"Hoges in WA" wrote:


"Rosalie B." wrote in message
.. .
Larry wrote:

snipped
\
But I'm not sure if this was a standard ladder because they also have
a swim platform rigged like this

http://cache.virtualtourist.com/3938...er-Footman.jpg

They sure have a big last step from that platform to the deck!

I'm not sure whether the ladder folds down into the water from the
platform, or up onto the stern or whether they move their ladder from
along the lifelines to the stern/ I took the picture in 2000, and I
didn't even remember seeing that stern platform. We used the ladder
stowed along the sidelines to get onto the boat from the dinghy.

Thanks for the tips. My wife is becoming more reassured. She crushed her
ring finger (and rings) on the swinging ladder of the boat I mentioned
before in Exmouth last year.
Hoges in WA

I've had a number of issues with boarding, and Bob has spent a lot of
time looking for alternate solutions which did not work for me before
he finally gave in to just using our swim ladder.

Purchased ladders that hook to the side of the boat are too high out
of the water for me to be able to get my foot up out of the water to
the lowest rung, or if I can, then my foot is about neck level and (in
common with a lot of women), I can't chin myself or pull myself up far
enough to put my foot on the lowest rung in a more doable
configuration. Using those ladders to get into the dinghy is more
possible, but they tend to slide at the bottom because they are just
hooked over the edge at the top.

At first he thought that the dinghy had to be in the water in order to
use the swim ladder, but when I backed off the dock one November while
folding the sails for winter storage, he found that wasn't true. He
COULD push the dinghy out of the way so that he could deploy ladder.
That may also be part of the reason why he leaves it half down.

Just as an aside - even getting off the boat at a dock may be a
problem. The PO docked stern to, and used the swim ladder as a ramp.
But with the dinghy davits that we added, that wasn't a viable option.

Since we head into the slip, a short finger pier (like at Elizabeth
City) means that I have to climb off over the bow lifelines. At high
tide, a low fixed finger pier means a very long step down. I once
sliced my thigh open on a nail in the piling that I was holding onto
while I stepped down.

Floating docks are similarly a problem for me because they are at the
waterline, and we have a fairly high freeboard. So we carry a step
stool.

grandma Rosalie

S/V RosalieAnn, Leonardtown, MD
CSY 44 WO #156
http://home.mindspring.com/~gmbeasley/id1.html

"Rosalie B." wrote in message
...
snip...
Floating docks are similarly a problem for me because they are at the
waterline, and we have a fairly high freeboard. So we carry a step
stool.

grandma Rosalie



Our skipper had a Rubbermaid 2 step type stool nailed to his slip.
We had to be careful hopping off the Mirage 33 if the helmsman came into the
slip a bit fast. There's not a lot of surface area to land on. ;-)

"Don White" wrote:

"Rosalie B." wrote in message
.. .
snip...
Floating docks are similarly a problem for me because they are at the
waterline, and we have a fairly high freeboard. So we carry a step
stool.

grandma Rosalie


Our skipper had a Rubbermaid 2 step type stool nailed to his slip.
We had to be careful hopping off the Mirage 33 if the helmsman came into the
slip a bit fast. There's not a lot of surface area to land on. ;-)

One of our passengers tried to leap from our boat to the one we were
getting ready to raft on, and fell. He had really badly bruised ribs
(he didn't fall in). He didn't say anything to us at the time, but
his SO told me about it later.

We NEVER jump off in docking. Sometimes it may take two tries, but
Bob has to get the boat close enough to the dock that I can get the
lines on a piling or to a person on the dock. He can get off after
we are attached (although we both have arthritis in our knees - my
sisters orthopedist says that everyone our age has creaky knees - but
his is apparently less advanced than mine).

Or in the case of our home dock, we leave the lines on the pilings on
the pier (fixed dock) and all I have to do is lift them off with a
boat hook and put the lines through the appropriate chocks or hawse
holes. There are chafe guards attached to the lines where they go
through, so I even know how long to leave the lines.

We also do have a wooden step stool that Bob built that is attached to
the pier. He built it after I ripped my thigh open on a nail that
time.

"Rosalie B." wrote in message
...
snipped
Just as an aside - even getting off the boat at a dock may be a
problem. The PO docked stern to, and used the swim ladder as a ramp.
But with the dinghy davits that we added, that wasn't a viable option.

Since we head into the slip, a short finger pier (like at Elizabeth
City) means that I have to climb off over the bow lifelines. At high
tide, a low fixed finger pier means a very long step down. I once
sliced my thigh open on a nail in the piling that I was holding onto
while I stepped down.

Floating docks are similarly a problem for me because they are at the
waterline, and we have a fairly high freeboard. So we carry a step
stool.


We have the same problem of high freeboard and a low dock and it was a
problem for my wife,who is not so tall, to get down when we docked.
Then I saw an item called a 'fenderstep' which is a short fat fender with a
rope at each end so it hangs horizontally and has a nonslip top surface to
stand on.
Now, if she wants to, she can even be standing on it already as we come in
and then it is only a short step down.
We have two so we are ready on both sides if we are coming into a strange
marina and do not know in avance which side we will be docking onto. We use
them solely as steps but they are good fenders too if you want to use them
another way. She used to be wary of docking in case she hurt herself, but
not any more.
It is made by Danfender. Just put 'fenderstep' into Google.

Hoges in WA wrote:
Does anyone have a really truly brilliant system for getting into the water
and out of the water from their boat.

I'm particularly curious about canoe sterns etc but I'm interested in how
anyone manages to exit in particular.

Clip lines? Small davits?

Explanation of systems would be most illuminating also ie how do you go
about it - what sequence.

I've just come back from a night dive onto a new-to-the-dive-industry
charter boat which has a platform at the rear but he hasn't put a ladder on.
It was difficult in the dark to take everything off and hand it up then
(with fins still on) make a seal-like burst onto the back. Lucky it was
very calm tonight, with only a little surface chop and no swell.

It got me to thinking a bit about future exits when I get my boat.

For those who are interested, this was where I was tonight:

http://www.scubaonline.com.au/showdivesite.asp?intID=22

thanks

Hoges in WA



After trying to get back into my boat last year using a swim ladder I
was thinking of getting an Xtend & Climb (http://xtendandclimb.co.uk/new/).

My thought was that I could mount it upside down and store it compacted
with some rope hanging down. That way if I took an unexpected dunk I
could pull it down and get back in.

Any thoughts?

On 2008-03-23 14:23:50 -0400, Rosalie B. said:

"Don White" wrote:

"Rosalie B." wrote in message
...
snip...
Floating docks are similarly a problem for me because they are at the
waterline, and we have a fairly high freeboard. So we carry a step
stool.

grandma Rosalie


Our skipper had a Rubbermaid 2 step type stool nailed to his slip.
We had to be careful hopping off the Mirage 33 if the helmsman came into the
slip a bit fast. There's not a lot of surface area to land on. ;-)

One of our passengers tried to leap from our boat to the one we were
getting ready to raft on, and fell. He had really badly bruised ribs
(he didn't fall in). He didn't say anything to us at the time, but
his SO told me about it later.

Oh, good catch, so to speak.

On one of our charters, a fairly experienced crew member jumped off
despite my "Captain Bligh's" crew instructions (below).

Broke both ankles. Sorta bummed out the crew, and of course he and his
wife spent much time in hospitals immediately and for some years later.
Not sure they ever got to Anegada.

--
Jere Lull
Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/