# poling platform



## reel_dedicated

well guys i have been wanting to put a poling platform on my 18' polar flats & bay tunnel hull.. but after calling around to several places and getting sticker shock ($700 was the cheapest i found around here to get one custom fabbed)... i decided with my woodworking and fiberglass skills i could build one out of wood core and fiberglassed over and achieve a lighter weight platform (or about the same weight)... heres my boat... love the set up but just been wanting the platform to add to the full make over of my boat (either sea foam green or high gloss black paint job for exterior hull is coming in the off season)..and since i have a Louisiana sight fishing trip here in a few weeks i figured i better get to work.. 










after digging around on the internet and looking at different platforms.. i came up with this design... pretty straight forward.. no fancy bends or curves... 










after some analysis and a lil autocad work i came up with my dimensions and design... stopped by lowes to get some materials and already have enough glass to make do on this job... got home and went straight to work.. laid out all my dimensions and began cutting the wooden dials..










once i got every thing laid out i glued down my leg supports to the bottom of the casting platform.. these will then be drilled out and the legs inserted through the slots..


















the tricky part was getting all my angles cut so the legs would be flat against the casting deck once i get ready to install... with a lil finagling with my drill press and rotating it to the angle i needed, i was in business!! put a few screws in them to put pressure on the glue and to hold them in place while drilling the holes.










after drilling the holes i then determined a 1-1/4" wooden dial wasn't truely 1-1/4" so after a lil sanding and whittling with a knife i got a nice snug prefit... then formed a perfect 45 degree fillet around the support block (will build up higher but had to start somewhere) so that i would have a nice fillet to transition the fiberglass overlay on..










prefit all four legs.. and i must say it was coming together nicely with my angles and dimensions working out nice and square.










once i prefit the legs i had to drill out the copes for the bar steps.. this was by far the hardest thing so far.. but once again pulled it off nicely and they fit nice and snug...


















hopefully tomm (if weather permitting) i will begin glassing the top of the platfrom and gluing/glassing in the legs to permanent positions. once that is complete i will add the trim around the edge of the platform to give it a clean look.. all exposed wood will be fully glassed or resined over, then after a nice sanding im going to cover it completely with spray in bed liner... hopefully all goes well.. so far im excited and looks to be headed in the right direction! so far im only about $75 into it and pretty much have all my supplies... i dont think you can beat that!


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## hjorgan

Crap dude.... more power to you and rock on!!!! I caught crap on a thread for making my own club soda (which I'm enjoying now with some Old Forester bourbon). Wish I had the talent. Please post the finished product.


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## southern yakker

hjorgan said:


> Crap dude.... more power to you and rock on!!!! I caught crap on a thread for making my own club soda (which I'm enjoying now with some Old Forester bourbon). Wish I had the talent. Please post the finished product.


Thats because club soda isnt a manly drink.jk 

It looks like it coming together quite nicely.post pics when its done.


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## jasoncooperpcola

Looking good! I enjoy diy projects like this.


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## Starlifter

Not to bash your surprise why they are asking for that amount. Just that the material alone would run a small shop for anodized aluminum, mounting tabs, hardware, etc., around a couple hundred. Let's say it was $250 material, that leaves them at $450 for labor. If the shop charged $70/hr, that gives them less than seven hours to build and install it.

I don't run a fabrication business, but two trades I have, and not as a profession is what I'd consider a mid-level welder/ auto fabricator. I have at least $3500 invested in a TIG welder, and around a $1000, so far, in a hydraulic tube bender.

Just being a self-fabricator, I wanna say I've invested close to $7500 in equipment. Which has taken me a while to acquire being blue collar and not white collar; now think what a shop has to lose if they did not charge an acceptable amount to keep their lights on?

Anyways, as I mentioned in the beginning; this is not meant to bash your decisions. Because I too know as they say "money doesn't grow on trees."


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## reel_dedicated

Starlifter said:


> Not to bash your surprise why they are asking for that amount. Just that the material alone would run a small shop for anodized aluminum, mounting tabs, hardware, etc., around a couple hundred. Let's say it was $250 material, that leaves them at $450 for labor. If the shop charged $70/hr, that gives them less than seven hours to build and install it.
> 
> I don't run a fabrication business, but two trades I have, and not as a profession is what I'd consider a mid-level welder/ auto fabricator. I have at least $3500 invested in a TIG welder, and around a $1000, so far, in a hydraulic tube bender.
> 
> Just being a self-fabricator, I wanna say I've invested close to $7500 in equipment. Which has taken me a while to acquire being blue collar and not white collar; now think what a shop has to lose if they did not charge an acceptable amount to keep their lights on?
> 
> Anyways, as I mentioned in the beginning; this is not meant to bash your decisions. Because I too know as they say "money doesn't grow on trees."


OK.... exactly why i wanted to build it myself because i have about $5000+ invested in a wood working shop (i make custom duck and goose calls)... why not give it a shot for ~$100.. if it doesn't work or meet my standards.. fine it won't be put on the boat... but i have done plenty of glass work and im very cofident once it is finished and i showed a picture of it and asked what the materials are, i bet 99% of the ppl will say powder coated aluminum w/ fiberglass top... more pictures to come.. for those who don't see it yet and think this is an epic fail just give it some time, you will be thinking differently and asking details


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## Breeze Fabricators

*Woodwork*

I think it looks great. I have made aluminum legs before that was decked with a teak standing platform. It was beutiful. I would try to clear coat the whole thing to show off your craft.


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## oxbeast1210

Sweet keep us posted on the progress !
Breeze Fabricators likes it that says a lot they do great work...


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## user207

I for sure would like to see the progress. You might stumble onto some new fab process for towers. One thing is for sure, your material expense is way less, and wood is one of the worlds best building materials. I can't wait to see the finished product.


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## reel_dedicated

well after re-cooping from the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo, i found myself happy to get in the shop, drink a few cold ones, listen to the radio, and get back to my poling platform project...

after pre-fitting everything up, i double checked my measurements, and marked lines so everything would line back up after i reassembled... busted out the ole PL premimum construction adhesive and went to work.. if you haven't ever tried PL its some bad stuff.. i believe it would hold down my house thru a hurricane!! used zip ties to anchor my supports and legs into correct position... after the adhesive dried i flipped it over and brought it inside to put on a level floor to see if it had any wobble (shop had a lot of wood shavings from turning duck calls lol).. surprisingly all 4 legs hit level... but it did notice a lil sag in the deck of the platform probably due from wood not being fully dried upon purchase, but i will take care of that with fiberglass and resin... 










i couldn't believe how strong it was with just being glued together... i pressed all my weight on the platform and the legs didn't flex a bit... the lil one came running in there and wanted to sit on it... so i figured she would be a good test specimen :thumbup:










that pretty much wrapped up last night... got home from work today and was pumped ready to get back to work on it.. got it outside and cut off the legs coming out of the top section and sanded them flush..










once i sanded all 4 legs flush and sanded all sharp corners i was ready to glass the top layer of the platform.. 


















once this dries i will cut off the excess, lightly sand resin, add the coaming around the edges, add another layer of glass, and glass the coamings to make it a smooth looking finish.. then i will begin glassing all joints on the legs and steps...


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## Contender

Looks great! Wondering how you joined the deck. Biscuits? I have had trouble in the past joining 1 X and getting it to stay flat. I never thought the wood wasn't dry just didn't know what if anything I was doing. Bought a biscuit machine but haven't tried it yet.

Keep posting the pix.


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## X-Shark

When laying glass over wood.

You want to have All the corners radiused so that the glass will conform easier.
This has other effects also. Those 90deg corners are not going to feel good when your lag goes banging into them....Plus it's a esthetics's thing.


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## reel_dedicated

the corners are radiused (just didn't take a picture after i did it) and you will see what im going to do in the next step... i am adding coaming around the entire perimeter which will be radiused also.. trust me this isn't the first time i played with a lil resin and glass lol


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## X-Shark

Great.


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## user207

Its starting to look like something.


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## reel_dedicated

well it has been a little while since i have posted on the project, but i have been pretty busy at it in the evenings after work and in between rain storms... after 2 layers of glass on top of the platform i started to sand down the excess PL premium adhesive mainly at all my joints to get them ready for glassing..








once i got the joints cleaned up i was ready for glassing. i chose to cut small 3"x3" patches of 6 oz biaxlial cloth to make my joints. using the patches allowed me to bend the fiberglass around the legs without making relief cuts in the glass so it would lay flat.. i basically put 2 patches per side of the legs and then 2 patches on the inner brace (on top and bottom) then patched over with about a 6" long strip to make a clean overlap of the patches








now just repeated the process to all 4 legs..








once this had cured i sanded down smooth so every thing would be even... now flipped the platform back onto its legs and put the coaming around the platform top. i used 3" x 1/4" panel. i dropped the coaming down to about the bottom edge of the platform decking and then made a nice fillet around the edges to give it a smooth rounded edge.. once that cured i then sanded everything down.
























o btw a dog kennel makes a nice work bench lol... once i got thru sanding that all smooth i put one final layer of glass on the top and tied it into the coaming. after the glass cured i went and sat it on the boat to do some final leg measurements. the way i designed the legs they need to be spread outwards about 4" from the static position. this will add stability to it transversely.. after i measured i built a jig to where the legs need to be spread to (basically a scrap board with holes drilled in it). then i cut and drilled the base pads put them on the legs, then inserted the legs into the jig.
put a layer of saran wrap in between base pads and the jig to ensure the base pads wouldn't get glued to the jig.








once the front base pads are set i will do the same to the back pads, flip it over sand smooth and then glass the joints.. its coming along.. i have already stood on the platform and both steps and they hold me fine and im 6'4" 260#. im thinking about adding another brace to the angled legs right where the steps meet, not only will it add support but i want to hang something like a utility bag on it so i have a place to put pliers, tools, sundglass cases, ect... more to come...


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## oxbeast1210

its looking great 
thanks for the update


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## Darrick

Hey was this the polar that was posted on here a while back that had stringer problems?The reason I ask I have a 98 17' polar skiff that I love but this year I have noticed alot of stress cracks where the floor joins the side of the hull.I have been told it was a flaw in the hull not having enough stringers which lets it flex to much.Just interested to see what was done if this was that boat!


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## reel_dedicated

yep sure is... it had massive reconstructive surgery lol.. lets just say its pretty much a brand new boat now and is going thru a total make over one step at a time... entire floor was cut out, 2 longitudinal and 5 ribs were added... all composite material then vacuumed 2 part foam inside the hull like a boston whaler.. its a beast now.. very stout!! ya after we cut the deck out i couldn't believe how little of support they had in it.. it made me sick to think i had been running this boat like that and had no idea.. if i were you i would go ahead and bite the bullet and get it fixed.. if yours is like mine all they have is 2 longitudinal stringers running the length of the boat and NO RIBS!!!!


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## Ocean Master

Remember to pre-soak the wood with thinned resin before applying more resin and cloth. 

Looks great...!!


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## reel_dedicated

well finally got around to making the front brace and glassing it in.. fit up perfect and held my front legs at the angle that i wanted them at on my boat and added transverse support.. 










after got the brace in.. i glassed all the legs with 2 layers of glass and put a smooth top coat of resin on them..

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got home today after doing a duck calling seminar for DU event (i make custom duck and goose calls) and went to fine sanding everything to rough the resin up a lil for the spray on bedliner.. after i finished that up did a prefit on the boat... loving the looks of it... will post up pics of it after coating it..


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## reel_dedicated

well finally finished it up today!!! after a lot of sanding and glassing one last layer over legs and joints, i bought some hurculiner and went to painting it on... all in all i have about $175 into it and $100 of that was the hurculiner... some criticized me for making a poling platform out of wood/glass but im here to tell you that it worked out great.. a lil time consuming but it was a fun project... and to reward myself im heading to LA inn about 6 hrs... hopefully it will work out perfect.. i was kinda scared to stand on it in the yard due to boat is at a slight incline.. sat on it, wiggled on it and its good and stable.. i added some rod holders on the back of it also.. finished up my push pole and marsh foot also.. REDy to go see some spot tails cruising in the marsh..

here is a pic of my marsh foot i made for my pole before i sanded the excess glue and glassed it.. i found these poles on ebay ($7 for 48 linear foot can't beat that!!!) and joined them together with PL Premimum.. made a heck of a nice push pole, then inserted the foot i made into the end and glassed/glued it in place
http://www.ebay.com/itm/12-Military...mm_Antennas&hash=item25605b2d1e#ht_739wt_1142


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## clunan1

Very nice! Let us know how well it works for you.


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## Nate_flats22

Now if you we're to make one for someone how much would you charge?


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## MGuns

Mind if I ask why you went with a black spray on bed liner versus a light color to reduce heat? Also, what type of bed liner did you use? I'm looking at spraying my bass boat instead of re-carpeting and I'm wondering which liner you used and why. Thanks


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## charliel2

*Liner*

Thanks for posting this idea. Next time, try UPOL Raptor liner versus Herculiner. I've tried both. Same price and a much much better product. I have used it twice and it is great. And you can color it whatever you want.


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