I just received a swim platform from Extreme Marine today and was wondering how high up on the transom I should mount it, i.e. right below the rub rail, or further down to position it correctly in relation to the water line.

Also, it came with mounting hardware (although I'm going so substitute the stainless bolts with ARP stainless 12pt bolts) but the lower bolts are lag bolts. Is there any reason why they supplied lag bolts rather than a regular thru bolts with a backing plate like on the top?

Obviously, the mounting points and bolts need to be sealed against water permutation, would 4200 be the prefered sealant? 5200 seems like it would make future removal of the platform a PITA, for removing the drives etc.

One sweet looking platform.

Go with 4200. Did this with same type platform on CheckmateF1's boat, and it was fine. His platform was also lagbolted only at the bottom. I do not think you need through bolts at the below points, as you are not going to ever have any Upward pressure on the platform, to pull them out; only Downward pressure, where the through bolts at the top will cover this. Also, anything that does not go all the way through the transom, especially lower or closer to the water line, seems smarter to me. I would drill the pilot holes for the lag bolts. Put some epoxy on the fresh part of the inside of the holes in the transom (let it soak in and dry well), and THEN, 4200 the crap out of the bolts as you put them in. 4200 and 5200 have virtually no difference in consistancy for water prevention/etc. 5200 just has more Adhesive quality to it than 4200.

Check out the photos on the Extreme Marine website for placement, but 9 times out of 10, they are very, very close to the rub rail height.

CheckmateF1's installation:

Cignificant of right here on OSO, with 35 Cafe Racer:

They probably don't use thru bolts because something on the interior of the transom could interfer with the inner nuts/washers. As you can see from above, I mounted mine just over the exhaust. This also gives me plenty of room to tilt the drives.

If you have external steering, make sure that the rams will clear the inner brackets of the platform when the drive(s) are in the ''up'' position. This seems to be an area that is sometimes overlooked.

Monty,
Is the swim ladder supplied by Extreme as well. I assume it is retractable. How does it attach to the platform. Appreciate the info as I am looking for a ladder for my Extreme platform. My next step is to call Extreme directly.

Thanks
Paul

I would suggest optaining a couple of tall yard-arms for a while, or suspending it from above to support the weight (ropes from a tree). Tape it to the hull securely where you think you want it, and basically run your drives in a circle. All the way left, up, across to right, and down, and back over to left and up, at least a couple times to check all clearances. Even have someone else in the boat do this, while you check clearances. Adjust and go from there. Remember to double check the insides of the transom at all locations before drilling any holes.

what is the outer tude diameter on the platforms?