Ersatz Passarelle?

[boatmike]

It is difficult trying to remember all the things I will need for 6 months or so in the Med but one thing I nearly forgot was that with a catamaran I will probably nearly always moor bows or stern to and will need to get off and on! With chandlers prices for a swish passerelle being astronomical I am turning lascivious eyes on an aluminium ladder hung up in my garage. It is 12 ft long, and will therefore stow in one piece across my after deck and is quite light. With a few bits of wood screwed to the bits that will rest on the deck, and some pram wheels on t'other end this would seem to do the job roped on to the bow or stern roller. Anyone see a problem with this? Should I screw some marine ply to the rungs or leave them as they are?

 

[pragmatist]

The only difference I can see between our passerelle (came with the boat) and what you're describing is that ours has wheels at one end - presumably so that as the boat moves the p just slides to and fro - don't suppose its too hard to do and probably _much_cheaper. Never having had the opportunity to deploy it we can't really judge but the boat was in the Med for about 15 yrs before we bought her so assume it works.

 

[Metabarca]

Your solution works fine; it's what we and lots of others have, and we're in the Med, so no need to worry about your image suffering! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[boatmike]

Thanks! Never been too worried about image, but it's nice to know I will be in good company /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Now where did those old pram wheels go?

 

[DavidJ]

It will work, I've seen a few, but it will look totally crap. You probably have a lovely boat and you'll be in a lovely marina but with an eyesore lashup....sorry, lash out £500 and get something you're proud of for ever.
David

 

[AndrewB]

Same here! I don't see the need for the pram wheels though, since it isn't pretending to be posh it hardly matters if it scrapes around a bit. And won't they just make it less stable?

SWMBO's been a bit iffy about the balancing act required, but its no problem as far as I'm concerned. The ladder has proved extremely useful in a number of other roles including climbing up fishing-harbour walls where no fixed ladder is available, for unexpected work ashore in the sort of yard where ladders are like gold-dust, reaching up the forestay to ease furling gear snarl-ups, as a fender board when mooring against pilings, and as an emergency rudder. Wouldn't be without it.

 

[boatmike]

The thinking was that I would screw some 12mm ply to the rungs on one side and have a walkway that "crew" wont need to balance on. If at an acute angle can always turn t'other way up to avoid slipping. I think the wheels would be useful otherwise won't the thing tend to fret on the deck in any swell as the boat goes up and down? Rather than pram wheels I have found some 2 1/2" dia Nylon and have a lathe so intend to make some robust little wheels that can be attached to a stainless steel spindle bolted across the bottom. With respect to DavidJ, I will then be very happy to look at any boat with a £500 chandlers special and think goody goody mine cost nothing! I can have a lot of Taverna meals for £500......

 

[Shanta]

Don't forget to rig up a bridle type thing, preferably with a spreader bar in it so you can lift it up off the pontoon or(what ever). Sometime's the surgeing about can be quite dramatic.

 

[HenryB]

I wouldn't fit wheels because you really need to keep the end well above the quay, normally using a length of bungey. Get the balance by trial and error, so that it drops to the quay easily when someone steps on it. It stops rats walking aboard and deters cats and dogs. Also arrange it so that you can hook it up almost to the vertical when in harbours which suffer with wash from ferries and some mobos. I've seen many passarelles destroyed this way, and a yacht.

 

[MedMan]

Our passarelle is constructed from an aluminium ladder and 12mm ply with the addition of some offcuts of treadmaster that I happened to have glued to the surface. It works just fine.

I wouldn't worry about wheels. If there is a bit of swell creeping in or a gusty cross-wind the movement will not necessarily be fore and aft so your wheels won't help anyway. As HenryB says, you need to keep the end above the quay and allow the spring in the line to let it down to touch the quay when someone stands on it. We don't use bungy. Our 8mm haul-up line goes through a turning block hoisted half way up the fore-triangle on the spinnaker halyard so it has quite enough spring in it to do the trick. If you really want to protect the underside of the passarelle (not a bad idea) just lash a small dinghy fender there - it can move in any plane.

You also need to consider whether to have two hinge points at the boat end (one each side of the ladder) or a single pivoting one. Two hinge points make for a much more solid job with no need for guys but if the bow/stern blows sideways in a gale and the end of the passarelle catches on an electricity outlet pillar, let us say, you could be in for a big repair bill all round. A single pivoting attachment will never be as solid and needs guys (no problem on a cat) to stop it swinging about, but it won't create you a major embarrassment. For what its worth, we use a single pivoting attachment along with thick bungy as the guys.

 

[boatmike]

Good tip. When stern to, no problem as I have a stern gantry to rig a line to. Off the bow will take some thought.... How high can Greek rats jump? ..........

 

[wagenaar]

I made a simple one myself, just two wooden beams of appr. 8 x 4 cm and of the required length. Screw pieces of wood, appr 2 cm thick and 20 cm wide upon them. The length of the pieces to be determined by the desired width of the passarelle. Leave a gap of appr. 5 cm between the cross-pieces. In case you need a ladder, you can use this passarelle by stepping upon the side of the cross-pieces. On the quai-side were wheels and on the ship-side a, rather expensive, construction with a pin, that fitted in a hole in a box welded to the pulpit. This was on a mono, where it is more difficult to fasten the passarelle to the ship. On a catamaran a rope would seem to do the job.

 

[philmarks]

Instead of nylon wheels, get some chunky nylon castors (on galv base) from B&Q. These allow sideways movement as well, as the stern/bow moves. Ball bearings will need lots of grease tho. Haven't got a passarrelle yet myself, but looked at a lot of them last year to get best ideas. Now I have just moved the alu ladder aboard...

 

[boatmike]

Thanks Medman. All sounds like good common sense to me. I rather like the fender on the bottom end idea. Much better and easier than wheels and will certainly stop the end of the ladder digging in if the quayside is either soft or irregular. Having been involved in shipbuilding I am often inclined to do what is traditional an am accused of "overkill". A brow or docking ramp will always have wheels on the end to allow for rise and fall and surge. The biggest problem being severe damage to the brow and or ship itself if the end digs in the dockside on a falling tide, but in the Med there is very little tide so if you simply jack the end up it should remain clear of the dockside and a fender on the bottom should ensure it does not dig in if a ferry passes. I think the single pivot point and guys is the way to go too. Had thought of simply lashing to the bow or stern anchor roller. (I have two forward and one aft) Somewhere in the attic I even have a sheet of Treadmaster looking for a home too! Thanks the advice.

 

[pjohnson]

I made my own with marine ply attached as the walkway, wouldnt recommend the castors as I tried that and the passerelle moves sideways (very dodgy), I have fitted wheels but must admit I hadn't considered rats and yes, cats can get on board, think I will change to bungy. I like to think that mine looks as good as the expensive manufactured ones and even has a removable handrail and probably cost about £20, you could then spend the money saved on something much more important, like beer.

 

[philmarks]

Re castors - don't you brace the Pass'l to prevent lateral movement relative to vessel, or is lateral relative movement required - must happen with single point swivel pin anyway? Had cats on board in Las Palmas, but they just jumped from the quay! Rats...now that's a thought.