Climbing out of a dinghy

[Sailm8]

Anyone have a solution to motoring to a dock in your dink at low tide only to find no easy way to climb on to the dock. I wish someone had a portable stirrup or small dock ladder you could attach in order to climb out.

Last week we came to a dock, and standing in the dink, the dock hit me about chest high. I am strong enough to haul myself out but my wife was another story. The solution was to use me as a ladder. I thought about her standing on the motor, but it is brand new and I decided not to. Not a real good solution and I have no idea what people with these big dogs I see do.

Any suggestions?

 

[shemandr]

There are portable steps. We have one we used on our 356, which was a very high step up at high tide. But it is made to lay against the hull for stability and even at that we needed to exercise care to avoid falls. It wouldn't work swinging in air - maybe against a bulkhead if there is a flat spot. Like this but ours is metal and rigid:
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|7504|2290202|2290203&id=158697
Marinas are supposed to have ladders so that if someone falls in there is a way out of the water. Some of those are dubious but I would look for one to de-board your dink. And, of course, dink docks are usually floating docks for this very reason.

 

[Ross]

Find a single section of aluminum extension ladder and install it vertically and secure it to the dock.

 

[Tom J]

That's one problem with sailing in Florida. Very often there isn't a floating dock available. I remember nice floating dinghy docks in Key West and Marathon, but our marina in Englewood had none. You basically had to tie up to a boat in it's berth to get out of your dinghy.

 

[Winkfish]

You can try one of those boat ladders that fold flat, like this one:

http://www.boatersplus.com/seachoic...tm_content=LS-50-71550&utm_campaign=shopzilla

 

[Sailm8]

You can try one of those boat ladders that fold flat, like this one:

http://www.boatersplus.com/seachoic...tm_content=LS-50-71550&utm_campaign=shopzilla

I wish they had a ladder like that with a clamp like outboards have for the transom that would clamp to the edge of the dock.

 

[Benny17441]

I think you did the best that could be done. She needed her ladder to protrude above the dock so she could keep her balance and a rung high enough so she could step up on it. Nice touch about not having her step on the new engine. An alternative could have been to find a more appropriate location to let your wife off the boat and then motor around to the dock by yourself. Rope ladders and flexible ladders may not be a solution for someone who lacks adequate upper body strength. The foldable 3 step ladder will behave like a swing making it hard just to hang on.

 

[Chris Burti]

I tie a large loop in the end of the dinghy painter with a bowliine. Secure the painter to a piling or dock cleat with enough of the end free to step up into the loop. This works equally well when visting other boats in an anchorage the boat that you are visiting does not have a boarding ladder or swim platform. The dinghy is also secured as a fringe benefit.

 

[Sailm8]

I tie a large loop in the end of the dinghy painter with a bowliine. Secure the painter to a piling or dock cleat with enough of the end free to step up into the loop. This works equally well when visting other boats in an anchorage the boat that you are visiting does not have a boarding ladder or swim platform. The dinghy is also secured as a fringe benefit.

This is a decent idea. I've been mulling over the idea of a reverse swim ladder attached to the transom of the dink. It would point up in the air giving you at least one step up. Might start thinking about a way to attach it to a piling instead. Hmmmm.

 

[Winkfish]

I wish they had a ladder like that with a clamp like outboards have for the transom that would clamp to the edge of the dock.

Could you drill holes in the dock that the top hooks could fit into?

 

[Winkfish]

Just re-read the post. You need it for other docks, not your own.

 

[bananabender56]

You can buy an aluminum step/roller/cleat combo that glues to the bow of your dink - around $150. We have a small bow locker which is one step and the step on the bow is 2. Still may not be high enough but at least you get a stable base at the highest point of the dink

 

[Steve Walsh]

We ran into this a lot in the BVI's, difficult for my arthritic wife to climb onto a dinghy dock. My solution was to beach the dinghy, let her step out, then tie up at the dinghy dock and meet her in the bar. Not much help if no beach. Some sort of folding ladder would be cheaper than a younger wife.

 

[Sailm8]

We ran into this a lot in the BVI's, difficult for my arthritic wife to climb onto a dinghy dock. My solution was to beach the dinghy, let her step out, then tie up at the dinghy dock and meet her in the bar. Not much help if no beach. Some sort of folding ladder would be cheaper than a younger wife.

LOL Never trading in this one. Did it right the first time.

 

[rfrye1]

Always bring your video camera or go pro.

The video you might catch will be priceless........ Or it could be painful in more than one way if it's your wife on the blooper end of the video!

 

[bananabender56]

Almost as amusing as the people who stabs up in their dink while driving - and hitting a buoy.

 

[Sailm8]

The worst was a dock we came to covered in bird crap, Crawling up was not pretty.