Boarding ladder threads

[fred1diver]

Hello again everyone

our boarding ladder is wonderful in length but it is only bare SS rungs, not very pleasant on the feet, looking to make or buy threads for it.
Should I go cheap and get pvc boards, wood or starboard plastic to make them or find a place to buy them?

 

[colemj]

Making them would be easiest. There are replacement treads for ladders that come with treads, but these are expensive and may not fit yours. Should be easy to make.

You will need to design them so they don't rotate and pry on the screws. Maybe notches on the ends that capture the side rails?

Our ladder is also just 1" round tube for steps. We don't find it uncomfortable, since using them is just a few quick steps up then onto the boat. However, we haven't worn shoes for 16yrs, so maybe our feet are less sensitive.

Mark

 

[Tally Ho]

I cut some treads out of PVC wood and used pipe clamps to attach them to the metal rungs. Works great. It has been 5 years or so and no issues.

i cut the boards longer than the rung, and notched each end to slip over the vertical part of the ladder. This locks the tread in and it won’t “turn” on the rung. I will try to get a photo today when I am at the marina.


Greg

 

[capta]

Do you think shrink wrap material would do the job?

 

[Davidasailor26]

My grandfather made some teak ones for our previous boat. Not hard to make. The ends were notched like Greg said. He routed some shallow slots in the tops for traction.

 

[Tally Ho]

I cut some treads out of PVC wood and used pipe clamps to attach them to the metal rungs. Works great. It has been 5 years or so and no issues.

i cut the boards longer than the rung, and notched each end to slip over the vertical part of the ladder. This locks the tread in and it won’t “turn” on the rung. I will try to get a photo today when I am at the marina.


Greg

Here are some photos of my treads…





Greg

 

[Tally Ho]

Do you think shrink wrap material would do the job?

To do what? Hold a tread on? No.

 

[capta]

To do what? Hold a tread on? No.

It sounded as if he had round rungs.

 

[dLj]

Hello again everyone

our boarding ladder is wonderful in length but it is only bare SS rungs, not very pleasant on the feet, looking to make or buy threads for it.
Should I go cheap and get pvc boards, wood or starboard plastic to make them or find a place to buy them?

It would likely be difficult to find ready made steps that fit your ladder perfectly but it doesn't hurt to look.

I think @capta has a good, simple idea with wrapping the steps in something like shrink wrap, it would soften the feel on your feet.

If you want make steps you could use any of the materials you've listed - that's really your call and what you'd like it to look like. One thing I've usually seen is the concave cut on the part of the step that goes against the tube. That seems to make the step hold on better even though you will have to through bolt them. The notches on the ends are great for that also for sure.

For woods, you could go with teak, but it's sure pricey these days. You could also use iroko, sapele, IPE - those are all commonly used in applications like this.

Since you are in Ontario, you might be able to find black locust - excellent low cost local wood but can be hard to find. White oak would work but can also be a bit hard to find - i wouldn't use red oak which is commonly found.

There a number of other woods that could work that won't cost what teak does. If you decide to go with wood, and have some different types to choose from. Let us know what you can get.....

dj

 

[Tally Ho]

I think shrink wrap will be slippery, and won’t add much “padding”. The tread needs to be wider than the tubing…hence the need for a real tread.

If you look at mine, they are dirt simple, are held on with one pipe clamp and didn’t require any holes to be drilled in the ladder.

Greg

 

[dLj]

I think shrink wrap will be slippery, and won’t add much “padding”. The tread needs to be wider than the tubing…hence the need for a real tread.

If you look at mine, they are dirt simple, are held on with one pipe clamp and didn’t require any holes to be drilled in the ladder.

Greg

I don't know what "wood PVC" is - is that the synthetic PVC that is make to look like wood? Like the stuff they use a lot on decks these days? I wasn't talking about that material when I talked about the attachment. I was talking about real wood. PVC should hold just fine as you've done it - I'm not talking about that material when I talked about through bolts and a curve in the back but rather if the OP wants to go to wood rather than a synthetic material. With woods and exposed end grain at the notch it will have a tendency to split over time from the environment at that junction. I wasn't trying to say anything about how you did your steps. I thought you explained it well.

As far as shrink wrapping, it depends upon the material used. I've seen a thick shrink wrap like material used that is not any more slippery than the current stainless, in fact less so and it does provide a better surface than the bare steel. That said. I agree steps are easier on the feet.

dj

 

[Tally Ho]

I don't know what "wood PVC" is - is that the synthetic PVC that is make to look like wood? Like the stuff they use a lot on decks these days? I wasn't talking about that material when I talked about the attachment. I was talking about real wood. PVC should hold just fine as you've done it - I'm not talking about that material when I talked about through bolts and a curve in the back but rather if the OP wants to go to wood rather than a synthetic material. With woods and exposed end grain at the notch it will have a tendency to split over time from the environment at that junction. I wasn't trying to say anything about how you did your steps. I thought you explained it well.

As far as shrink wrapping, it depends upon the material used. I've seen a thick shrink wrap like material used that is not any more slippery than the current stainless, in fact less so and it does provide a better surface than the bare steel. That said. I agree steps are easier on the feet.

dj

It is some sort of synthetic board used in house trim. I got it at my local big box lumber yard. Embossed with wood grain, but essentially some sort of plastic.

I think teak could be used the same way if someone really likes teak. I have been removing and replacing teak where possible as I hate to maintain it.

Greg

 

[dLj]

It is some sort of synthetic board used in house trim. I got it at my local big box lumber yard. Embossed with wood grain, but essentially some sort of plastic.

I think teak could be used the same way if someone really likes teak. I have been removing and replacing teak where possible as I hate to maintain it.

Greg

Yeah, kinda what I figured. Sadly I can spot the synthetic stuff from far away and don't care for it. From my perspective I'd rather see an interesting novel surface finish on a synthetic than it's attempt at mimicking wood. If I want wood, I'll use wood.

You could do the same thing with wood as you've done but over time it will tend to break at the ears that wrap around that vertical tube. The stresses applied at that corner will break any sealant you might use and you will be applying stresses exactly how wood doesn't like. Not the same thing for the PVC.

Personally I much prefer the grey look of teak over the polished and finished look of teak. So the only maintenance i do is rinse with sea water to clean. Gotta clean anyway so it's no more work than one would do in any surface. I'm a fan of the Scandinavian philosophy of teak maintenance....

dj

 

[fred1diver]

Hey Tally Ho
I love those threads, how wide did you make them? I’m debating on 2 or 3 inches

 

[Tally Ho]

Hey Tally Ho
I love those threads, how wide did you make them? I’m debating on 2 or 3 inches

Hey Fred,

I used a PVC trim board from my local big box lumber store, and ripped it down to the width of the tread. I wanted it wide enough to wrap around the ladder tube to provide some stability without having to drill holes in the ladder tubing. I cut the tread to the width of the ladder, including the vertical tube, and then notched out the tread at each end so it would fit between the vertical tubes. Then, to keep it there, I put a pipe clamp or 2 under the tread.

Pretty easy and no drilling into the stainless ladder.

Greg

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

Hey Fred,

I used a PVC trim board from my local big box lumber store, and ripped it down to the width of the tread. I wanted it wide enough to wrap around the ladder tube to provide some stability without having to drill holes in the ladder tubing. I cut the tread to the width of the ladder, including the vertical tube, and then notched out the tread at each end so it would fit between the vertical tubes. Then, to keep it there, I put a pipe clamp or 2 under the tread.

Pretty easy and no drilling into the stainless ladder.

Greg

Good solution. I’d use monel rivets and partially drill the wood enough to make the rivet heads flush. It would have a more finished look with rivets.

 

[Dalliance]

The previous owner of Dalliance made teak wood treads for the swim ladder. The top faces are grooved for grip, the underside of each tread is routed to fit the round ladder rungs and they’re bolted to the stainless steel tubes.

I’ve always had some concern about the possibility of water entering the tubes and freezing, but these went on the boat 30 years ago and it hasn’t happened yet. They’ve been removed and refinished multiple times over the years.

They’re beautiful, but if I was doing this project myself today, I would probably do it exactly the way Tally Ho has. Likely with white StarBoard.