diy passarelle, boarding gangway

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richievtu

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Recently posted in a different section but hope to get some response here!
I plan to make a passarelle and favour using an aluminium 4 piece folding ladder as the base as I know people have done so here, I would like to know how successfull these have been as I plan to use mine daily and concerned about weight load, also interested in any other passarelle designs but a folding type would be perfect, so long as it doesnt fold whilst im on it!
 
I used a two piece extending ladder (normal type). It had to have wood screwed to the rungs on one side with non-slip battens attached, as sometimes there is considerable slope.
The landward end was fitted with wheels and also held just clear of the jetty with a bungy loop which allowed my weight to drop it. The ladder was also useful when on the hard and to reach radar/windmill/antennae etc. on a pole at the stern. The main problem was attaching to the boat: we needed both bows and stern to depending on circumstances, and did not have a proper articulating fitting at either end. A piece of strong tubing from the main mooring post on the foredeck pointing overboard a right angles to the lubber line, fitted nicely into the hollow rung and was suitably lashed. at the stern there was enough deck to use once it was padded. The ladder stowed neatly against the stanchions at sea.
Paint/dremel your ships signature on it of course!
 
Windlass100 said:
I made one a couple of seasons ago - very light and easily handled. Used a Jewson's 4.2m ladder as it had square rungs which allowed good seating for the 6mm ply decking which was riveted to each rung. The decking is strong enough but might replace in future with 8mm. Found a couple of good wheels in Homebase for the outer end. Used some plastic piping for inner end protection of the cockpit.
The ladder/passerelle sits on the side deck lashed to the guardrail when on passage. Put a couple of rubber feet (Homebase door stops!) on the side to lift off the deck.
Does the job! And copied by many in the marina.
When in use I use the topping lift plus block at stern for "local" height adustment. Use a bungee to hold just off the pontoon.
Click to expand...


Any pics? (so i can copy it--cheekysmillything)
 
here's another

here's a description of how I made mine

http://sybrancaleone.blogspot.com/2009/04/eng-light-foldable-aluminum-gangway.html


open
P1050608.jpg



folded
P1050606.jpg





here a couple of pictures when mounted on the boat
http://sybrancaleone.blogspot.com/2009/08/passerella-allopera.html
 
I made one out of plywood which works really well.
The key feature was that I curved the sides to match the bulwarks of the boat ie. when in position it has a slightly arched appearance which also might be good engineering. Anyway, this curvature allows it to stow very neatly along the guard rail. The two side pieces are linked by the steps so that the passeralle doubles as a ladder when required. Final points , it is really light and has lasted for five years so far. Further details available if interested. Cheers.
 
If you are not too concerned with having a really smart finish as in the pics above, then it might be worth using a scaffolding plank as the walking surface when the passarelle is laid out.

Advantages.

less weight than the combined unit
plank can be used in conjunction with fenders in deep locks
plank can be used when painting / varnishing
frees ladder for other laddery work


A couple of holes in each end, and a length of small line to secure the plank to the ladder.
 
This is mine, simple and pretty cheap.
IMG_1277.jpg

I was not able to buy a single ladder but had to buy a two-piece one. However I sold the other half as a yard ladder at a YC jumble. The original plywood deck was 6 mm but this was not strong enough, replaced last year with 12 mm, epoxy coated with International non-slip granules. It is attached to the ladder with tie-wraps so it can be removed easily, but tie-wraps degrade very quickly in Med sun so I will use another method this year.

The wheels came from a French DIY shop. The yoke and swivel were the most difficult to obtain. They came from Accastillage Diffusion by mail order but it transpired that although their website showed what I now have, what they were selling was just the socket part that attaches to the boat. They managed to obtain the real thing for me but have now removed it from their website.

The whole thing is about half the weight of a scaffolding plank and fits fairly tidily between two stanchions. I fancy the idea of the folding one but doubt if I could stow it.
 
boarding plank

bought a builders plank some years ago in crete put a line through one end this tied to the bot and let the other end slide around the quays where we tied up not fancy but it worked the end on the quay is worn down a bit but still ok.
 
I've been using one of these folding ladders in the yard - kept chained to the cradle. Just a warning that the springs in the hinges rust rather readily and need to be kept greased. WD40 will get them moving nicely, but I think a bicycle chain lubricant spraycan would be better long term maintenance.

Rob.
 
mobeydick said:
Is the balsa actually doing anything?

MD
Click to expand...

Yes, it keeps the skins apart and makes a composite beam of it. Rather like the honeycomb cores in structural composites, not strong in themselves, but resistant to crushing just like the end grain balsa forming the majority of this beam. It means the skins are almost totally under tension - they're not nearly as strong under compression.

Rob.
 
Thanks everyone for the usefull info, I like the idea of it being foldable as I could stow it somewhere secure when not on board & have the option of making it longer or shorter depending on where/how moored. I would however have to make sure each section of plywood was free of gaps where it hinges if possible as my dog will be the main user.
I currently have one made from 3x3 tanalised timber with floorboards running accross it. It has served its purpose but when saturated with water becomes v heavy. Its also too short being about 6.5' & at quite an angle when in flood as the deck is maybe 4' higher than the shore!
 
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