LOL More than anyone would be willing to pay! When I asked about budget for the project we decided it didn't matter, we even looked at teak. Insanely expensive. So much of it is custom with the size and angle of the hull.
Boarding step build
- Thread starter VisionPNW
- Start date
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,210
Oh @VisionPNW you are thinking so literally. Perhaps you might consider that @capta sails in a beautiful part of the world. It has warm gentle breezes... And a beautiful step, custom made as you have identified would be worth a passage aboard with Capta to discuss the especially pleasing experiences of stepping aboard his vessel. Perhaps event the vessel's name could be carved in the step. making the value priceless... Like a passage aboard his vessel...
Just thinking outside of the box here....
Just thinking outside of the box here....
This is a great opportunity for your students. Modify the design to make it adjustable and then set up a production line to make them. Lots of practical learning here.
Build it for free, just charge for personalized shipping and on site fine tuning.
@VisionPWN can you tell me where you got the suction cups?
Building one of these for my boat has gotten much higher on the priorities. After a year of trying diligently to remember to pick up my boarding step every time I leave the boat I climbed off with a large arm full of cushions and forgot to pick it up. My slip invoice had a 1-hour ($80) charge assessed to this month's moorage. There are still dozens of live-aboard boats this steps along with several non-live aboard boats but that does not seem to matter.
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"2. Storage of anything on piers or floats is prohibited, except in Marina approved dock boxes. Items or materials stored on the floats or piers may be impounded at the owner’s risk and expense. Example of prohibited items include but are not limited to garden hoses, hose reels, stairs, door mats, etc. "
There is nothing about "unless" or "discretion" or anything like that. My position is that if I get fined, every other boat in the marina that has a stair should also get fined. If some are allowed than they have no right to fine me.
I fully sympathized with the need to regulate the use of steps because I have seen some dock steps that were a total disaster of rotten plywood construction with peeling paint all over the dock. The problem comes when I walk the docks and see several dozen boats with stairs of every description and then I get $80 added to my bill for a 1-hour charge because they had to place my 2-pound commercially built step into my cockpit. When I first came to this marina in 2005 I showed the harbor master the step I wanted to use and asked if I could take it down to the dock edge rail with a couple of #6x3/4" SS screws and was told "no problem".
The previous version of the rules stated:
9. Free access to all marina facilities must be maintained. Roadways, gangways, piers, floats and float fingers shall not be obstructed at any time without permission of the harbormaster. Boarding steps must not occupy more than half the width of the finger pier, and must be stored on the boat or in some other storage area when not in use.
The problem can be solved by a simple addition to the statement above "without permission of the harbormaster. That way, he can prevent dangerous steps from being used.
As the rules now read, no one can have steps but a quick walk of the docks shows that this is being enforced in a "capricious and arbitrary manner".
The previous version of the rules stated:
9. Free access to all marina facilities must be maintained. Roadways, gangways, piers, floats and float fingers shall not be obstructed at any time without permission of the harbormaster. Boarding steps must not occupy more than half the width of the finger pier, and must be stored on the boat or in some other storage area when not in use.
The problem can be solved by a simple addition to the statement above "without permission of the harbormaster. That way, he can prevent dangerous steps from being used.
As the rules now read, no one can have steps but a quick walk of the docks shows that this is being enforced in a "capricious and arbitrary manner".
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Hayden, time to move on to a more friendly marina. That bad attitude at your marina comes from the very top and filters down. I have left two marinas in the past that had tyrannical managers, whose bad attitude infected the entire marina staff. Everyone in that marina will be affected eventually. Also, such people cannot be reasoned with. Sail away if you can.
Bravo to each of you who commented on the inattention to the need for schools, and particularly school counselors to recognize that college isn’t for everyone. There is a high demand for people trained in skilled trades, and the jobs pay very well. It irritates me to no end that the emphasis on the “need” for a college education had tended to stigmatize those individuals who are better suited to a career path other than college.
(I have two sons with diametrically opposite learning styles. One, college educated and in management, who doesn’t know which end of a screwdriver is the working end. The other, is a hands on learner, who seems to be capable of doing just about anything he senses a need to do. They both do well in life.)
Now I will get off my soapbox...
(I have two sons with diametrically opposite learning styles. One, college educated and in management, who doesn’t know which end of a screwdriver is the working end. The other, is a hands on learner, who seems to be capable of doing just about anything he senses a need to do. They both do well in life.)
Now I will get off my soapbox...
Ditto, Roy. Left our first marina several years ago for similar reasons and moved to Everett marina expecting a better result. Not so. Got entangled with the director of marina operations who would not reason with my position, so left for our current marina, Shelter Bay, where we have been much happier. Been there several years. Small, friendly staff, no hassle and easy access to the islands.
Trouble with these petty tyrants is that they are little people in big jobs. Goes right to their heads and they think they are now kings and by right should oppress the people around them. You will find no peace in your present marina. I feel your pain.