Doggy gangplank from pulpit

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jwnall

jwnall

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Joined
Sep 6, 2012
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3,672
Location
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Vessel Name
Morgan
Vessel Make
Gulfstar 36
My slip is not a floating dock, and although there are no humongous tides here, the boat does go up a ways, and down a ways, at times. I like to go in bow first, since I enjoy sitting on the stern and watching the manatees, rather than watching the dock.

I have to sidle down a narrow finger pier to get on the boat from the side. No big problem for me, but trying to get my 80-lb Lab on the boat is a hassle. So I am thinking of trying to build a lightweight gangplank which will go from the pulpit down to the dock in front of the boat. No way that it can come from the side -- it would have to be from the front.

But before tackling such a project, I just wonder if there might be something like that already available? I have done due diligence (searched, that is) but have found nothing.

Many thanks for any suggestions.
 
jwnall said:
My slip is not a floating dock, and although there are no humongous tides here, the boat does go up a ways, and down a ways, at times. I like to go in bow first, since I enjoy sitting on the stern and watching the manatees, rather than watching the dock.

I have to sidle down a narrow finger pier to get on the boat from the side. No big problem for me, but trying to get my 80-lb Lab on the boat is a hassle. So I am thinking of trying to build a lightweight gangplank which will go from the pulpit down to the dock in front of the boat. No way that it can come from the side -- it would have to be from the front.

But before tackling such a project, I just wonder if there might be something like that already available? I have done due diligence (searched, that is) but have found nothing.

Many thanks for any suggestions.
Click to expand...

How high are we talking?
 
Not sure what to call it but have seen similar setups on party barge pontoon boats on the lake for beaching, aluminum I believe. Pm to hopcar and I bet Parks will know what they're called.
 
Greetings,
Bow passerelle perhaps? OK, 5' tide and how far is the pulpit from the dock? As Rover ages, he may have difficulty negotiating steep angles...
riverboat.jpg
 
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I just built a ramp that will attach to the removable boarding ladder brackets on the sides of out President 41. I bought a loading ramp for pickup trucks that are used for loading a motorcycle. It was 8' long originaly and I cut it down to 6' which is the length I needed. Made a hinged bracket to attach to the brackets already on the boat. Added wheels on one end to allow it to roll back and forth on the dock. It was open treads, so I put aluminium plate on the underside. I had LineX spray bedliner on the walkway to give it a good nonskid surface. I will try to attach a photo from before the bedliner was applied.
 
jwnall said:
Um, on a really high tide the bow will probably be five feet above the dock.
Click to expand...

So the ramp would need to be 8-10'long? Supporting 80lbs I'm not sure this is going to be very portable.
Anyway what initially came to mind was a wooden toboggan. You may or may not need to cut the curved end off depending on how you orient it.
Suppose you attached 2 of them together with hinges. A couple of pcs of 1inch sq aluminum tube that's removable to lock the hinge when opened to length.
Throw some then outdoor carpet on it for grip.
 
RT Firefly said:
Greetings,
Bow passerelle perhaps? OK, 5' tide and how far is the pulpit from the dock? As Rover ages, he may have difficulty negotiating steep angles...
Click to expand...

I can pull the boat in as close to the dock as I want it -- generally I have the pulpit about 2' out (at the time of tide when the pulpit is even with the dock).

So far as the aging issue, well, I am aging too. We have about the same life expectancy (10 years). :)
 
We use a telescoping pet ramp we found in Petsmart. It extends out to 70 inches and has worked great with our 90 pound Lab.
 
Greetings,
Mr. jw. I hear ya...Well, the further the pulpit is from the dock, the less steep the ramp will be at max. tidal range. If kept 2' from the dock, @5' of tide, your ramp would need to be at least 6' long IF I did my cipherin' right (square root of 4+25) and she's gonna be some steep. The longer the better, I would think.
 
RT Firefly said:
.Well, the further the pulpit is from the dock, the less steep the ramp will be at max. tidal range. The longer the better, I would think.
Click to expand...

Good point, and one that I had not thought about. Well, I can pull the boat back a lot further in the slip. Longer gangplank, but less steep. Tradeoffs, as so much of life is. The ideal, I guess, would be a telescoping gangplank.
 
Heck you just need to get an insane Lab mix who could just leap that high with wild abandon. Our dog Pearl can leap like a border collie and jumps off the bow pulpit like it's a sidewalk curb. But then she's completely insane in general. I'm going to find her standing on the radar dome someday.

https://youtu.be/cKUsSel485I
 
Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. Very helpful, as always. I ordered a telescoping pet ramp (out to 87 inches) from Amazon this morning, and think that will do the trick. Will need to modify it a tad so that it fastens securely onto the pulpit, but that should not be a problem.
 
Mind if I step in here a second? This thread is one example of why TF is such a great place to hang out. A guy asks a question, others respond with thoughts and ideas and joke videos--problem solved!


Ya gotta love a place like this!
 
Pictures can help a discussion. :)

Please post a photo showing the ramp being used.
 
Steady Hand said:
Pictures can help a discussion. :)

Please post a photo showing the ramp being used.
Click to expand...

Probably going to be more like a photo showing the ramp attached to the boat and the dog absolutely refusing to set foot on it. :)
 
I built a ramp out of wood to test my idea out before making one out of aluminium. It took about 15 seconds and 2 milk bones to get my Lab to go up the ramp. Now I say let's go to the boat and he heads right up onto the sundeck. Gets 2 really small milk bones as a reward. This is a photo of the ramp before I had bedliner sprayed on the walking surface. It folds in half and attaches to brackets on the gunnels of the boat. The wheels allow it to roll back and forth on the dock.
 

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Food is a powerful incentive. :D

 
John, if you can, train your lab with the ramp in his regular environment before going to the boat. (Can't remember if you live aboard, sorry) We bought a ramp before we closed on the new boat and trained Bimini using the deck, front porch stoop, off the truck, etc. so when we asked her to cross the water dock to boat she didn't even question us. That telescoping one is awesome, that's what we got.
 
Besslb said:
John, if you can, train your lab with the ramp in his regular environment before going to the boat. (Can't remember if you live aboard, sorry) We bought a ramp before we closed on the new boat and trained Bimini using the deck, front porch stoop, off the truck, etc. so when we asked her to cross the water dock to boat she didn't even question us. That telescoping one is awesome, that's what we got.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Bess. I am not a liveaboard these days, although I used to be. So will most definitely take your suggestions and get him used to it at home first. Thanks again.
 
Have you considered a sling (for the dog) and a hoist? Just throwing that out there.
 
Marina Christmas Party and Food Rewards

One boat has a brand new swim platform,(aka here, a duckboard). A Meridian owner lays a bread trail to attract the ducks to the new board where the ducks do what they do. Owner of the new swim platform retaliates with a trail of bread on the Meridian, leading right inside through the transom door the owner left open after retiring a little "tired and emotional". The ducks follow the bread trail, next morning I see a frantic incontinent duck inside the Meridian furiously flapping its considerable wingspan at the clears trying to get out.
 
Gotta get your ducks lined up.

 
BruceK said:
One boat has a brand new swim platform,(aka here, a duckboard). A Meridian owner lays a bread trail to attract the ducks to the new board where the ducks do what they do. Owner of the new swim platform retaliates with a trail of bread on the Meridian, leading right inside through the transom door the owner left open after retiring a little "tired and emotional". The ducks follow the bread trail, next morning I see a frantic incontinent duck inside the Meridian furiously flapping its considerable wingspan at the clears trying to get out.
Click to expand...

So . . . Bruce . . . you are hijacking my thread??? :) (Merry Christmas by the way).
 
And as both the owner (?) of the thread, and a mod, I am going to close it. Got all the info I need.
 
Depending on the incline, width and stability, the dog may be find going up but reluctant to come back down. Walls (solid) on the sides may make the dog more comfortable.
 
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