fender steps - anyone got them?

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niccapotamus

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just after a sensible way of getting on and off the boat from a dinghy rather than using the stern ladder.

fender steps - the three or four "rung" ones look like a plan - simple and easy

anyone use them?

ta

nick
 
I bought some for exactly this purpose.
I tested out the fitting of them on our stopover at Millford Haven but forgot to bring them in before departure.
By the time I reached Holyhead I didn't have them any-more - donated to the sea somewhere off Cardigan Bay I expect.

Sorry, no help to you, just a note of my incompetence :)

FWIW I would think it a good idea and is, as far as I can tell, often used by others - easier than a rope ladder anyway.
 
LadyInBed said:
Two ordinary fenders roped horizontal in parallel?
Click to expand...
Think ordinary fenders will tend to rotate, the fender step (mine at least) has got a non slip surface on the top.
We have a small rib as tender - the single step version works fine for us.
I have used one of these for 5 years - still in one piece
Fender_Step.gif
 
We use this type just to get step up from a pontoon. Our AWB has a high freeboard (for us anyway) and these do a good job. We liked this one as it creates a nice deep step in. The ladder type, if they lie flattish right on the hull, can be a tad narrow we found. 2038838_l.jpg
 
knuterikt said:
Think ordinary fenders will tend to rotate, the fender step (mine at least) has got a non slip surface on the top.
We have a small rib as tender - the single step version works fine for us.
I have used one of these for 5 years - still in one piece
Fender_Step.gif
Click to expand...
+1 for occasional use 9 years: the multi-step ones have quite a narrow space to get your toe into, mine is exactly as the picture.
 
I've got one of the two/three step ladder ones - it is very good.

Bought when the kids were too small to climb aboard unaided it also turns out to be better than a normal fender (good quality and doesn't roll) and good for getting into/out of the dinghy alongside.

I think an issue with the single step ones as pictured in earlier posts is that if they are correctly positioned to act as fenders they don't really give a significant height advantage over stepping up from the pontoon
 
I have a double Fenderstep (called the Fender2step), which I got last year because my new boat has a much higher freeboard than the old one, and my wife was having difficulty getting on board from the pontoon. It works well, has reasonable non-slip treads, stows easily.

Fender2step-Top.jpg
 
I have one of the three step type and found there was an unexpected bonus when getting in and out of the dinghy. If you drop it over the side tube of the dinghy it pins it to the side of the boat as you climb down. Tying it to the midships cleat doesn't really work for me because it needs to be in line with the shrouds for something to hold on to. I just tie it round the bottle screws.
 
I had a three-step version for one season, when it went to a boat jumble. Pretty poor design IMHO and neither of us liked using it. Instead we used one like this for some years, always nice to have something that has more than one purpose. The timber parts were blocks to prevent our toe-rail from being squeezed when being hauled out. Now we have a stern ladder and platform instead.
Ladder.jpg
 
Poor Quality Fender Steps !

Hi

We have the same problem getting up from the dinghy and have to use a Fender step type device.

I have found that the Fenderstep branded ones only have a life of 2 or 3 years !!!. The sunlight causes the plastic to go yellow and sticky (orrible to use and look at)

I have had 3 go in the last 8 years.

I have now purchased a 3 step un-branded one in blue and seems much better quality and because it is not so rounded it is easier to climb as it does not swing arround so much.

good luck
 
niccapotamus said:
just after a sensible way of getting on and off the boat from a dinghy rather than using the stern ladder.

fender steps - the three or four "rung" ones look like a plan - simple and easy

anyone use them?

ta

nick
Click to expand...

Yes got this one (also available in longer lengths and in blue)

Not 100% but a great help once one gets used to the fact that its not rigid,

I hang it on a winch and use it as a fender between the boat and dinghy until I am ready to use it as a ladder , then flip it into the dinghy

A little bit narrow ...... trainers are too wide to fit on it.

DSCF0974.jpg



Yes I know its polyprop rope but it's stronger than my weight and is only exposed to uv for a few minutes........
Just put on temporarily to try the thing out and get the length right before buying and splicing on a piece of polyester
 
I have one like VicS (in the picture) it works well from the pontoon, I don't need it for the dinghy, we have a "walk through" stern and bathing platform which is great for the dinghy.

I'm on the second one in 7 years, the first one broke on the inner corners of the lugs and deflated. It's proved invaluable for some of my less agile crew.
 
Got a four step one that lives on the side deck at shrouds - tied on with a slip knot reachable from the water, so i can get aboard if i fall orf. I use it when i go (intentionally!) swimming also. Three years old now, and not going sticky yet, blue
 
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