Step 1
Decide what your dimensions will be and how large you want to go! The specs of the kicker in the pictures are 12 ft long x 8 ft wide x 6 ft tall.
Step 2
Visit your local hardware store and purchase your materials. The material list for this particluar ramp consisted of:
3 sheets of 4 x 8 x 3/4" plywood
4 sheets of 4 x 8 x 1/2" plywood
23 boards treated 2 x 4 x 8
4 plastic barrels - 55 gallon
4 sheets fiberglass bath board
5 tubes of all purpose adhesive sealer(for fiberglass)
3 lbs of 16 penny coated nails
TOTAL COST = $300.00
Step 3
Lay your 3/4" plywood on the ground and draw your transition, using a water hose as a tracing tool. After cutting, splice the sheets with a 2 x 4.
Step 4
Using the completed side, trace your transition onto the other sheets of plywood.
Step 5
Insert the 2 x 4 x 8 cross beams. We had to trim 1.5” off the 2 x 4 to compensate for the added width that the 3/4" plywood gave us. Space the cross beams out 16" apart and angle them so they will be flush with the surface.
Step 6
Shake your frame, then add support where you feel needed.
Step 7
Take your 1/2" plywood and nail to the cross beams to create a surface. Some trimming was needed at the bottom to remove some excess 1/2" plywood surface. We put a nail for every 2 ft of width.
Step 8
Flip ramp over and create places for your floatation to fit. You want about half of your barrels to sit above the water level, spaced apart to keep the ramp from capsizing. This is the guessing part, depending how heavy your kicker is.
Step 9
Using a caulk gun, apply the adhesive to the 1/2" plywood surface, evenly distributing the adhesive across the surface. Apply the fiberglass bath board as you did for the 1/2" plywood, but without screws or nails, only using the adhesive.
Step 10
Paint the ramp to help it last longer in the water.
