How do you get on and off the boat ?

We get around this problem by having a boat that’s easy to climb on and off, no ladder needed. There are swathes of similar boats out there, yet they’re strangely unpopular here.
 
I have one that I think came from Aldi and although only about 6 ft long, l use it on the boat and it would certainly fail some of these tests. Horrible music.
 
I am a Bilge Keeler user and love the ability to dry out / stand on shore ... have more choice of mooring ... OK - that was in past as now boat is at back of my house in private non tidal channel.

BUT having had many years UK sailing ... mooring etc. I can honestly say that rarely did I ever need to get on / off boat dried out. Even for reasonably fit person - such an act is more effort than first appreciated.

I bought a folding Lazilas Ladder that you can mount locking plates on deck for or just hang it over gunwhale. I have a Plastimo roll up plastic ladder you can hang by lines ... I have a rudder that is slightly proud of transom for first step, then two folding brass steps mounted to transom.
Did they work. Yes of course they did .... but like I say - even with a drying mooring that gave me 2 hrs either side of HW - I only remember a couple of times needing to board / get off boat when dried out. Then it was to service the mooring.

As a family we did it once at Priory Bay IoW and another time at Bembridge Beach ..... but family decided that it was not such a great idea..... so we used dinghy when afloat.

Its also to remember that most moorings will be deep silt / mud anyway ... not so many are stones and hard.
 
Something to bear in mind.

My boat is not big - 25ft with a moderate frreboard. A ladder of 5 rungs is NOT good enough if you ever fall in and want to get back on board. I know from bitterly cold own experience. My boat needs a 7 rung ladder so you can at least get foot on first rung.

Those folders that tend to 'swing under' the boat as you try to get on are useless ... I have one. Its only of use for getting off onto low pontoons !

I know some will argue the above ... but I have fallen in Bembridge Hbr in spring time .... within a few minutes I was unable to get my foot up to the rudder or the 5th rung of my Lazilas alloy ladder ... my lower half just went numb ....
 
Refueler said:
...I can honestly say that rarely did I ever need to get on / off boat dried out. Even for reasonably fit person - such an act is more effort than first appreciated. As a family we did it once at Priory Bay IoW and another time at Bembridge Beach ... but family decided that it was not such a great idea...
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Refueler, I don't often find myself agreeing and disagreeing so heartily with the same person at the same time... :LOL:

Undoubtedly a ladder needs to work, to be any use...and a ladder that requires the desperate bone-chilled swimmer to locate his feet carefully in an elusive rope loop or wayward bottom rung, or which may be too short or wobbly, or swing away unpredictably under his weight, is as much a liability as a help. The yachtsman's obsession with compromising the usability of an item like a ladder, in order to make it lightweight and compact, usually by folding, is most of the problem.

I'm certainly not arguing with anyone's disinclination to alight from their boat in muddy places. But for the many other idyllic stopping spots, like Priory Bay...if it was just a plain box-section aluminium ladder, with the top rung strapped securely to the topmost guardwire, and its foot on the firm beach below, how would we classify the crew-member who couldn't happily make that descent or climb? This is a degree of considerable infirmity, and I hope it's doubtful that such a person would ever be expected to use any ladder, anywhere...

...the real issue is, that even for perfectly fit, moderately proportioned, steady-nerved adults and their bold offspring, 'yachting' ladders that are of limited rigidity or dimensions (in order to fit neatly in a locker or on the transom) are frequently well below par, as ladders...

...hence the business of using a ladder to reach the beach is relegated to a difficult, unpleasant or last-resort choice, and yachtsmen (like yourself) tend not to attempt it, however pleasing and freeing the idea of the option might have seemed.

It seems entirely avoidable to me, and unfortunate that almost nobody grasps the obvious and enjoys the benefit. Cut a trademan’s ladder to the height you need, and stow it outside the guardrails.

srm said:
Boat came with suitable length alloy ladder. It stows against the guardrails along the foredeck. Nice and simple, out of the way most of the time but very useful when dried out...I did use it once as a fender board when we had to moor alongside a pier supported by wood piles.
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Smart. I've always been surprised how few people carry fender-boards as a defence against daft or unlucky neighbours/rafters, but an ordinary shore-style ladder is ideal for the purpose.
 
Priory Bay :

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penfold said:
One of those telescopic ladders surveyors use should fit the bill and not take up too much space in the meantime.
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Be careful with these. A company I was contracting for suddenly banned them for all its staff. It seems that the buying dept had bought several makes & many of those on the market are inclined to collapse if not properly latched. A small amount of dirt etc. will make them dangerous. One of the employees was hurt quite badly when it slid shut on him. On testing, quite a few variations were found to be sub standard.
They now use a particular folding pattern.
 
Daydream believer said:
It seems that the buying dept had bought several makes & many of those on the market are inclined to collapse if not properly latched. A small amount of dirt etc. will make them dangerous. One of the employees was hurt quite badly when it slid shut on him. On testing, quite a few variations were found to be sub standard.
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Like everything in life, you get what you pay for. A Werner item costing £140 will be properly designed and tested, and consequently, fine. An ebay no-brand 'bargain' costing £40 will be unsafe untested penny-pinched rubbish.
 
One competent Jesterer's solution....

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Also....

I would also caution against BLIND trust in those clipped-to-the-rail MOB ladders in fabric bags. One of these was 'offered' to me in real need one day. When my much-increased body weight came on as I clambered up the rungs, the plastic hooks holding it to the rail broke off, dumping me right back in the water.

The unit had been in place for a year or three, we guessed, and the plastic ( nylon? ) hooks had been degraded by UV radiation. Consequently, when it was really needed, it failed UN-safe.
 
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Humm , well having been aboard a Training Club Craft on the river Dart many years ago , we came accross a Fella , up to his neck in the river , holding onto the stern of his craft ; a dinghy was astern on a line , half full of water , the stern boarding Ladder was secured up high out of fellas reach , he was lightly dressed , (guess he had a pint or two) and was quite exhausted when we came accross him : WE got him aboard easily , he was transfered to local c lub otor launch for taking to local pub for an ambulance ; The fella only kept muttering , Thank You , Thank You , Thank You , add infinitum

He was most lucky that we had seen him before turning back to head back to base

Oft wondered about the fella , if he made it /recovered OK
 
Refueler said:
... My boat is not big - 25ft with a moderate frreboard. A ladder of 5 rungs is NOT good enough if you ever fall in and want to get back on board. I know from bitterly cold own experience. My boat needs a 7 rung ladder so you can at least get foot on first rung.

Those folders that tend to 'swing under' the boat as you try to get on are useless ... I have one. Its only of use for getting off onto low pontoons !

I know some will argue the above ... but I have fallen in Bembridge Hbr in spring time .... within a few minutes I was unable to get my foot up to the rudder or the 5th rung of my Lazilas alloy ladder ... my lower half just went numb ....
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ISO and ABYC both now require boarding ladders to have two full rungs below the water (about 22 inches). It must also be deployable by a swimmer without assistance.

It's a safety thing, so there is no good excuse not to upgrade to the standard. I have upgraded boats in the past, for 30 years before this became the stand. It just makes sense. I upgraded to 3 steps below the water, more suitable for aging sailors (the first time it was my parents, now it is for me!).
 
Capt Popeye said:
Humm , well having been aboard a Training Club Craft on the river Dart many years ago , we came accross a Fella , up to his neck in the river , holding onto the stern of his craft ; a dinghy was astern on a line , half full of water , the stern boarding Ladder was secured up high out of fellas reach , he was lightly dressed , (guess he had a pint or two) and was quite exhausted when we came accross him : WE got him aboard easily , he was transfered to local c lub otor launch for taking to local pub for an ambulance ; The fella only kept muttering , Thank You , Thank You , Thank You , add infinitum

He was most lucky that we had seen him before turning back to head back to base

Oft wondered about the fella , if he made it /recovered OK
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If he didn't collapse immediately after you scooped him out of the water his prospects were very good, although he'd have needed observation until fully warmed and perhaps overnight in case of inhaled water.
 
penfold said:
If he didn't collapse immediately after you scooped him out of the water his prospects were very good, although he'd have needed observation until fully warmed and perhaps overnight in case of inhaled water.
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Hi 'penfold' thank you

I did ask the Club Boat Skipper if they had a suitable Blanket on board to keep the fella warm , at least , but they did not , which is a great pity for a Training Club safety boat , I think ?
 
I don't believe anybody was suggesting routinely or permanently berthing the boat in a place where a ladder must be used.

All the berths I've used were marina pontoons or mud, which either didn't need or wouldn't suit a ladder...but many nice places I've sailed close to, would have been easily accessible for all aboard, young and old, had there been a decent long-enough ladder aboard.
 
dancrane said:
I don't believe anybody was suggesting routinely or permanently berthing the boat in a place where a ladder must be used....
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The OP seemed to imply routinely:

... we've gone for a bilge keeler with the intention of taking to the ground as often as possible ....

My stern ladder is just 4 inches off the ground (every boat I have owned--3 of them). Four steps in the water. It is all I need for boarding when on the hard, which is handy.
 
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