Swim ladder dragging

jkimball

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 14, 2013
Messages
220
I have a '99 Four Winns Horizon 170, with a 115 Johnson OB.

on the back swim platform I have a folding swim ladder on the Starboard side.

while underway the base of the ladder seems to drag a little in the water and throws water back in the boat.

I've tried trimming up & down with little to no effect, the only caveat is when I have the bow loaded down with people, it seems to kind of pull it out of the water a little, or maybe I don't notice it as much.

The prop I have on is a 17p OMC SST, for tubing, skiing and when I'm loaded down. I also have a 19p SS Viper.
I don't know if my problem is that I need more of a stern lifting prop, or if there is something else that could be causing this so I didn't post in the prop section...

Has anyone experienced this and can give some insight?
 

NYBo

Admiral
Joined
Oct 23, 2008
Messages
7,107
Re: Swim ladder dragging

What is the attitude of the boat at rest? How much clearance between the water and the ladder? This could be a matter of weight distribution, hopefully not related to waterlogged floatation foam.
 

jkimball

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 14, 2013
Messages
220
Re: Swim ladder dragging

At rest there's several inches of clearance between water & the bottom of the ladder. I may be mistaken, but I believe that the FW is a foam free construction???
 

Slip Away

Lieutenant
Joined
May 11, 2010
Messages
1,431
Re: Swim ladder dragging

img_4529162_0_311219691600_1_r.jpg
 

jkimball

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 14, 2013
Messages
220
Re: Swim ladder dragging

I suppose I should have mentioned that it happens when my ladder is folded UP.
Thanks for posting the stock photos, this is my exact boat
 

southkogs

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Staff member
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Jul 7, 2010
Messages
14,785
Re: Swim ladder dragging

At rest, the ladder is a few inches off the surface of the water but when on plane with the same load the ladder is hitting the water? Do I have that right?

... 'cuz that would be really weird unless I'm seeing something wrong.
 

thumpar

Admiral
Joined
Jun 21, 2007
Messages
6,138
Re: Swim ladder dragging

Are you sure it is the ladder causing the splashing and not something like a pitot or transducer for a fish finder?
 

jkimball

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 14, 2013
Messages
220
Re: Swim ladder dragging

At rest, the ladder is a few inches off the surface of the water but when on plane with the same load the ladder is hitting the water? Do I have that right?

... 'cuz that would be really weird unless I'm seeing something wrong.

You do have that right... It struck me as weird too... although, when at rest the only time I've looked at the ladder/water orientation is when I'm out of the boat. Could possibly be due to having more weight on starboard side while at cruise (me @ 242lbs)?

The splash seems to come right around 25 MPH... at 40 MPH + there is nothing, and the area it seems to come from is about where the right leg of the ladder would be, not the pitot. Albeit, it's not a huge amount of water at all... rather negligible actually... but still caught me off guard.
 

oldboat1

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Apr 3, 2002
Messages
9,598
Re: Swim ladder dragging

does seem kind of odd. You would think it would be engineered to flip up flat on the deck, so it would be out of the way. Maybe you can "re-engineer" it by putting stainless brackets on top that allow it to do the double flip. (not sure what the dimensions are, of course, or whether it would just end up looking crappy).
 

thumpar

Admiral
Joined
Jun 21, 2007
Messages
6,138
Re: Swim ladder dragging

It is weird that is hangs down at all in the folded position.
 

jkimball

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 14, 2013
Messages
220
Re: Swim ladder dragging

It is weird that is hangs down at all in the folded position.

It's not exactly their best design, I must say...
I'd much rather have one that flips up over the swim platform... but, that's what I'm stuck with.
 

greenbush future

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Aug 28, 2009
Messages
1,814
Re: Swim ladder dragging

Maybe remove to make sure that's the cause? Be sure to cover any exposed holes if you do. I do see other stuff mounted on the example boat that may be causing it. It looks like a factory item too, yes?
 

southkogs

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Staff member
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Jul 7, 2010
Messages
14,785
Re: Swim ladder dragging

The splash seems to come right around 25 MPH... at 40 MPH + there is nothing, and the area it seems to come from is about where the right leg of the ladder would be, not the pitot. Albeit, it's not a huge amount of water at all... rather negligible actually... but still caught me off guard.

Are you bow high at 25MPH? I'm not sure the best term for it, but when you advance the throttle on any boat you have a few moments where the boat is still displacing water and pushing it's way up on top - I call it "cutting". I would think you'd be on plane by 25MPH, but not necessarily.

For that displacing speed range, you'll be bow high and the stern will be digging in while the power starts to push you up on top of the water. And in that scenario it totally makes sense that your ladder might be diggin' a little, and it could be completely normal. (My swim platform is an add on, and when I'm that situation I've got water right up to the bottom of it and sometimes it drags a little.)

If you just drop the throttle and "rabbit" out of the hole, what happens?
 
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