# homemade poling platform



## whm302 (Jul 29, 2012)

first of all i would like to say im new to the site but have been lurking for a while.. here is progression on a poling platform i have been working on... here is a series of post from another forum im on

well guys i have been wanting to put a poling platform on my 18' polar flats tunnel hull.. 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 (im a mechanical engineer) 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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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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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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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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## cvilt (May 31, 2010)

Looks good. Take care of it and it should last you a while


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## seachas (May 9, 2012)

looks good, i have a casting platform i made out of thick wall pvc 1 1/2'' and 3/4'' star board,, if you paint it or spray some bedliner on it it turns out pretty good,, and you can build what you like to use


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## anytide (Jul 30, 2009)

welcome.... thats crafty


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## junkin35 (Nov 20, 2011)

Much Props for you ingenuity!!!!!!!! MIKE ;D


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## oysterbreath (Jan 13, 2009)

Ahhhhh! I like it!


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## whm302 (Jul 29, 2012)

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-Fibreglass-Mast-Support-Poles-Ham-Radio-48-/160530378014?pt=US_Radio_Comm_Antennas&hash=item25605b2d1e#ht_739wt_1142


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