Homemade Grab bar ideas

[kfa4303]

Hi all. I've decided to install a grab bar in my 14' tinny so I can stand up and steer while using a tiller extension. I was going to try to find/make an inverted "U" shape, but after doing a bit more research, I think I'll be able to get away with using a single, vertical, dowel/rod. I was thinking of using a stout shovel handle, or perhaps a length of 1" aluminum pipe, or EMT (PVC?), but I can't figure out the best way to attach it to the floor. I suppose I need a flange of some sort, but I'm at a loss. Ideally I'd like to be able to make the grab bar detachable by threading it into/out of the flange, but that's not a must have requirement. Any ideas? THanks.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Why not use a seat base flange and mount it to the floor? They come in a narrower diameter than the standard 3" (these are just over 1.75")and the pole should be easily removed due to it's tapered shaft. The blank poles come up to 48" in length.

http://www.iboats.com/9-in-Round-1-77-Post-Base-Plate-Swivl-Eze/dm/*******.996090300--session_id.413989818--view_id.162839

 

[NYBo]

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Sounds like a great way to impale yourself.

 

[jdlough]

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Probably the simplest thing is a galvanized flange like this from the Home Depot

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...zed+flange&storeId=10051&superSkuId=202904918

With a 1' length of galvanized pipe screwed into it, then a 3 or 4' length of pvc pipe over that. This is kinda the way trailer guide-ons are made, to help folks loading their boats at the ramp onto a trailer. I suggest the pvc for the main vertical part of the pipe, because a more solid pipe would be an impalement hazard, and when you impale yourself on it, we on the forums would of course mock you mercilessly, then morn your loss for a bit.

Instead of screwing the flange to the floor, maybe screw the flange to a chunk of wood, sized so that you can attach that piece of wood to your floor.


We don't have any pics of your situation, but you may be able to attach an angled rod holder to your gunwale area, but angled inward, and stick your broom handle into that. Or some variation on that. Maybe a clamp-on rod holder clamped to a bench, or console?

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Thanks y'all. I saw the galvanized flanges too. Do you think it I used a 1'-2'length of pipe and screwed it in to the flange it would would be rigid enough? It only needs to be about waist high which is about 36". I'll also be mounting the flange to a small 3/4" plywood floor, with several extra layers beneath it the way you described. I plan on through bolting the flange to the floor with stainless steel hardware dipped in 3M 5200, then painting the whole thing with some aerosol rustoleum white. I'll either slip some PVC over it as you described, or thread a galvanized "T" in the top end to keep the impaling to a minimum I saw a guy with a real nice turned wooden one, which got me thinking I could use a shovel handle, but I'm not sure how I could mount it to the floor, but it would be cheap, rot resistant, light weight and paintable. Thanks again for all the cool ideas. Keep 'em coming.

 

[jdlough]

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

I have a couple of boat lifts that have galvanized square box rods bent at a 90 degree angle as a base for the guide-on pvc rods. The angle bends straight up, but only go up about 18" for the big lift, and only 12" for the little lift, and are then covered with 2" pvc for the next 8 feet as a guide on. The 2" pvc pipes fit pretty snuggly on the square rod/pipes.

We may be over thinking this, but I think you should go with the galvanized flange. Look for a PVC pipe size that fits snugly over the galvanized pipe that goes into the flange. You don't want wiggly. With whatever "T" at the top, you're not worried with impaling yourself, but if the pipe is TOO rigid, it may put too much stress on the flange. So a bit of bend in the pipe is OK. I think you'd be surprised to see just how stiff a 36" length of 1.5" pvc pipe is.

So, best bet is to grab some chunks of pvc pipes to see what fits best over short lengths of galvanized pipes. Choose the mix that's the snuggest.

At any rate, for a 3' length, any pvc diameter over 1" should be fine. At the Home Depot, just try to bend some, you'll see.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Thanks jd. I think that's more or less what I'm gonna do. I already have a cheap-o, DIY, PVC theme going on the boat so I may as well stick with it You're right that a bit of flex is good and necessary. Thankfully, I'm only about 170 lbs and the boat is just a little 14' tinny with a 20 hp Johnson, so I won't be breaking any speed records or putting any major strain on the post. I just need it help stabilize me a bit while underway. I'm thinking a 3/4" -1" galv flange with a 2' galv pipe threaded into it topped with a snug fitting, 3' PVC pipe over that with a small T-joint on top for a bit of a handle and call it a day. It should be very sturdy and I can take it out when/if I need to. Thanks again for the ideas. I'll keep you posted on the results.

 

[dsiekman]

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Thanks jd. I think that's more or less what I'm gonna do. I already have a cheap-o, DIY, PVC theme going on the boat so I may as well stick with it You're right that a bit of flex is good and necessary. Thankfully, I'm only about 170 lbs and the boat is just a little 14' tinny with a 20 hp Johnson, so I won't be breaking any speed records or putting any major strain on the post. I just need it help stabilize me a bit while underway. I'm thinking a 3/4" -1" galv flange with a 2' galv pipe threaded into it topped with a snug fitting, 3' PVC pipe over that with a small T-joint on top for a bit of a handle and call it a day. It should be very sturdy and I can take it out when/if I need to. Thanks again for the ideas. I'll keep you posted on the results.

Just keep in mind the torque you will be putting on that flange. 3' x 170 lbs = 510 ft*lbs of torque. That's pretty significant. Just don't want to see you going into the drink!

 

[NYBo]

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Just keep in mind the torque you will be putting on that flange. 3' x 170 lbs = 510 ft*lbs of torque. That's pretty significant. Just don't want to see you going into the drink!

Yep, a single flange may not be up to the task.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Can't imagine any way you are going to screw/anchor this to the hull of a small aluminum hull.

It will likely snap off, or bend.

Perhaps, maaaaybe, if you could attach to the floor, then up and over to the gunnel. But I don't see that being very sturdy either.

You really need 3 anchor points.

How about the floor in front of the middle bench, the floor behind the middle bench, and the top of the gunnel.

how about this

 

[cr2k]

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Check some off road catalogs. Lot's of different styles, sizes and materials available.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

I'm definitely attaching it to a plywood floor with an extra layer under the base at the attachment point. Maybe I can split the bottom and form an inverted "U", then I'd have 2 attachment points. Something like this:

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas

Hate to say this but do you think you might want to reconsider placing a fixed vertical spear in a 14' tinny. I'm just saying, might not go through you but a hard fall on it could definitley do some internal body damage. I've always been taught to avoid that kind of stuff.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas-UPDATED

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas-UPDATED

Well, it's not really a "spear". It's going to have a cap/T in top of it. Plus, we're talking fairly low speed, clear water cruising. No log jumping, gator hunting or swamp racing I suppose I could replicate a U-bar out of galvanized pipe and fittings, but I wanted to try to keep cost/weight to a minimum. Here's a clever idea I found on the internets. I'd steal his set up outright, but I don't have a vertical surface to attach the bar to, but it is clever and DIY. He's also a lot bigger boy than I am in a much skinnier boat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrsU-zhUWNE

Here are some faster, fancier versions using a U-bar, but you get the idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZMR97duw_Q

Not so much impaling going on either.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas-UPDATED

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas-UPDATED

So after much going back and forth, I finally came up with a solution using 1.5" thick-walled PVC pipe and fittings with a bit of SS hardware. I know it's ghetto and not the prettiest thing in the world, but it's ROCK SOLID and actually added lots of useable vertical space. I can now hold a small cooler behind the seat, attach my umbrella holders to a much more secure base closer to the center line of the boat, and I now have a much needed junk tray and cup holder. Best of all it was DIY, cheap, fun to make and turned out way better than I thought it would. Oh, and my old cover/tarp still fits Needless to say I have kind of a PVC theme developing at this point. So far I have an 1-1/4" thin-walled PVC tiller extension, rod holders, bilge pump, trailer guide-ons and now the grab bar. One of these days I'll get a proper little fancy skiff with all the big money bells and whistles, but until then this will have to do. Cheers!

 

[ajgraz]

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas-UPDATED

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas-UPDATED

PVC rules!

(At least until UV rays kill it)

How do you have that anchored to the boat?

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas-UPDATED

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas-UPDATED

You can see in the second pic you can see how I cobbled it all together. The main assembly is through-bolted w/SS hardware to inverted PVC caps which are themselves attached to the hull and bench using SS hardware. I know the UV will be an issue eventually, but the boat is covered in the front yard 99% of the time so I should get several good seasons worth of use out of it. As much as I love the grab rail, the little junk tray is my favorite part, I think I won't have to keep digging in the dry bag every two seconds to grab the camera and stuff and I can run at full speed while standing up which will help my visibility a lot in the skinny water.

 

[lakelover]

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas-UPDATED

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas-UPDATED

Looks like you came up with a good solution in the end. (Hope you use a lanyard/kill switch!)

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas-UPDATED

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas-UPDATED

Oh yeah. I got the old red telephone line wrapped around my wrist at all times. I put them on all of my motors. Best $10 you can spend. I'm always amazed how many people don't use them or a life jacket while underway :/ I'm a wuss. I have a kill switch and jacket on at all times unless I'm anchored.

 

[Stachi]

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas-UPDATED

Re: Homemae Grab bar ideas-UPDATED

You want to stand up in a 14' tinny while you drive it ? Isn't it difficult enough to stand up in one when it is not moving ? I'm going to suggest you install a kill switch for this adventure....