Ours are built into the sides of the boat. 2 ladder rungs below the waterline, then 4 foot/handholds into the topsides.
We overheard a series of radio calls with the USCG a few years back, first about a boat found adrift, later with another boater who came across a “swimmer”, out in Lake Erie. The boater had the “swimmer” (the guy who belonged to the adrift boat) at his boat, but couldn’t get the guy into his boat. The guy was too heavy, cold and weak, for the boater to get him out of the water. The guy died before anyone arrived to help.