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Old 11-14-2017, 10:07 PM   #1
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Next swim platform bracket question...

Pic below. Bent platform bracket. I could leave it as is but would have a minor league soft spot where the teak can bend down or I could straighten it. Any chance I can hammer it out while it is bolted on? Not a big enough deal to take it all the way off and straighten it properly. Just wondering if it will bend back with some hefty hammering? could it be heated and them hammered, would that help? Concerned that pounding it would loosen from the hull or do other damage to the transom...what would you do? Apologies for the rotated pic. Can't figure out how to avoid that happening.
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Old 11-14-2017, 10:15 PM   #2
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Leave the hammer in the tool box. The best way to straighten something without doing more damage is to use leverage. Find a couple of the biggest crescent wrenches you can locate and see if you can get it to bend. Welders and metal fab guys have or make big levers (several feet long if needed) with appropriate jaws/slots on the end and can bend most anything.
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Old 11-14-2017, 10:16 PM   #3
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You might be able to get a hydraulic jack into the mix, and/or a come-along, depending on which way the metal needs to go.
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Old 11-14-2017, 10:25 PM   #4
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The top brace needs to bend up in the middle. I thought about somehow jacking it from below but the 45 degree brace is of course directly underneath and blocking a straight shot from below. As for leverage..not sure what I could leverage against. the more I think about it I think I'm going to end up taking the darn thing off. If it were on the ground I could hammer it without worry. At least get it closer. I could probably just leave it be and put a starboard or even teak wedge under it and forget about it.
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Old 11-14-2017, 10:31 PM   #5
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Hammer, no. Leverage,what will you lever against?
How about pushing up the bent section from underneath using an hydraulic jack and a metal tube? That could straighten it, before you start lifting the boat.
Why did it bend in the first place? Not strong enough?
If you bend metal, and re-bend it the other way, it can get "plastic", ie more prone to bending. Reinforcing the bent section with an extra plate might help, brazed(it`s bronze?), or just bolted.
(Note: Beware my amateur advice,look for comment/confirmation from someone who might knows)
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Old 11-14-2017, 11:02 PM   #6
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Rigging a lever for that job is pretty straight forward - a stout post from ground to just below the horizontal plate - a horizontal length of timber sitting on top of the post and under the plate to be bent. Maybe tie the post to the angled bracket. Short end of the horizontal under the flat plate, long end - a metre or so is what you swing on. Lever and fulcrum.

I`d still check the attachment bolts after you have straightened it.
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Old 11-14-2017, 11:26 PM   #7
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Why did it bend in the first place? Not strong enough?
If you bend metal, and re-bend it the other way, it can get "plastic", ie more prone to bending. Reinforcing the bent section with an extra plate might help, brazed(it`s bronze?), or just bolted.
It appears one of the 3 previous owners backed into something. there are four brackets and this one is the second one in on the starboard side. It pushed the swim platform back and inch or so. It was sitting up against the hull for a foot or two directly behind the bent bracket. going out each side there is an inch or so of space. going to straighten the bracket as best I can, fill in the holes in the teak where the screws went in through the bracket from below. There were some through bolts as well. Filling holes and reinstalling with new hardward.

Reinforcing is probably a good idea, thanks. Could add a piece underneath and just use long screws and bolts.
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Old 11-14-2017, 11:28 PM   #8
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Rigging a lever for that job is pretty straight forward - a stout post from ground to just below the horizontal plate - a horizontal length of timber sitting on top of the post and under the plate to be bent. Maybe tie the post to the angled bracket. Short end of the horizontal under the flat plate, long end - a metre or so is what you swing on. Lever and fulcrum.

I`d still check the attachment bolts after you have straightened it.
Excellent idea, didn't think of leveraging in that manner. Right behind my boat is the pile of posts and blocks the yard uses for blocking boats. About 10 feet away. Sold!
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Old 11-14-2017, 11:48 PM   #9
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I see 2 options. Shim it up with some stainless washers between the teak and the bracket, or use a small bottle jack and a lever like so: ( Drawing with a mouse is harder than it looks....forgive my artistry )
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Old 11-15-2017, 12:27 AM   #10
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Thanks for taking the time to draw it! I have jack stands by the blocking wood as well. Two great ideas for fixing it. Just have to adapt it to my cheapo scissors jack. I be the yard has something better though...
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Old 11-15-2017, 01:00 AM   #11
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Heat it and beat it. Buy MAP gas from Home Depot, it’s much hotter than propane. The heat will relax the metal. lay a piece of angle iron(straight edge) across the top and then beat the bar from the bottom until it’s straight enough for you.
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Old 11-15-2017, 05:50 AM   #12
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Pic below. Bent platform bracket. I could leave it as is but would have a minor league soft spot where the teak can bend down or I could straighten it. Any chance I can hammer it out while it is bolted on? Not a big enough deal to take it all the way off and straighten it properly. Just wondering if it will bend back with some hefty hammering? could it be heated and them hammered, would that help? Concerned that pounding it would loosen from the hull or do other damage to the transom...what would you do? Apologies for the rotated pic. Can't figure out how to avoid that happening.

I would think a " heavy " steel flat bar or some sort of straight steel bar stock across the top and 1 or two serious C Clamps. You could even space that bar away from the bracket to allow for a bit of over-bend ..... FB
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Old 11-15-2017, 05:54 AM   #13
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I would shim the belly of the bend. Flat washers would work or you could easily scribe in a piece of teak. You would be the only person who knows it is there.
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Old 11-15-2017, 06:18 AM   #14
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Originally Posted by tiltrider1 View Post
Heat it and beat it. Buy MAP gas from Home Depot, it’s much hotter than propane. The heat will relax the metal. lay a piece of angle iron(straight edge) across the top and then beat the bar from the bottom until it’s straight enough for you.
Would the heat transfer over to the fiberglass and hurt it in some way or do you think it would dissipate enough?
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Old 11-15-2017, 09:26 AM   #15
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Use a bolt

Piece of stout angle iron across the top. It can be spaced as suggested earlier. Drill a hole in the angle and through bolt using existing hole in the bracket. Spacers on the angle give you opportunity to over bend the bracket a little so it is strait when the jig is removed.
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Old 11-15-2017, 10:06 AM   #16
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When GB started putting swim grids on both the 36 and the 42, they neglected to consult a Naval Architect. The results are abundant, broken wood, bent metal. Don't blame the PO, this is a GB failure. You can fix this one, but it will still be no better than new.

Look at any other brand of boat that has an OEM swimgrid for an example of one that is properly designed. Chances are good that you will agree that yours is built of undersized stock in the supports, too few supports and undersized wood in the deck. Your grid is also too shallow to be useful.

Now is a good time for you to consider an upgrade.
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Old 11-15-2017, 09:43 PM   #17
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You would have to heat it red hot to hurt the glass. You want it to hot to touch but not red hot.
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Old 11-16-2017, 11:07 AM   #18
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Heat it and beat it. Buy MAP gas from Home Depot, it’s much hotter than propane. The heat will relax the metal. lay a piece of angle iron(straight edge) across the top and then beat the bar from the bottom until it’s straight enough for you.


This.
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Old 11-16-2017, 04:31 PM   #19
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Ended up just beating it with a hammer. It went up a good bit. Put the swim platform back on, bolted it down in six places and then used screws from the bottom up through the bracket to tighten it down all over. Platform bent down maybe a half inch to meet the bracket in this one area but...you can't see it from my house. Much ado about nothing. Sorry for boring you guys with the simple stuff!

Hey, what's the best anchor???
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Old 11-16-2017, 06:57 PM   #20
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I would think a " heavy " steel flat bar or some sort of straight steel bar stock across the top and 1 or two serious C Clamps. You could even space that bar away from the bracket to allow for a bit of over-bend ..... FB
++2 ^
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