ok, so as a lot you predicted the rail was too high. fuck.
but instead of giving up there i decided that i had invested too many hours on this thing to let it die. so i went to home depot and bought some more wood. i build, as was suggested, a longer and shorter rail. a foot shorter and a whole lot longer.
this one's about a foot and a half high, and 20 feet long.
here's the drop in, with the additional railings and ladder
haven't tried it yet, but it's got to work. i don't see anything potentially wrong with it. any final suggestions or predictions? thanks for the help