A question about wieght and swim ladders

[RECESS]

I just installed a swim ladder, about 1/2 hour ago to be exact, and had a question about how heavy of a person it could support. It is mounted with 1/2 inch marine plywood glassed in the transom, then a 1/4 inch thick plate of aluminum over the plywood, then 1 inch thick square brackets over the sets of bolts over the aluminum plate. I am pretty sure I went a little overboard in the support for it.

I am 6'0 220 lbs and have no doubt about me. I have a friend that is 6'5" and over 350 lbs. He is a big dude. Should I have a concern with him pulling himself out of the water on this swim ladder?

 

[Ross]

Yeah!

 

[RECESS]

Now I have to think of a polite way to tell him... No swimming for you!

 

[catsailor]

Non-engineer answers.

How much is the ladder rated for? I am most concerned about the hinges.

No, the bolts will not even strain from what you described.

Why don't you try bouncing on it, HARD? that should be about the same load.

It would help an awful lot if there were hand holds that prevented him from having to lean back. The biggest problem is that there are not enough rungs below the waterline. The ladder is too short for a big person to get in balance. It may not work.

I've had people that heavy on my swim ladder. I lengthened it and reinforced it; I'm sure there are photos of the transom on my blog. It is a valid concern. Approach it rationally.

 

[thereisabelle]

personally i would like 2 more rungs and the mounts to the hull further apart. i'm 5'11" and 190. i wouldn't hesitate useing your ladder. our ladder connects om the starb. side with two keyhole type lugs.it is percarious to say the least. i have also forgot to pull it back up and stow it before pulling out of the swim holes. the best feature of a swim ladder is the ability to get a foot on before lifting you weight. cant really tell from your pics. if the lowest rung is low enough. good luck with your projects. jimbob

 

[kenn]

Now I have to think of a polite way to tell him... No swimming for you!

Heh

Is that ladder aluminum? If it was stainless steel I'd say no problem. You might want to just ask the manufacturer what they rate it at.

When we got our boat, a good ladder was a priority. The first ladder I bought was a small SS ladder that had only one rung underwater... similar to yours, and my wife and I both found it a bit of a chore. So I bought a bigger ladder, that had 2 rungs in the water when unfolded, and we're much happier with it.

 

[Ross]

I had a man about the size of your friend bend the second step on a commercial stepladder when he tried to carry a heavy load up the ladder.

 

[Steve Dion]

I would be more worried about the quality of the ladder than your installation. It appears that you did a good job with the install.

 

[RECESS]

It is an aluminum ladder. I do not think it will support him.

I have a rope ladder with the plastic steps. If my wife and I struggle to climb out using this ladder, I may just tie on a step before we go swimming so we have one more rung in the water. I think it will serve us well climbing in and out of the dink.

 

[kenn]

This folding 5-step SS ladder is what we have now. It puts enough in the water to make that first step easier, and it has a couple of steps to get over the transom. On our small transom, the top step was about useless, so I cut it out and polished the ladder sides.

We're pleased with this ladder. Note that we bought ours locally, but this is the only online picture I've found.