Tips on Building Teak Swim Platform

I´d look into buying the reproduction platforms available in the CCF store..they are not teak, they are jotoba. in they run about $350/450
Ask if they have the patern for the southwind though.

Problem with teak..is that its hard to find? and its pricey!!!

probably the best route is to find a used platform in a boat yard or on evil bay and try to adapt it to your needs...

kman wrote: Pricey yes. But there is a place here in town that carries it, luckily.

Kirk,
Have you done any true price calculations on the Teak? The last time I looked at it, it was over $65 a BF!!! Rough estimating, that would put your lumber costs at over $1,300.00!!!!

BTW, it being a oily wood, it really machines nice. I would however recommend carbide rip (not combination) blade in your table saw for the best rip cuts. A decent sharp blade and the ripped pieces will not even need to be run through the jointer. The same is true for cutting to length in the "chop", radial arm or miter saw. Since you have tapered sides, a decent carbide blade in a hand held "skill saw" will do fine - run it against a straight edge cutting the ends after assemby. Router bits for the round-over, carbide of course!! Unless you have a real high end surface planer that has carbide blades or better yet one of the new spiral cutter heads in it, you're stuck with HSS. Sanding can be a problem with cheaper abrasive paper. Due to the oily wood the cheap paper will clog up on you. Get the most expensive you can find and don't go to one of the "big box" stores for it.

You know, I wasn't even going to comment on this non original idea at first!!

76 Southwind 20

OK - New Teak platform from Teak World in Tennessee will be here next week. Can someone tell me what bolts & plates I should use for the top holes the go thru the transom? Do I need some flatbar steel or maybe fender washers? Also, I am assuming the bottom holes on the brackets just get screwed in because you can't get to them on the inside.
Thanks

Plates are probably overkill- Ive only ever used fender washers. I'd consider adding bolts to the bottom instead of screws- at least on the center 2 brackets (which are accessible). All hardware is 3/8-16, if I remember correctly. Make sure you use lots of 5200!

I would look at pictures of other SW20's to determine where the platform should be mounted. The height relative to the stripe will be your best clue. Distance above the waterline will vary quite a bit, I suspect, depending on how much wet foam any particular boat has, and whereabouts its sitting. For instance, Ive seen some BFN's with platforms at the waterline (waterlogged in the rear?) and ours was 3-4" up- it was waterlogged in the front! If someone with a factory platform could get you a reference measurement (rubrail down, maybe?) that would probably be best.

Teak World if I remember correctly is a great deal for a real Teak platform. I have a feeling or was told that they got their hands on a large batch of teak they are reclaiming. Remember they used to use Teak on battleship decks - retire one of them and you end up with lots of Teak!!

I also need a swim platform for a southwind 20. I am in the middle of a major overhaul of the entire boat and will post picture of the project soon (I am new to all this posting and attaching stuff). Due to the size of my project, I do not have the funds to jump on with you all and increase the quanity discount. Could you help a guy out and keep that pattern and your mounting locations for me?

I'm going to need one for my 72 once the stringers are done. I just emailed them to see if they could make another! Great find Kirk!

Scott

Al, can you tell the difference between jatoba and teak just by looking? I used Teak World a few years ago for my Tique platform. They claimed it was actual teak. I forget if they told me it was reclaimed wood, or if thats something I just assumed because the price was so reasonable. It sure looked like teak to me- it was not noticeably heavier than I would have expected either (isnt jatoba more dense?).







Oh, and if Im not mistaken, these guys are the OEM supplier for Mastercraft platforms- just FYI.