solution for poorly designed rear platform brackets

[gscho002]

hi everyone - i have a 2010 SANTE 210 TE boat. over the years, we have replaced our platform brackets twice because they wear from wave action at the dock. first time we did not know this was a problem and it got so bad the pins wore clean through the holes in the platform brackets and the posts attached to the boat. platform came clean off on one side. second time we knew better and caught it early. now one of the brackets has completely fractured after 3 years on the boat.

we are on a lake that gets a lot of tubing and now wake surfing. we did reverse dock the boat which helped a bit. but it still gets pounded.

so i am wondering if anyone has designed an upgraded bracket that does not do this that i could put on - instead of the OEM factory? or if there is another solution. considered welding the junction between the platform brackets and the post mount on the boat, but it seems like a bad idea to transfer the force into the hull mounts. obviously we could put it on a lift but spending 20K to solve this seems dumb as well. anyone figured out another solution?????

ALSO - i'd also be interested to know if the newer boats also suffer from this problem. the platform supports on the G series seem much stronger from a distance..... will buy another boat in next few years i imagine and i want to avoid this major problem.....

thx
geoff

[gscho002]

hi everyone - i have a 2010 SANTE 210 TE boat. over the years, we have replaced our platform brackets twice because they wear from wave action at the dock. first time we did not know this was a problem and it got so bad the pins wore clean through the holes in the platform brackets and the posts attached to the boat. platform came clean off on one side. second time we knew better and caught it early. now one of the brackets has completely fractured after 3 years on the boat.

we are on a lake that gets a lot of tubing and now wake surfing. we did reverse dock the boat which helped a bit. but it still gets pounded.

so i am wondering if anyone has designed an upgraded bracket that does not do this that i could put on - instead of the OEM factory? or if there is another solution. considered welding the junction between the platform brackets and the post mount on the boat, but it seems like a bad idea to transfer the force into the hull mounts. obviously we could put it on a lift but spending 20K to solve this seems dumb as well. anyone figured out another solution?????

ALSO - i'd also be interested to know if the newer boats also suffer from this problem. the platform supports on the G series seem much stronger from a distance..... will buy another boat in next few years i imagine and i want to avoid this major problem.....

thx
geoff

[NautiqueJeff]

I have never heard of this happening. That's some serious wave action to cause damage like that. I'd advise you to get a lift for many reasons if you are in that much of a wave-prone area. That type of wave action has to beat your boat up in several ways.

[gscho002]

interesting perspective. we are at Deep Creek Lake. most boats are in the water. probably only 1 in 20 or 30 boats are on lifts. most stay in water. but i have heard it called the tubing capital of the world. the outfit that makes the floating docks said they had to switch from 4" to 6" frame a few years ago because of the wake. i know the state regs are struggling to keep up with the increase in surfing wake also......

[jpwhit]

I bet most people there don't have lifts because I assume the lake freezes in the winter. If it freezes, you have to remove the lift during the winter to keep the float tanks from being damaged by the ice

[MN Ryan]

Removing lifts in the winter is a way of life in MN!

[bturner]

Couple thoughts....

If the area you're docking your boat is wearing out the pins on your platform, you are not in a protected area of the lake. Worse, if the lift manufactures are beefing up their lifts for this lake only, something is really wrong with the location that was picked for mooring. IMHO, this is in no way, is a case of "poorly designed" platform brackets or lifts but rather is a poorly located mooring area. This would be like blaming the manufacture of the shocks on your car for failing when you drive down unmaintained dirt roads at 60MPH every day. In other words you're putting the blame of the issue in the wrong place. I've owned inboards for 25+ years and have never replaced a platform pin or bracket due to wear. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever replaced either.

All my boats have been moored on lifts for many reasons. To be honest, I would never consider having a ski boat moored any other way. The maintenance alone of cleaning the hull (please don't tell me you painted the bottom of your Nautique) is reason enough to get a hoist without getting into protecting my investment from sinking, damage due to storms and in your case apparently constant rough water.

Everyone is different and takes care of their stuff differently. As this is your boat, you are certainly welcome to do with it as you want. If it were me I would be buying a lift for starters and shopping for another location to moor my boat. If you don't want to buy a lift, I would be looking for rack storage if that is available or at the minimum finding another location that is not subjected to the onslaught of rough water your current mooring area is subjected to.

[srock]

A earth supported versus floating lift is also so much better than in water storage for many reasons...clean bottom, chance of sinking, and now platform wear.

I would think of you could eliminate the movement you would eliminate the wear. Maybe instead of pins you need a threaded-bolted connection. Or perhaps there is some sort of bushing. Maybe an old style teak platform with gaps. I am sure an engineer will post soon.

One thing for sure, I would not be happy with any type of towboat with this kind of wave action.

[Scooter G]

My '03 Supra had that problem, poor design IMO. We were surfing one day with a Church group of Young Men, when one of the boys says, "Hey Scooter, I think your deck came off", as he was floating out in the drink with the surf board, and my swim deck. Nice to know they float, we should of tried to surf it, lol.
I finally gave up and perma fixed it with stainless bailing wire (hack, but I did a profesh job of it). Sold it like that. It's probably still like that, somewhere in the middle of Montana (wait, isn't that a song?).

My G has very solid brackets, dance party worthy.

[gscho002]

hi scooter - many thanks for the reply. that is great to know that the G is not like this. interesting that you tried securing it. i assume you mean sort of repeatedly wrapping the wire around to hold the platform bracket to the boat attachment (not sure how supra does this)? i wonder if that is similar to jus welding the two together......

this would be the solution obviously. there is a shop here happy to do it. then the platform would not be removable but i never would take it off. it just stores in the garage.

i avoided this because i'd prefer to replace brackets and not transfer the stress to the hull...... but maybe ok.

anyone lurking have a comment on that?

[gscho002]

just for fun i did ask the company about this question, and they advised against permanently securing the platform to the boat because the potential for hull damage. :-)

[Scooter G]

Yup, just a wire wrap like on the farm. Definitely redneck, had intentions of doing it right at some point but it was an out of sight out of mind thing.

So here is me thinking out loud. I'm not buying the potential for hull failure. The reason the platform is not permanently attached is for the convenience of easy removal, limited space for storage, make up a reason why. If you were to render a permanent attachment you loose that feature. If you have something slam into the swim deck hard enough i.e. another car while you are on the trailer, jet ski, or again, make up a reason, you are going to potentially have hull damage either way.
Open for opinion, maybe I am mistaken.

[gscho002]

yes that was exactly my thinking.......

[JDC02SANTE]

That does seem odd. Was the pin undersized (replaced with one too small in Ø?) and allowed for too much play??

These are 21 year old brackets. Not babied by any means from the original owner or me for the last 3 years. I bead blasted them and powder coated them, but there is no damage that I could see and the pin is still fairly snug (even more so with the powder coat).

Not sure if a 2010 has the same brackets as my 2002 though??

[gscho002]

****. so my brackets look identical though is silver/unfinished. one key difference is you have a teak platform with gaps. the company suggested removing the standard platform that does not let water through with something like this. so i guess your exp provides proof this might make a difference...... thx for sharing pics!