Boarding stairs

WE are looking into getting boarding stairs for our 43 ft President trawler. How hard is it to remove the stairs when traveling and deploy them when at a dock. How is it done and are they very heavy ,, thank you

KEVMAR said:

WE are looking into getting boarding stairs for our 43 ft President trawler. How hard is it to remove the stairs when traveling and deploy them when at a dock. How is it done and are they very heavy ,, thank you

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We have the Marquipt stairs, they are not hard to set up - just pretty heavy to get off the storage pins and onto the dock and into the slots. We used them when we had the elderly dog - but haven't since she passed.

We have Marquipt 6 step stairs. I think the official weight is something like 54 pounds plus the casters, so 60 something. Not all that heavy, but they’re clumsy, and you’re not necessarily in the best lifting position when deploying/retrieving. It really helps to have a dockhand to assist. They are known finger pinchers, so go slow until you really get the hang of it. All that said, we like them much better than the ladder, and deploy them anytime the dock arrangement allows.

We keep stairs at our home dock, but for travel, we just carry a folding step stool. It's stable enough for getting on and off from floating docks, takes up very little space on board and it's quick and easy to put out when at a dock low enough to need it.

Hi,


Elling stair long side.


I have an open bow and a telescopic stair closed under the pulpit.


Also a lightweight replacement for these can be found 3-5 steps and 5 steps weighs 1.9kg and height 1.45m


NBs

While they are not actually stairs, we have a boarding ladder that works really well. We have a safety line attached so if the ladder comes loose it won’t float to the bottom.

We had a large set of the Marquip stairs (7 step IIRC) which we used a lot on floating docks that were wide enough. If a dockhand wasn't available, I'd use a Marquip ladder to get on the dock and Ann could slide the stairs (which I had already dismounted and got to the gate) to me. Wear gloves and watch those fingers. If we weren't going to be long, we'd typically just use the ladder.

Here's a pic with us at a dock with another Hatteras. He has the ladder on the right (they were transients) and that's us on the left.



Here's some pix of crew on a large boat unloading and attaching:

We have a Marquipt 6 step. Attached it twice just to try it out. We ended up having a custom set of stairs built from stainless steel tubing and 3/4" starboard. The stairs attach below the gate of the aft-deck (aft cabin MY). Makes boarding from a floating dock a piece of cake, even for our chunky dog. Well worth the time and investment.

John

Thnks John for the post . do you have any pics of what you have now and where did you have the stairs made ?

KEVMAR said:

Thnks John for the post . do you have any pics of what you have now and where did you have the stairs made ?

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A local mechanic custom fabricated ours. Ours is in Palmetto, FL. I have a feeling just about every boating community has “that guy” that has some spare stainless steel tubing, a jig to bend it, a welder, and can cut some 3/4” starboard.

The platform for our stairs actually clamps onto the existing ladder. The stairs are then attached to the platform with screws and can pivot up to allow access under the platform and into the lazerette.

Ours comes down into a cockpit but this same design could easily work for a swim platform.

After reading the above posts, I'm so thankful for my cockpit transom and side doors.

This is a VERY interesting topic for me. I am looking at some boats that do not have a swim platform. Aside from getting on and off at the dock, I want to be able to swim comfortably with my dog. If I end up with a non-swim platform boat I am going to have to commission some kind of aluminum ladder/platform that the dog can navigate. I have been looking at the Sparkman and Stevens designed trawler for sale on this forum and his boat has a canoe stern. He uses a vertical ladder with a platform on the bottom. The vertical part will not work for the dog. I envision something with long support legs going back to the hull at the bottom of the ladder. This or an immediate turn from the entry door and another support attachment down the hull a ways. I would love to see some portable dog friendly swim platforms for trawlers with no swim platform. Bill

Moparharn, we have a canoe stern without a swim platform but we do have a fold down boarding gate. Our boat came with a ladder that mounts low and can be extended into the water for reboarding onto the boarding gate.

I’ll try and grab a pic when I get back.

It’s of no use to dogs however for reboarding from the dock of the water.

We’re planning to add the Marquip style stairs midship after one of our dogs slipped when jumping off and almost ended up in between the boat and the dock.

Steven

Thanks Steven

I just found this guy for a possible ramp source.

https://www.boardingramp.com/doc/passerelles.htm

I could possibly use his long ramp and put enough flotation on the end that a couple feet would be below the water. My dog could swim up to it and work his way up. The problem comes when my fat *ss get on it, it will likely go vertical with the load. The boats I am looking at do not seem to be too far off of the water, and thus the size of this contraption does not have to be too long. Most of them have an entry door amidships that puts the deck level just a couple feet up from the water as opposed to a sun deck that would be much higher.

Based on the boats these are hanging off of I would imagine they are practically giving them away.
https://sanguineti.com/en/yacht-boarding-equipments/boarding-ladders/manual-boarding-ladders/


This one from Marquipt is quite nice.
https://www.marquipt.com/products/ship-side-accommodation-stair/

As I doubt I could afford any of these, I could see myself working with a fabricator to create something custom fit to my needs.

This is more along what I was thinking and what I could afford.
https://store.aquastairs.com/dock-ladder/side-mount-pontoon-ladder