boarding from dock side

We are about to enter the world of Trawlers from sail boats and wondered how people and pets get on board from dock side. Is there folding steps etc.?

All kinds of ladders and steps and entry points to and from, depending on boat design. Including those that articulate with the tide.

Bellakins said:

We are about to enter the world of Trawlers from sail boats and wondered how people and pets get on board from dock side. Is there folding steps etc.?

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Depending on dock height and configuration our lab either steps right onto the swim platform and up into cockpit or we use dock steps to enter midship port or stb. Steps are plastic or metal and can be standalone or attached to the boat. Check out marquipt or tracy international dock stairs or dock steps (quick google search should pick them both up). West marine also has simple steps often used by sailboats.

Little giant available on Amazon in different sizes. Sturdy and travel friendly.

Holly's a 45lb one off and boards amidships as we do. It took about 10 minutes with some treats to train her. Lena made a Sunbrella cover that protects the teak cap rail and paint plus it gives Holly some additional traction. Two snaps is it. Morgan, our last dog boarded, the same way. On a high, fixed dock, we have a dog ramp and she boards at the bow.

https://www.chewy.com/solvit-ultralite-bi-fold-pet-ramp/dp/53683

It depends on the dock height and the design of the boat. There is no one way. Get your boat and you'll figure it out.

all due respect, I think you're asking the wrong question. The real question is how to get them back on board after they hit the drink.

Over the years, all of my dogs have jumped/fallen in and although most of the time they just swim to the swim step and I grab a handful of fur and up they come. there are those times when they panic and it becomes a challenge. Farley fell in and took off one day under a dock and I had to go after her. The White Dog jumped in one day to swim after me when I took off in the dink and thankfully some neighboring anchored boats saw it happen and rescued him. Mac jumped off while we were motoring in to the ballard locks and Ron jumped off the flybridge just as we were backing out of a slip in Poulsbo.

All of the suggestions for ramp assistance suggested will work. its the surprises that add excitement. Have fun

toni

Toni, I am not a lover-of-dogs-on-boats, but I see plenty of dogs on boats all the time. The best solution that I have seen are those owners that have their dogs where a simple harness with a grab strap on the back. This can be grabbed with a boat hook or your hand. The harness is very low profile and doesn’t hinder the dog at all. The harness can be tossed into the washing machine to clean as the occasion warrants.

dhays said:

Toni, I am not a lover-of-dogs-on-boats, but I see plenty of dogs on boats all the time. The best solution that I have seen are those owners that have their dogs where a simple harness with a grab strap on the back. This can be grabbed with a boat hook or your hand. The harness is very low profile and doesn’t hinder the dog at all. The harness can be tossed into the washing machine to clean as the occasion warrants.

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I have a 9 pound Maltese. He doesn’t leave my side. When the engine starts he runs around until I put his life jacket on. Then he is skipper on the bridge in his seat.

As above, many options but all based upon the dog, the dock, and the boat. Old, gimpy people also require exploring options.

We've had several dogs aboard. Each of them had their own ideas about how or how NOT to get aboard. Some dogs don't like docks at all, or boats. Some are perfectly content with ramps or dock steps.

Our own, now deceased, 60 lb American Black and Tan Coonhound, in her youth and right up to this summer, found it most convenient to leap, gracefully like a gazelle, from dinghy or dock to the boat, but even more convenient to leap off the boat to the dinghy or dock. We found it necessary to use dog gates to keep her away from parts of the boat that overlapped the dock. She would not tolerate being lifted by harness.

We have a Kyjen-Grandy PFD for our dog. He is a 80 pound black lab. It has 2
Grab handles on the top so we can pick him up in case he goes in the water. It velcros securely around his belly with snap straps also. A few days of training with some treats and he likes to wear it and doesn’t mind being picked up and carried.

DHeckrotte said:

Our own, now deceased, 60 lb American Black and Tan Coonhound, in her youth and right up to this summer, found it most convenient to leap, gracefully like a gazelle, from dinghy or dock to the boat, but even more convenient to leap off the boat to the dinghy or dock. We found it necessary to use dog gates to keep her away from parts of the boat that overlapped the dock. She would not tolerate being lifted by harness.

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I didn’t mean to suggest that the dog would be lifted on and off the boat using a harness regularly, only that it was a way to be able to retrieve a dog that went overboard.

Our dog is small enough to be carried onto or off of the boat. This is also a lot safer in areas where there is a lot of current because a small dog can easily be swept under a floating dock and might not come out on the other side.

She is also kept on a leash (as most marinas require) so if she were to jump or fall into the water we have a much better chance of recovering her. She wears a DFD and her leash in the dinghy.

As for the humans, we have been at a few fixed docks where we had to climb onto the side decks and then sit on the docks to get off and reverse the process to get back on. It seems some docks are constructed without boaters in mind.

On most floating docks it's just stepping onto the swim platform and then through the transom door.

Love the Tracy, but they are exporbitantly priced!

I should add that we have a 75 lb German shepherd. We didn't have her when we had the sailboat. We're now contemplating a 36' Heritage East, in part because of its accessibility for her. However, with different dock situations I'm sure we'll need a couple of ways to get her on and off the boat from shore and from the dinghy. I think we've got the dinghy figured out, but trying to figure out what would be good for a variety of dock situations.

folding dog ramp...even used it ourselves for some weird docking setups....


https://www.chewy.com/solvit-ultralite-bi-fold-pet-ramp/dp/53683?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=hg&utm_content=Solvit&utm_term=&gclid=Cj0KCQiAv_HSBRCkARIsAGaSsrBUGd-NOHaJ5POHVtQ6qR_qx6MFKuEUK-c1SjYtP-zCEC8Kpw7NbGwaAro0EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds