[CaptainKickback]

Re: Husband is afraid ladder will not hold~~

Are they screws or bolts. I would never install a swim ladder with screws. But even small bolts can handle a lot of stress, depending upon the direction of the stress. In this case, the stress is along the line of the bolt so no problem.

The biggest concern is with it pulling through the deck. No problem. Just put a backing plate under the deck where you thread the nuts and locking washers onto the bolts. Good idea to use LocTite on the threads as well.

Sea ya...

 

[rogerwa]

Re: Husband is afraid ladder will not hold~~

A lot of the designs of those ladders don't put all the load on the holders. Mos t of the weight is transferred using the brackets that rest on the deck, with the hooks there to stop it from sliding off and to keep it in place. I assume you ordered something like this..

http://www.pontoonstuff.com/4-step-pontoon-ladder.aspx

If it is like this you should have no problem.

 

[pom mom]

Re: Husband is afraid ladder will not hold~~

I have this same ladder, a 5 step and use it on the side gate. I was very worried too that it would rip out of the floor since the floor looks like it will need replaced soon. The grandkids were in a hurry to go fishing and swimming so I used what I had available and fixed with a large washer and an L bracket under the floor. I plan to redo it with a big piece of cutting board plastic. I made a trolling motor mount out of this plastic and it works very well.
Anyway, I got in the water with the kids, I weigh 230, and had no problems. I used a rolled up foam exercise mat to cushion the ladder against the side of the pontoon. I used duct tape to hold it there. It's not fancy but the boat isn't either. I'll put some pics in.

 

[MinUph]

Re: Husband is afraid ladder will not hold~~

Through bolting is always your best bet for anything like this Wood screws will probably hold but a through bolt definitely will.

 

[Treker57]

Re: Husband is afraid ladder will not hold~~

If the ladder was purchased from a reputable maker and seller it should be fine, most companies will usually under rate their product because they know the consumer will push a weight limit