Upgraded SR smith spring set ... base holes too small!

[Swimmingly_good]

Hey all.... long time lurker, first time poster.

Our old diving board is being replaced. I have no idea how old it is, as I only bought this house two years ago. Anyway ordered a new SR Smith Frontier III board, and new complete SR Smith Spring Assembly, as instructed byinstaller.

My installer noticed that the old base, which is still in Dang near perfect shape, has mounting holes for the spring assembly that are 1/2” in diameter. This means that the 5/8” bolts for the spring assembly won’t work. The old springs ( which are also in almost perfect condition ) that we removed, also have 1/2” mount holes.
My installer had us buy all this equipment, thinking it would be an easy swap.... but looks like we are in for a bit more work.

Few Questions....
Wondering what brand this older set up was, as it really does look identical to SR Smith. Anyone have some wisdom on this?

Do we re-use the old springs (with new fulcrum) on the base? And what source for bolts, washers, etc do y’all recommend?

If we go with all the new spring assembly, do we get the old base machine drilled to allow the 5/8” bolts, or buy a whole new base?

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[ajw22]

Sounds to me like they realized the bolts needed to be beefed up a bit. I would enlarge the holes on your base and use the 5/8 bolts with the new springs.

 

[Swimmingly_good]

Update: Actually got some good info from the folks at SR Smith..... this base is an Aqua Slide & Dive base from the 80's. SR Smith bought them out many years ago, and changed that design for safety.

Considering this set up is over 30 years old, we are going to upgrade everything. I'm sure the under-deck mount bolts are rusty as heck, and will snap under duress. Sounds like a liability disaster waiting to happen.

Now, given we are starting with a new set up, who has had experience using the SR Smith Epoxy kit to set new mounting hardware? I know a jig is preferred, but we are not in the position to gut our deck to install that. How reliable are these kits?

Thanks again!!!