You fabricated the ladder itself also?Yes, design build out of nessecity...we do a lot of swimming when we are on the hook.
Lol, no worries...the ladder was purchased. I would have to look up what brand it is and where I bought it. It is a popular ladder, and on most marine sites.You fabricated the ladder itself also?
Sorry to pester you, hope you don't mind being imitated. That thing really is pure genius.
This is a Catalina,isn't it? You can attach a cord to the eye on the outboard side of the latch. If you pull that cord down, it would raise the latch. So you can open both latches from the water (I have it rigged this way). Another line attached to the top rung of the ladder opens it out.Can you guys make some suggestions for how I can rig an emergency ladder release,
That's the only knot you should use on sail ties as well. Great knotsite!I tie a "mooring hitch" connecting the ladder to the stainless corner stanchion next to it above the closest rung to the deck. The release line hanging over the stern is just above the water. The top of the ladder needs to stay outboard of the lifeline. You can go to www.netknots.com to see how to tie the mooring hitch. The other end of the line is tied to the ladder itself to assist in pulling it down once it is released.
I had two overboard situations in the past week. It was not a good week! In one, I was leaning over the side docking on a really windy day when the boat bumped something in the water hard enough that I lost my balance and fell over. Luckily boat was in neutral, but I couldn't get the swim ladder down with it velcroed at top. I also couldn't get up the dock, but then I remembered this a$$hole (see pic) has been hanging out on my dock and let me tell you what, I summoned the power of Jesus to walk on water. I flew up out of that damned water like Ursula the Sea Witch was trying to steal my wedding.Clip them to the transom, and loose the velco or latches you cannot reach from the water.
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Good lord man, that is unbelievable! You need to be a lot more cautious.I had two overboard situations in the past week. It was not a good week! In one, I was leaning over the side docking on a really windy day when the boat bumped something in the water hard enough that I lost my balance and fell over. Luckily boat was in neutral, but I couldn't get the swim ladder down with it velcroed at top. I also couldn't get up the dock, but then I remembered this a$$hole (see pic) has been hanging out on my dock and let me tell you what, I summoned the power of Jesus to walk on water. I flew up out of that damned water like Ursula the Sea Witch was trying to steal my wedding.
The other one was an out of control drunk friend who wanted to jump into the water near a beach. She reached into the cockpit locker, grabbed a line, ran up to the front of the boat and jumped off. I ran up to stop her. As her plus-sized body plummeted off the side of the boat, I felt something rub my calve and realized too late that it was the line she was holding. It yanked me off the boat by my leg. Luckily, someone else was on the boat and able to deploy the swim ladder.
Both of these were intense learning experiences for a newbie, but I'm glad I survived and neither was far out at sea.
I love this idea and will be doing it this week.
Truth! The falling overboard for me was a freak accident, but the out of control drunk friend will definitely NEVER happen again. I will never even shy away from putting my foot down to make sure passengers know who's in charge, and no more drunk people on my boat.Good lord man, that is unbelievable! You need to be a lot more cautious.
60 years of messing about on boats almost daily, mostly professionally, with a circumnavigation and numerous ocean crossings and I've yet to go over the side unintentionally.
Forget about an easy way to drop your boarding ladder and concentrate on staying onboard, because in my mind you have used up all of your boating second chances.
Here is what we do. Our ladder will stay in place with just gravity holding it in place so we tie a line to a rung so the end of it is a few inches above the water (with a big knot in it for grabbing.) A tug on the line and the ladder tips into the water. In the photo, you can't see the line because it's on the LH side.Ours cannot be deployed from the water. You can see the latch on the left in this photo. way too high to reach from the water.
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However I can probably reach the lowest rung with my hands from the water, but would need to pull myself up with arms only.
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I rechecked today. It just lays in the recess and is very easy to lift. No restrictions other than the fender.@Mikem not clips per se but the ladder lays in the recesses of the transom, ours seems to lock in place tightly.