Companion way ladder.

[EASLOOP]

I am (trying to) build a companionway ladder for my sloop. It is about 5 feet long (the ladder, not the sloop) with treads about 18" wide.

Does anyone know how thick the timber (hardwood) should be. I don't want to get too heavy timber nor so thin that it bounces.

Your thoughts would be most appreciated.

John

p.s. How deep should the treads be?

 

[billcowan]

depends on the type of wood, and the absence of any knots etc.

Best cut the steps from an old hardwood tabletop or something, as new wood is pretty crap - or very expensive.

thickness, 25mm would be a good starting point. you are likely to get a 20stone man jumping on them sooner or later.

you can strengthen steps considerably by gluing and screwing a 25x25 fillet along underneath, or better still if you can fill in completely with a riser, like on proper stairs.

 

[syfuga]

I'd go a tad thicker, not to look too mean. Ours are beach I think and about 28mm.

 

[dickh]

On my Moody33 they are about 20mm thick, about 18" long and about 4" wide. The sides are about 25mm thick and about 5" wide. Seems pretty strong to me - made of Mahogany.

 

[DinghyMan]

I've done a few ladders for canal boats and bunk beds - the easiest way to add a lot of strength is to add a couple of stainless steel reinforcements; lengths of stainless threaded bar accross the ladder underneath a couple of steps with recessed self-locking nuts at each side. Cut slots in the vertical pieces to take the steps and you can get away with thinner wood. I would say 25 is absolute min - other option is use 25mm but put vertical strengthener under each step just behind front of step, sort of like a ¬ shaped step.

 

[Blueboatman]

18'' wide is wide.By reducing this dimensiion to 12'' i would be happy with22-25mm planed Mahogany,which is readily available from any reasonable timber yard.Use a sharp knife,angled set square and arouter to notch each step into the uprightsand long screws too.The sides, should be- for simplicity- the same thicknes and depth as the treads.Nonslip trackmark or tape is useful,as are good catches to secure the ladder including at the bottom

 

[snowleopard]

I've just built a domestic staircase with treads around 33" wide. The material I used for the treads was 9 x 1 PAR, i.e. softwood which, after planing, is only around 20mm thick. The fact that they feel completely rigid is down to the fact that the riser (9mm ply) stiffens them.

The last wooden set I built for a boat were 25 mm hardwood and that seemed more than adequate.

On my present boat the steps from bridgedeck to hull are tapered alternate ways so you get more space to step when going down without having to turn round and go down backwards. The sequence of treads is arranged so that on either ladder, whether you're going up or down the rule is 'always start with the left foot'. It works pretty well.