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First post, be gentle... :o

I just found this site a week ago and I've been busy working the search feature, thanks to all who support this great site. I hope to contribute as much as I can in the future, for now I have more questions than answers.

For a long time I've wanted to add a swim platform (whaler part ID 1068410) to my 1989 Montauk but when I spoke with Whaler they said there's not enough wood to properly support it. I've searched the archives and see the question has come up a few times but I haven't seen anyone with an older model who's done it and if so what modifications were needed to make it work properly. I think the model year when they started adding support for it was in the mid 1990's.

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Bob,

Welcome Aboard... Everyone is gentle on this site..... I know some people may be intimidated at first to post but it is like talking to friends here and people with the same interests in mind. Bashing is not tolerated.... Period...

I believe Whaler is correct about the wood in your year Montauk. If you look at the Wood Locating Diagrams in the download section, you will find that the wood necessary to install a swim platform only shows up in the 1997 wood locating diagram on the Port side of the transom. Download both the early and the late diagrams and you will see the difference in the wood locations on these models. I know people have installed swim platforms on their earlier Montauks but I am not sure how they held up. Maybe someone who has done this can tell us more.

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Bob,

Whaler is correct that there is not the proper backing for the platform however, there is a Montauk I have seen in the Port Sheldon area of Lake Michigan that has added the platform. It does have damage from the added stress however, the boat is not in the best shape to begin with.

On our Montauk we added an extra long folding ladder on the side instead of a swim platform. Really in the end the swim platform is so small it really loses it use as a platform and is just a ladder. Here are images of teh set up we used.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v42...%20whaler/

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/jeff_rohlfing/dads%20whaler/DSCN0055low.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/jeff_rohlfing/dads%20whaler/DSCN0056low.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/jeff_rohlfing/dads%20whaler/DSCN0057low.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/jeff_rohlfing/dads%20whaler/DSCN0058low.jpg[/IMG]

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Questions about the ladder. I have a 1968 Nausett and am having difficulty finding ladder to fit due to ladders horizontal stabilizing posts are not fitting properly on side of boat. It appears that you have solved problem by mounting ladder on top of gunwale. What is the name of the hardware that you used to mount ladder and brand of your fold up ladder. Thanks Dan D

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Dan,

The ladder is a standard Garelick 4 step folding ladder. We got it at West Marine for about $125 and all of the hardware was included.

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Thanks