Boarding Ladders

[Full and By]

This ladder is exceedingly stiff in use and it's heavily built. It requires no attachment to or brace against the transom itself but relies on the considerable deck rigidity at the toerail and the beefy brackets. We used it all last summer while swimming (I'm 225lbs) and once when we really had to. It works well.

[Commander 147]

I like the way it does not rest against the transom and scratch it up. It is one of the ladders I looked at but it was only rated at 200 Lbs. and I weigh 212. It is good to hear that it seems plenty strong even with it's rating.

My biggest problem with mounting a ladder on the transom is I did not want to cover any of it up and your solution appers to keep the transom clear. And the back stay gives you something to hold onto when climbing aboard. Thanks for posting the pictures it certainly gives me something to think about.

The way Ebb has done his outboard on his boat this solution would not work for him. But Destiny will have an inboard electric drive and a prop in the aperature at the end of the keel. Quite a bit further away than an outboard prop would be. Hmmmm....

[Full and By]

Jerry,

The line running the length of the cockpit is crucial to the function of the ladder as a "rescue' device. Without the tether to pull you next to the ladder, you won't catch it if you're underway.

The line is fore and aft, about 8 inches from the cockpit floor and about 3 inces from one side or the other. I use a line about the size of a dockline for the boat, pulled tight with a trucker's hitch on one end and an spliced eye on the other. It doesn't get in the way when you're sailing and it seems you never know it's there in good weather.

I also added full length cabintop handrails, replacing the short ones that were original. I don't have lifelines forward so the handrails are welcomed and don't seem obtrusive to my eye.

The original lifelines, forward, terminated at pad eyes on the deck about 30% of the way forward from the fwd lowers to the bow pulpit....meaning that you don't have lifelines forward as a practical matter, even with the boat equipped with them. This free space over the toe rail is so that the genoa can clear the foredeck when tacking.

[Commander 147]

was going to have handrails full length of the cabin top!! I built these a while back.

[Full and By]

Really nice job on the handrails, Jerry! They look easy to make...but it's not at all easy to get them right! and you did. I admit to buying them because I made them once for my Tartan 27.

In this picture, you can see the forward termination of the safety line in the cockpit near the bottom right of the photo. It's like a dog run.... Clip-in with your 6 ft. tether, and you can roam from the mast to the transom, and down below...while the shackle slides fore and aft along the 9 ft cockpit.

I've spent weeks at a time clipped into this type of arrangement in open ocean transits in all kinds of weather and you get accustomed to it; it becomes effortless. It's especially nice in the Commander cockpit...long, unobstructed, and on a small boat. Cheap and easy to install.

[Full and By]

Turned out...the lifeline is in the "top, right"...you get the idea!

[Commander 147]

Full and By

Thanks for the compliment on the handrails. They did take some time to build and get right. I guess part of what I like about the process of restoring my commander is that it forces me to stretch my woodworking abilities in ways I have not previously worked.

Your Jackline is a really good idea, and in a good location, especially on those days that are rougher than we anticipated. I will set one up and when things get harry I will use it. And on those days it would be good to have a second line that you could clip to and go all the way to the bow. It would be easy to set up on our commanders.

For Destiny (my commander) I am deleting the life lines. I plan to leave the bow pulpit but am undecided on the stern pulpit. I want to come up with a good way to support the mast durning transit so I can eliminate it but as of yet have not.

And that brings me to your ladder solution. I have always been and will always will be a function before form type person. But after function is accomplished I try to make form work also. And while all of the function requirements are met with your ladder solution the form portion of the equation is not there for me yet. If I decide on a stern pulpit to help support the mast during transit the ladder will blend in and not be an issue. If not I need to come up with another solution to my delema.