Replacing ladder with stairs 1978 34MK1

[LoopingPaws]

Hello we are looking at a 1978 Mainship 34 MK1, we are also very new to the boating world. I am not sure if this a possibility but would we be able to replace the ladder to the fly bridge with stairs?

 

[Gdavid]

Anything is possible but I really don't see it as being cost effective, at least for an actual set of stairs.

- You would lose a significant amount of cabin space

- The sliding door would need to be replaced, glass would need to be removed for stairway. Almost all of the aft wall of the salon is comprised of the sliding glass door assembly, a fixed pane on either side and a slider moving from center to port when open. You would need to remove the entire assembly and replace with a solid bulkhead and a hinged door or perform a major modification to this assembly to make room for the stairs to extend into the salon space. Moving the stairs aft would not provide an appropriate rise/run for the stairs, it could help but even when starting from the transom, you don't have enough room without extending the opening in the bridge deck forward.

- Any wet core in the bridge deck, cockpit deck or under the sliding glass door will complicate the project and these are all common areas for damage, especially in 40 year old boats.

I have seen some ladders on boats made with a less steep pitch and deeper "rungs/treads", when coupled with substantial handrails, they can be descended like stairs but I wouldn't consider them to be real stairs, not something a dog could use, for example.

 

[Gdavid]

If you are really looking for a project, there is/was a Mainship 350 in Goose Bay Marina (Southern MD), on the hard and left to die. I expect it is still there. Twin volvos, one in pieces and flooded while on land. Major project to restore but could probably be acquired and repaired via a similar level of investment and effort to modifying a MK1 with stairs and it would be worth something in the end.

 

[Jc180]

We have a Mainship 34 MKI. Agee with Gdavid, not enough room for stairs without encroaching on cabin. That said, find the stairs on the Mainship 350/390 and even 400 to be steep and actually prefer my MKI ladder to the steep stairs. For what it’s worth.

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard. You could have a ladder custom built that isn’t as steep but you would loose some cockpit space. Depends on what it is worth to you because it would be spendy. But as we age you gotta do what you gotta do to keep boating.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

At 34 feet, I don't think your boat is big enough.

pete

 

[Art]

Slim spiral... handrails both sides?

 

[ranger58sb]

Hello we are looking at a 1978 Mainship 34 MK1, we are also very new to the boating world. I am not sure if this a possibility but would we be able to replace the ladder to the fly bridge with stairs?

Slim spiral... handrails both sides?

We had an '87 Mk III... and since then I've often wondered if maybe some kind of circular "staircase" might have worked.

-Chris

 

[jleonard]

A friend of mine has a spiral staircase in his house. It’s horrible to use. Not a good option imo

 

[Art]

A friend of mine has a spiral staircase in his house. It’s horrible to use. Not a good option imo

Depends on the angle of the dangle!! In relationship to the hypotenuse of the square!

 

[Comodave]

I guess that the choice would be which is better for their individual use. What works for me might not work for theOP, and vice versa. We sold a boat due to the 7 step ladder to the flybridge. Our last boat was a sundeck so only 4 steps to the bridge but my wife is very happy that our current boat doesn’t have any steps to the flybridge, but I do miss the view from the flybridge

 

[Jeff F]

I had a sistership. I've never seen it done, and really don't think it's feasible.

I found the ladder very secure mostly because of the relatively narrow opening through the hard top. Once up a couple of steps the upper body is secure in the opening.

Is your concern pet access?

 

[Symphony]

Use the boat at least one season before changing anything. You’ll often find there was a good reason it was built a certain way. Trust me on this.

 

[Carl Martin]

https://galaxylifts.com/cargo-lifts.php

Just sayin'.

 

[Bob328]

Steps

Don't mean to hijack this thread. My wife and I have a MT34DC and she has trouble with her knees when she climbs the steps to the aft or forward stateroom. We have 2 steps at 11 inch rise each. I was thinking of adding a step and changing the spacing to 7 inches rise to each step. Height from stateroom floor to main salon is 29 inches. Has anyone here done that? Not sure if it would be too steep to be practical. Gotta keep the admiral happy and functional! Thanks in advance for your help. Again, Apologize for jumping in.