Ladders Platforms etc

[TiggerToo]

I am finally getting down to planning the purchase of a new step-ladder to work on the boat, when up on the hard.

The old one I have is an A frame, and it's pretty wobbly.

Has anyone got any view/experience of those "bridge frames" , platforms etc for working on the topsides?

Any suggestions and advice will be welcome.

 

[ithet]

I find ladders limiting and unsecure.

I have seen someone using a small tower like this on their yacht and thought it very good (he let me try it). I liked the enclosed platform and it seemed stable enough. Packed up pretty small when disassembled. I am thinking of purchasing a 4/5m one myself:

https://www.laddersandscaffoldtowers.co.uk/acatalog/Premium-DIY-Scaffold-Towers.html

 

[johnalison]

I haven't explored what is currently on the market, but I bought a platform from Homebase some years ago for this purpose. It cost around £120 at the time and has revolutionised my fitting-out. Stability is obviously an important factor and suitable 'wings' are necessary. Folding platforms such as mine, that fits inside my car, are going to be much shorter than scaffolding planks, but for occasional work on an average boat they are good enough for me. Working at a comfortable height in safety is almost a pleasure, compared to trying to balance on a shaky ladder.

 

[Daydream believer]

I have a 1200 square, galvanised scaffold tower. I find it far safer for working on the boat, having had falls from step ladders in the past. They give a good working area & one can put tools on the platform to save going up & down all the time. Being square, rather than rectangular, I find it a bit more stable , for lower work; than some versions that require braces to use, even at lower height.
In 2 halves with a short Youngmans between, it makes a long work section
Very handy at home for the usual jobs, painting, cleaning gutters etc.

 

[pvb]

Stepladders can be rather wobbly when working on the topsides. I bought an aluminium tower about a year ago, for doing some repairs on the house, and I took the bottom section of it up to the marina this summer when I had the boat out for polishing. It made the job so much easier and more secure.

The tower I bought was "Loyal" branded, from https://www.aluminium-scaffoldtowers.co.uk/ The quality is very good, strong welds, clever joints with captive pins, robust locking ends on the bracing struts. I'd recommend getting the height-adjustable wheels, these make moving and levelling the platform much easier.

 

[Daydream believer]

I find ladders limiting and unsecure.

I have seen someone using a small tower like this on their yacht and thought it very good (he let me try it). I liked the enclosed platform and it seemed stable enough. Packed up pretty small when disassembled. I am thinking of purchasing a 4/5m one myself:

https://www.laddersandscaffoldtowers.co.uk/acatalog/Premium-DIY-Scaffold-Towers.html

Good idea, except that one should note that the 4 meter height in the picture is, possibly, the person's eye line, not the working platform height.
I wonder how a person of small stature (not allowed to say dwarf, I believe) would fair, if he claimed that the advert was mis-representative of the product:ambivalence:

 

[blush2]

We have been using a Youngmans ladder/platform for 25+ years. It is pretty substantial and consists of two ladder sections about 7ft long, a platform that hooks onto them, and a stabilising bar. The ladder sections can be put together to make a ladder about 10ft high, or an A-frame set of steps, which can also be adjusted to use on stairs. It is quite stable (depending on the evenness of the boatyard surface) and will go inside a hatchback for transport.

This is not really high enough for our current 40 footer, so we did have a share in a proper scaffold tower, which brought us up to deck height. However, frequently yards don't leave enough space between boats to use it alongside the boat, so we now have a very lightweight scaffold tower similar to the one shown above, but not as high. This is not terribly stable and has been known to blow over in strong winds, so needs to be tied to the boat for safety reasons. When dismantled it will go on a car roof.

Bear in mind that anything like that will need to be locked up when not in use or it will be borrowed.

 

[langstonelayabout]

From a 'work work' point of view we were always taught to use a step ladder to inspect, but never to actually work from. For that, a suitable platform is required, like a scaffold platform, A-Frame platform, MEWP, etc.

Please don't work from a step ladder or ladder. I'm one of the many who have fallen from one whilst working. I wasn't hurt, but you might be the next one who is...

 

[ithet]

TiggerToo, you need to establish what working height you need. How high above ground are you gunwales when the the boat is chocked up? With my old bilge keeler I could manage on a folding platform, but that is not enough for a fin keel.

 

[pvb]

Good idea, except that one should note that the 4 meter height in the picture is, possibly, the person's eye line, not the working platform height.
I wonder how a person of small stature (not allowed to say dwarf, I believe) would fair, if he claimed that the advert was mis-representative of the product:ambivalence:

There's an established convention for describing all of these towers. The actual height of the tower frame is 1m more than the max platform height, and the "working height" is 2m above the platform. So, a tower with framework 3m high would be deemed to have a 4m "working height".

 

[pvb]

TiggerToo, you need to establish what working height you need. How high above ground are you gunwales when the the boat is chocked up? With my old bilge keeler I could manage on a folding platform, but that is not enough for a fin keel.

With my fin keeler in a cradle, the toerail is about 3.5m above ground level, so I need a platform around 1.5m above ground to be able to polish the topsides.

 

[Topcat47]

I have an old steel tower, I bought to work at home. It's 4' square and in my club, boats are arranged so closely together ashore over winter, I cannot get it between the next boat and mine. It's something to bear in mind before investing.

 

[richardbrennan]

I have one of those ladders that come in four folding sections and can be used as a platform with the two ends more or less vertical, and the middle sections horizontal. The ends have a wide base and I have not found stability a problem. However, they do come in at least two sizes, so you need one that is high enough. I would also not use one without the side rail or platforms that go across the rungs.

 

[rogerthebodger]

This is the type of platform I used when doing work along the whole length of the boat.

I do have a folding platform that I used for small sections but I moved towards the end one day and my foot went off the end while I was using and angle grinder and almost cut one of my finger off. I stopped using it with power tools after that.

Folding platform in the background upping a workbench.

 

[coopec]

I built up a platform with wheels on one end and a sack trolley on the other end. The legs fold for storage or transport to another site.