Boarding

How do you board your vessel?**

Steps/stairs, -*commercial or custom/home made?

Ramp?

Transom gate?

What do you use when you are away from your home dock?

Have any of your guests/crew lost their footing while boarding or while on board*your boat?

KJ

*


-- Edited by KJ on Friday 2nd of March 2012 01:42:33 AM

Steps that hang from the gunwale amidships wherever we're tied up. They're stainless - appear to be commercial but they were on the boat when we bought it so I don't know their history. Off the swim grid when we're anchored. Never lost any tourists overboard yet. We have a conveniently located grab bar directly in line with the gate on each side deck. We point it out to guests, they grab onto it and next thing they know they're aboard.

bobofthenorth wrote:
**We have a conveniently located grab bar directly in line with the gate on each side deck.* *

Click to expand...

*Any pics?

With our low freeboard, we are only about twelve inches above most floating docks, so it's an easy step. We do have those stick-on black non-skid strips on the deck, and non-skid covered steps as you enter the cockpit. There is also a vertical 7/8" stainless tube going from the side deck to the corner of the roof overhang, which makes a great handhold.

Best I can do.* Its not really ever been the subject of my photographic attention.

Usually via the swimplatform, up the spiral staircase to the aft deck through a 2 part transom door.
On rare occasion go via the starboard gate in the railing stepping off the gunwale - but it is usually a LONG step down to the dock (3'). Had a female friend fall and hit the dock once disembarking that way at night (was too dark to judge the vertical distance to dock).

Here's the rear staircase.

Through a side gate.* Step from the dock, over the gunwale,*directly to the boat's deck.* The boat's deck isn't much higher than most floating docks.

We keep a small folding step ladder that fits nicely under the sofa for boarding from floating docks amidships.* At anchor off the stern ladder to the swim platform.

Besslb wrote:
We keep a small folding step ladder that fits nicely under the sofa for boarding from floating docks amidships.* At anchor off the stern ladder to the swim platform.

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*Yep, except out dock step resides on the boat deck when not in use.

Funny you should ask!* I'm currently building one of these.* Picked up the bronze hardware on the internet.

We simply step on the swim platform from the floating dock and enter through the transom door.

Isn't that Walt living the good life?

SeaHorse II wrote:
We simply step on the swim platform from the floating dock and enter through the transom door.

Click to expand...

*Ditto - see transom door in Avatar...

PS...the dinghy is mounted such that we can still walk in past its nose - see added pic, which I hope is not too far way to see....must take me some more general shots from different angles..now she is all painted up and pretty like..


-- Edited by Peter B on Friday 2nd of March 2012 07:12:34 AM

markpierce wrote:
Isn't that Walt living the good life?

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No,* that's my brother in law and his wife. My wife is in the foreground. (She's such a young thing but learning fast.

KJ wrote:
How do you board your vessel?*

Have any of your guests/crew lost their footing while boarding or while on board*your boat?

Click to expand...

Our boat has a low enough freeboard at the boarding gates no steps are needed.* And nobody's ever stumbled or lost their footing while boarding or deboarding.* To my knowledge nobody's ever stumbled on board, either.* A teak deck offers the best traction available, in my opinion, wet or dry.* Even the battleships had them in places where good traction was needed.

The only time we've ever used an assist step was for a friend who'd recently had both knees replaced and who is pretty short on top of that.* We used a sturdy folding plastic step-stool for that.


-- Edited by Marin on Friday 2nd of March 2012 01:54:11 PM

Nice boat.

Marin wrote:
Our boat has a low enough freeboard at the boarding gates no steps are needed.* And nobody's ever stumbled or lost their footing while boarding or deboarding.* To my knowledge nobody's ever stumbled on board, either.* A teak deck offers the best traction available, in my opinion, wet or dry.* Even the battleships had them in places where good traction was needed.

The only time we've ever used an assist step was for a friend who'd recently had both knees replaced and who is pretty short on top of that.* We used a sturdy folding plastic step-stool for that.

Click to expand...

*I imagine that list to starboard makes it a little easier to board on that side.* Very convenient!!

FlyWright wrote:

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*I imagine that list to starboard makes it a little easier to board on that side.* Very convenient!!

*It would if it did but it doesn't so I have no idea what you're talking about.

Through a side gate.

Fixed wooden steps at home, when cruising a foldable set. We tie it to a stanchion with a cord in case it gets knocked off the dock.
Steve W


-- Edited by Steve on Saturday 3rd of March 2012 09:14:13 AM

We board through the side gate.* We have two 10 or 12 inch high step boxes.* One we keep in the engine room and pull out to use when we are visiting other docks and one is on our dock.* However for the winter we are using a friend's fancy*three step boarding step *with a rail on the side.* The top step is higher than our gunwale (I think that is the correct term?) so we are getting spoiled.* We will have to give it back to him at the end of winter when goes back to bow in for the windy season.

FlyWright wrote:
*I imagine that list to starboard makes it a little easier to board on that side.* Very convenient!!

Click to expand...

*Don't see it with Marin's boat, but my Coot had a definite list to starboard after taking on a load of fuel before using the fuel polisher to transfer same to the port side.* (No, it did not add an appreciable diffeence in ease of boarding.)

Request for information

7tiger7 said:

Usually via the swimplatform, up the spiral staircase to the aft deck through a 2 part transom door.
On rare occasion go via the starboard gate in the railing stepping off the gunwale - but it is usually a LONG step down to the dock (3'). Had a female friend fall and hit the dock once disembarking that way at night (was too dark to judge the vertical distance to dock).

Here's the rear staircase.

Click to expand...

Can you give me the manufacturer of the curved transom staircase please?

When moored bow-in the swim platform's a little hard to access, so we have a little two-step stool to get on at the boarding gate

These can be had from Ace Hardware for about $30:
Rubbermaid® Two Step Stool | U.S. Plastic Corp.

or, a similar item from West Marine. The two-step version goes for $190:


WEST MARINE Polyethylene Dock Steps at West Marine

Sure, I know, UV degradation and all that. I did fasten some sturdier non-slip feet to the version I have, but I can buy a half-dozen of the landlubber version for the cost of one "marinized" stepstool.

ARoss said:

When moored bow-in the swim platform's a little hard to access, so we have a little two-step stool to get on at the boarding gate

These can be had from Ace Hardware for about $30:
Rubbermaid® Two Step Stool | U.S. Plastic Corp.

or, a similar item from West Marine. The two-step version goes for $190:


WEST MARINE Polyethylene Dock Steps at West Marine

Sure, I know, UV degradation and all that. I did fasten some sturdier non-slip feet to the version I have, but I can buy a half-dozen of the landlubber version for the cost of one "marinized" stepstool.

Click to expand...

Being a yachtie snob and all...MY rubbermaid step stool is in black...the West stuff only comes in plebian white...scoff!!!!

Just as sturdy and a 1/4 or less the weight....

Anyone have any luck with one of these:

Latch Type Boarding Ladder - Garelick Eez-In



I have the hooks for these on each side, wondering if I should get one. If nothing else, it might be something to fasten the plastic hardware-store steps to.