boarding ladder - bodger or brilliant?

[PhillM]

I would like to add a boarding ladder for swimming and of course in the case of MOB. For various reasons a transom mounted one may not be the answer, so I am thinking about one of those removable ones which hook over the gunwale. Like this one:

https://www.force4.co.uk/lalizas-aluminium-ladder-5-steps-h136xw35cm.html

As I have no guard rails and no gunwale of any real depth, I was wondering about using a couple of guard rail feet into which the hooks could be inserted. Good idea / bad idea?

If a good idea, would you screw the feet down or through bolt?

Comments and other solutions welcome.

 

[sarabande]

Very little leverage, so screws would be OK. You might need a couple of wooden plugs for the sockets when not in use, to prevent 'apple coring' someone's foot.

 

[johnalison]

The height given is 1.36m. It looks to me that with an average boat there would not be much ladder in the water. It might suit a fit person for swimming and boarding but I'm not sure that it could be relied on for emergency use, especially as it will not be securely fixed. My stern ladder goes well down into the water but even so my wife with a wonky knee finds that she needs all of it to re-board after a swim. For me, it would also be quite a large thing to stow.

 

[prv]

The height given is 1.36m. It looks to me that with an average boat there would not be much ladder in the water.

Good point to consider - but Phill's boat is a classic 24-footer so his topsides are presumably considerably lower than an "average" boat.

Pete

 

[LadyInBed]

I would use a couple of wooden blocks with holes in and pins attached to hold the ladder in place.

 

[thinwater]

Pontoon boats commonly use similar ladders that come with the brackets. No reason to invent anything. I had a similar ladder on my Stiletto 27.

https://www.overtons.com/product/details?pdesc=Dockmate-Swim-Ladder-4-Step&i=321212

 

[PhillM]

Thank you. I shall investigate.

 

[lw395]

We have a sort of rope ladder.
Top few treads which touch the topside gloss paint are small fenders.
Below-water treads are SS tube.
Bottom one is lead weighted.

Also good for boarding yacht from tender/ water taxi.
A 'man-rope' from a shroud is a good addition.

 

[PCUK]

Flush fit sockets.

 

[Eeyore]

Careful of the rung material! I had a similar one by Plastimo, in the heat of the Med, the rungs disintegrated when stepped on and the person boarding suffered badly cut and bruised knees.

 

[coopec]

I agree with PRV (et al) that it would be OK for a 24 ft yacht. In the event of an injured MOB the crew hopefully would have the strength to haul the person on board.

My yacht has a minimum of 1.3 m (4ft 3in) free-board so the ladder would have to be a minimum of 6 ft(?)

I am haunted by the story of a wife trying to haul her injured husband on to deck but as she didn't have the power she had to lash him to the ladder for several days. As I have substantial stanchions/pushpit I'm going to mount a rope pulley to the pushpit so I could haul a hefty injured person on board using a sheet winch.



Clive

 

[coopec]

This is an interesting and informative forum regarding boarding ladders.

http://www.alliedseawindii.org/kbase/equipment/hdkr/boarding-ladders/boarding-ladders.html

Clive