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We have 7 years cruising experience Alaska waters with a kayak rack that I designed and built. I'm a big guy-270#- and also had a problem getting in or out of a kayak from the swim platform on our former boat, a GB50. The boat would move up and down at a different rate than the kayak causing the spill. It only took one in those cold Alaska waters for me to come up with something.
I built a frame of 1" stainless tubing starting with two short legs of about 6" about 30" apart that are attached to the top of the swim platform using a heavy duty ss horizontal deck hinge and external eye end. Where the deck hinges are mounted, the teak deck was reinforced with brass plates to keep the wood slats from torquing. The 6" legs were connected to the external eyes with quick release pins so that the frame could be removed and stored, if needed. The other end of the short legs went to 90ells that pointed down when the unit was in place. These were attached to lengths of 1" ss about 2' in length that ran vertical and rested against the edge of the swimplatform. The next 90s took two pieces of ss tubing that were the width of the kayak in a horizontal direction until another set of 90s took it back up. The tubes that went into this last set of 90s were long enough to rise above the kayak by about a foot to form the outer part of the frame. The last set of
90s turned inwards to form the top of the outer part of the frame and joined the two sides. This part was high enough to be used a handhold while getting in and out of the kayak. All ells were then welded.
I had two eyebolts spaced about 2' apart on this top bar. I ran a line from my dinghy davit on the top deck to a yoke that attached to these points. This took most of the weight on the frame. I would lower the frame so that the bottom portion was just under water as the kayak would glide in and rest on the frame. If we weren't using the swimplatform I would detach it from the boom, swing it up against the stern and bungee it to a handhold. On our new boat I plan on running a line to the base of an upper stanchion rather than the davit boom. .
If a person had access to a good tubing bender, it would make a much cleaner frame then the one I built. I have my old frame up in the truck and would gladly take a photo and send it to you later today, although my internet access can be spotty in the marina and it may take longer. Hope this helps.
Later, Tator
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