After
using a side-hung boarding ladder for three years, we decided to invest in a
permanent mount transom ladder. Not only
will this keep us from having to find a place to store a wet ladder on the boat
when we’re finished swimming, it will also provide a margin of safety for
singlehanding.
We chose a Gaerlick two-step aluminum stern ladder on the advice of several other Com-pac 16 owners. We determined the ladder’s depth by comparing it to our old boarding ladder; we wanted it deep enough to allow for easy access to the boat, but not so deep that it would sit below the water line (our 16 had a tendency to ride low in the stern – often so low that the waterline is above the scupper drains). I used a framing square against the rudder mount to ensure the ladder would be mounted parallel to the water line. Once we had the holes marked in pencil, I took a deep breath and drilled 8 holes in the transom! Although I had been led to believe otherwise, flying wood chips told me the transom of my Com-pac 16 was wood-cored. This added an additional step – after drilling the holes, I mixed up a bit of epoxy resin and used a Q-tip to saturate the end-grain of the wood coring inside the holes. I allowed the resin to set-up and repeated the process again to ensure I had good seal.
I bedded the hardware using the following method: I masked over the holes and temporarily installed the mounting brackets before scoring the tape around the brackets. This let me remove the tape under the bracket, but leave a taped area around the bracket to catch the sealant that would squeeze out when I tightened the nuts. I then bedded the ladder hardware in place with fast cure 3M 4200, using 3”x3” aluminum backing plates, fender washers, and nyloc nuts. The backing plates (pictured above) were fabricated from scrap aluminum plate and used to spread the load of the ladder across a wider area than would be allowed by fender washers along. I snugged-up the nuts, but allowed the 4200 to cure completely before tightening them. This allows the sealant to form a tight gasket behind the hardware. I then scored around the hardware with a knife and removed the tape and squeezed out sealant. (For more details check out http://www.boatus.com/boattech/casey/39.htm).
