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07-07-2016, 12:05 PM
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#1
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Veteran Member
City: Richmond
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 29
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dock stairs
I am looking for a pattern or plan to have a removable ladder/step over the gunwale of our 40 OA trawler which would make dismounting onto dock easier.....we recently saw one on a CHB and would like to create one for our boat....is was reminiscent of a bunk bed ladder from my childhood...
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07-07-2016, 12:22 PM
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#2
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Guru
City: Sarasota/Ft. Lauderdale
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 5,438
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Like this:
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07-09-2016, 06:03 PM
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#3
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Guru
City: Vallejo, California
Vessel Name: Mahalo Moi
Vessel Model: 1986 Grand Banks 42 Classic
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,093
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dock stairs
This is what I plan to make some day.
__________________
Ray
"Mahalo Moi"
1986 GB-42 Classic
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑβΕ
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07-09-2016, 06:15 PM
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#4
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Master and Commander
City: Vallejo CA
Vessel Name: Carquinez Coot
Vessel Model: penultimate Seahorse Marine Coot hull #6
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 12,559
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Giggitoni
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Don't wait too long! I'd much prefer climbing that than the on-dock-mounted stair case you now use. (It looks well within the capability of a 12-year-old in middle-school wood shop, leastwise in the late 1950s.)
__________________
Kar-KEEN-ez Koot
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07-09-2016, 06:19 PM
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#5
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Guru
City: Ft Pierce
Vessel Name: Sold
Vessel Model: Was an Albin/PSN 40
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 28,149
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Giggitoni
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I made 2 of these kind of stairs in 2 consecutive years.
Each year a passing wake or two destroyed them.
A friend gave me a light 3 step plastic stair with handrail by Todd, It has lasted and isn't too heavy to get on and off when traveling.
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07-09-2016, 06:24 PM
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#6
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Master and Commander
City: Vallejo CA
Vessel Name: Carquinez Coot
Vessel Model: penultimate Seahorse Marine Coot hull #6
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 12,559
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Quote:
Originally Posted by psneeld
I made 2 of these kind of stairs in 2 consecutive years.
Each year a passing wake or two destroyed them.
A friend gave me a light 3 step plastic stair with handrail by Todd, It has lasted and isn't too heavy to get on and off when traveling.
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Lousy berth/marina. Regardless, just deploy when needed.
__________________
Kar-KEEN-ez Koot
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07-09-2016, 08:25 PM
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#7
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Guru
City: Ft Pierce
Vessel Name: Sold
Vessel Model: Was an Albin/PSN 40
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 28,149
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Quote:
Originally Posted by markpierce
Lousy berth/marina. Regardless, just deploy when needed.
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Liveaboards tend to use stairs a lot.
I loved the design and look...just impractical for me.
Plus, it just wasn't one marina, lots of East Coast marinas are right on the ICW where wakes are a constant issue in many places.
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07-09-2016, 08:30 PM
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#8
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TF Site Team
City: California Delta
Vessel Name: FlyWright
Vessel Model: 1977 Marshall Californian 34 LRC
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 13,728
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07-09-2016, 08:34 PM
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#9
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Guru
City: Sydney
Vessel Name: Sojourn
Vessel Model: Integrity 386
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 13,333
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyWright
Maybe this is overkill, but I liked looking at them so much, I took these pics. They reside on the stbd side of a 50' Stephens on my dock.
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I`ve seen stairs like those on some older early 1950s Halvorsens, very classy style.
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BruceK
2005 Integrity 386 "Sojourn"
Sydney Australia
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07-09-2016, 10:18 PM
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#10
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Master and Commander
City: Vallejo CA
Vessel Name: Carquinez Coot
Vessel Model: penultimate Seahorse Marine Coot hull #6
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 12,559
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Quote:
Originally Posted by psneeld
Liveaboards tend to use stairs a lot.
I loved the design and look...just impractical for me.
Plus, it just wasn't one marina, lots of East Coast marinas are right on the ICW where wakes are a constant issue in many places.
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You have my sympathy. My deck closely matches the floating docks here, so we merely step over the gunwale. No step/ladder is needed unless one is an invalid.
__________________
Kar-KEEN-ez Koot
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07-10-2016, 06:46 AM
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#11
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Guru
City: Ft Pierce
Vessel Name: Sold
Vessel Model: Was an Albin/PSN 40
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 28,149
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Quote:
Originally Posted by markpierce
You have my sympathy. My deck closely matches the floating docks here, so we merely step over the gunwale. No step/ladder is needed unless one is an invalid.
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Thanks Mark....
Then there are the fixed wooden docks of all shapes and heights.
We dock and dine at a place in Sebastian, Florida where one year the water was so low.....
I had to rig the 6 foot folding dog ramp from my trunk cabin tops angled upward to the fixed dock to get anyone besides me on or off.
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07-10-2016, 07:25 AM
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#12
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Guru
City: Southern Maine
Vessel Model: Prairie 36 Coastal Cruiser
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 2,717
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I don't really have room for the bulk of a set of stairs that adjusts, not to mention room in the budget. I like the idea of steps that hang over the gunnel, but there are so many different dock heights. What barely reaches one dock gets crushed between the boat and the dock at the next stop.
Until I hit upon the right solution, we're carrying around a folding stepladder from the home improvement store, similar to this one:
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07-10-2016, 08:18 AM
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#13
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Guru
City: New England and Canada to Florida
Vessel Name: Tadhana
Vessel Model: Helmsman 38 Pilothouse
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 596
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We have noticed that many cruisers do carry a set of steps. We carry the Todd two step with hand rail. Our boat has a walk out transom door which is perfect in floating docks, and our mid-ship doors are the right height for most fixed docks. But sometimes we find that we need a different solution so we carry steps too. We cruise full time and have found we use the steps about one out of every 5-6 marinas.
Todd Boarding Steps - Double Step Handrail
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07-10-2016, 08:33 AM
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#14
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Senior Member
City: Kingsville, MD
Vessel Name: Harmony
Vessel Model: Pacemaker 1990 37' Convertible
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 287
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Stephens made a nice boat. Looked at a Matthews before getting our Albin. Nice boats - perpetual woodwork. Those old builders took something simple like a boarding ladder to an art form.
__________________
Any day aboard is a good day.
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07-10-2016, 08:42 AM
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#15
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Guru
City: Thibodaux, Louisiana
Vessel Name: Gumbo
Vessel Model: 2003 Monk 36
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,882
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Quote:
Originally Posted by psneeld
I made 2 of these kind of stairs in 2 consecutive years.
Each year a passing wake or two destroyed them.
A friend gave me a light 3 step plastic stair with handrail by Todd, It has lasted and isn't too heavy to get on and off when traveling.
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It looks like making the wooden steps so they could flip up and rest out of the way on the caprail when not in use would keep them safe from wakes and pilings. It shouldn't be a big modification. Maybe they do that now?
At our home slip we have wooden steps screwed to the dock. cruising we carry one of these http://www.walmart.com/ip/Rubbermaid...-Gray/20641056
tied to a handrail so if it gets knocked off the dock we can retrieve it.
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07-10-2016, 08:49 AM
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#16
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Guru
City: New England and Canada to Florida
Vessel Name: Tadhana
Vessel Model: Helmsman 38 Pilothouse
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 596
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Quote:
Originally Posted by psneeld
A friend gave me a light 3 step plastic stair with handrail by Todd, It has lasted and isn't too heavy to get on and off when traveling.
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These steps are very light and being plastic, do not risk scratching the hull/deck when putting them out or bringing them in.
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07-10-2016, 09:43 AM
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#17
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Guru
City: Madeira Beach, FL
Vessel Name: Seaweed
Vessel Model: Schucker mini-trawler
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 1,236
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Dawgfish is a 26' MacGregor. The owner built this step. Something similar looks relatively easy to built for those of us without caprails.
The step makes it easy to bring groceries aboard or to have guests arrive from a dinghy.
I've seen fenders that double as a step with a flat surface to step on top. They looked interesting too. Dual purpose sounds good to me.
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07-10-2016, 09:57 AM
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#18
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Guru
City: Gig Harbor
Vessel Name: Kinship
Vessel Model: North Pacific 43
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 9,046
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Tom, in general I do not like to see these used. While they are certainly strong enough, I don't feel they are stable enough to be used by the people that need them. If someone isn't fit enough, or have good enough balance to be able to get on and off the boat without the stairs, the step ladder isn't safe enough for them.
Just my opinion after watching some fellow boaters attempt to use these.
For our sailboat we had some permanent dockside steps we used. When away from our home dock we used a Fender Step. Our current boat has Fender Steps but they are still too high for my wife to use on most floating docks. She needs two steps to go from the pilothouse to a low floating dock. We are considering the two step Fender Step but haven't decided yet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptTom
I don't really have room for the bulk of a set of stairs that adjusts, not to mention room in the budget. I like the idea of steps that hang over the gunnel, but there are so many different dock heights. What barely reaches one dock gets crushed between the boat and the dock at the next stop.
Until I hit upon the right solution, we're carrying around a folding stepladder from the home improvement store, similar to this one:
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07-10-2016, 10:05 AM
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#19
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Guru
City: Gig Harbor
Vessel Name: Kinship
Vessel Model: North Pacific 43
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 9,046
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Quote:
Originally Posted by janice142
I've seen fenders that double as a step with a flat surface to step on top. They looked interesting too. Dual purpose sounds good to me.
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I have used the FenderStep on my boats for 20 years. They work exceptionally well. Now however, my boat's freeboard is too high for my wife (old, fat, and out of shape by her own admission) to be able to use. Even for me (old, bad knee, but at least tall) it is a stretch. She needs and I could use an extra step.
If you need just one step, I highly recommend these. Easy to use, won't mar the hull, and incredibly strong.
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07-10-2016, 11:11 PM
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#20
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Guru
City: PNW
Vessel Model: 1976 Californian Tricabin LRC
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 1,860
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Made by Little Giant ladders.
All aluminium and very sturdy, stable, wide stance and wide steps that are covered with a non skid rubber like material. Folds up completely flat for transport or storage and can be wheeled about by tipping it backwards onto it's wheels. I have two, a four step which stays at my moorage and a three step which is folded up and goes with us.
The three step was $136 including shipping from Amazon.com.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I highly recommend them.
__________________
Larry B
Careful . . .I Have a Generator and I'm not afraid to use it !
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