Extending boarding ladder?

My boarding ladder is two parts, 4 rungs and 4 rungs below the hinge so there are 3 rungs below the water surface . No problem when I went swimming when getting in the dinghy... problem was getting the catch on the top rung released so I could fully lower the ladder - now has a rope attached to the catch with a handle a few inches above the waterline.
 
dgadee said:
Yes, I wondered about that approach but couldn't see how the lowest section could be stopped from moving away when boarding. I think it's probably cheaper to do it with tube and get the two bends put in by the local stainless fabricator, than by buying a second ladder.
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Ubolt on each leg sees to keeping the lower two sections rigid else, yes, the bottom section would swing away.
I drew up all sorts of bespoke arrangements but stainless fabricators in England and Spain want more money and more time than I could afford. Buying a second ladder for 120€ just for the bottom half seemed like a bargain last year, two weeks before we sailed off to the Balearics. It was in use most days for four months when having a shower was mostly soaping up in the cockpit and jumping off the back of the boat and swimming around a bit!
 
PetiteFleur said:
My boarding ladder is two parts, 4 rungs and 4 rungs below the hinge so there are 3 rungs below the water surface . No problem when I went swimming when getting in the dinghy... problem was getting the catch on the top rung released so I could fully lower the ladder - now has a rope attached to the catch with a handle a few inches above the waterline.
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Just wondering how you raise the lower part of the ladder once you are on deck? I think I'll have to use a system of pulleys and rope.

Do you use Velcro to hold the ladder in place with a rope dangling in the water so the Velcro can be undone to lower the ladder by a man overboard?

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This is the result ... I had a large piece of iroko lying about, tube of 304 was £36 for 6 metres (I am using the rest) and Ards Stainless charged me less than £10 a bend. Now I can get back on board after a dip.
 
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dgadee said:
This is the result ... I had a large piece of iroko lying about, tube of 304 was £36 for 6 metres (I am using for the rest) and Ards Stainless charged me less than £10 a bend. Now I can get back on board after a dip.
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You pay around the same to have SS tube bent professionally as I do here.

That's a great ladder! I'm very interested in how you raise yours when on deck although I'll have a slightly different problem since my transom has traditional sheer.
 
coopec said:
You pay around the same to have SS tube bent professionally as I do here.

That's a great ladder! I'm very interested in how you raise yours when on deck although I'll have a slightly different problem since my transom has traditional sheer.
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I tested it with a piece of rope tied to the bottom rung and it comes up fine.
 
dgadee said:
View attachment 94193

This is the result ... I had a large piece of iroko lying about, tube of 304 was £36 for 6 metres (I am using the rest) and Ards Stainless charged me less than £10 a bend. Now I can get back on board after a dip.
Click to expand...

It may be too late now but if the width of the folding ladder have been was such that the ladder wes wide enough to go each side of the fixed ladder the angle could be better whild up and down. You could also have an adjustable stop at the lower position.
 
Rogershaw said:
It may be too late now but if the width of the folding ladder have been was such that the ladder wes wide enough to go each side of the fixed ladder the angle could be better whild up and down. You could also have an adjustable stop at the lower position.
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Ha! Critics!
 
dgadee said:
Boarding ladder only goes about 9 to 12" into water at stern. Pretty difficult to get back after a dip and probably impossible to get MOB up after a longer dip. This was the longest folding one I could get my hands on, but it's not long enough.

Should I extend with another step with some stainless work or would - as someone suggested today - just making a rope type ladder extension from horizontal tube and vertical webbing work? HIs idea is that it would pack away neatly and just hang down when the folding ladder was let down.
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Well worth getting a fabricator to add another step to match, something stable that doesn't swerve under the transom. Pieces of rope will fail and get in the way / collect weed. Definitely nul points.
Advise against going overboard on this project - a ladder projectding 6 ft down into the water will be a burden - half that is good enough - but with good grips / handles.
reachable from the water.
As MOB aid, deeper ladders would be useful if the MOB is conscious, otherwise immaterial to the douty task of hauling a deadweight back on board.


PWG
 
peter gibbs said:
As MOB aid, deeper ladders would be useful if the MOB is conscious, otherwise immaterial to the douty task of hauling a deadweight back on board.

PWG
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I plan to mount a 4" sheave (pulley) to my push-pit with a dynema line attached to it so I could winch the MOB up using a sheet winch.

Worth considering?
 
This is at low tide. I will look around for plastic pipe clips to hold it up in place - that's how it works on the other boat. A piece of rope to water level will mean that you can pull it down if aob.

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dgadee said:
This is at low tide. I will look around for plastic pipe clips to hold it up in place - that's how it works on the other boat. A piece of rope to water level will mean that you can pull it down if aob.
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You'd prefer plastic pipe clips to velcro?
 
coopec said:
You'd prefer plastic pipe clips to velcro?
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I might fall in leaning over to attach velcro straps! Or have you another suggestion? These are the things I have on the other boat and no problem with ladder coming loose:

1594200471015.png
 
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