Ever had your ladder taken?

[RAD]

My boats on the hard and the easy way up is from a small 3ft wood ladder that gets me to my swim ladder and its small enough to throw under the boat when you leave.my friend says one day "maybe you should lock your ladder up" and my reply was its not that exspensive and if some one needs to use it what the hell.Well last week I show up and its gone! and boy was I pissed ;{ cause I could not find it or find any way on the boat with out going back home for another ladderI searched the whole boat yard and no ladder and the yard guys tell me that this goes on all the timeWell here's a picture of the notice I posted on the side of the boat

 

[Chuck]

Locking ladders

Our yard requires ladders to be locked to the cradle so that they may not be easily used to steal things from other boats.

 

[Pete]

It was probably a power boater...

.....who took your ladder. You can't trust those guys on or off the water.

 

[Alan]

Oh Yeah........

I'll second that!!....use it by all means, but godamit return it when your done. Mom must have raised someone without learnin' them any manners! *grr

 

[NYSail]

Please!

Please lock your ladders

 

[Ross]

Just nail a new one together

Just don't make it pretty.1vm6

 

[Mike]

what a world!

God know that the ladder you describe is probably fairly inexpensive and the miserable cretin who snatched it will probably suffer no bouts of pained conscience. May the creep who has it have something like it robbed from his or her worthless self at the most inconvenient time possible.It's a shame that you can't leave a cheap stool under the cradle so it is available to others who forget or don't have such a ladder when they show up at their boat. I have sometimes borrowed a ladder from a neighbor but only from folks who I previously asked if it was OK to do so.As sad as it is you'll probably have to lock the next one up.Even though it's a small loss it still bugs us.Mike

 

[r.w.landau]

RAD, I can't help but think that this story

continued....Sorry for your lost ladder and lost (priceless)time!What were you going to fix, work on, or just be on the boat?r.w.landau

 

[higgs]

Ladders

i used to know a guy around the yard who would say, "its my ladder and I stole it fair and square". I was once accused of stealing a ladder, which I did not do, and back then I had no lock. The next time I came back to my boat guess what was gone. Deal with it - ladders are fair game around the boat yard, though I would never steal one myself, but that is how it is. I certainly have borrowed my share of ladder, but have always returned them exactly as I found them.i would not leave my swim ladder down as if someone breaks into the yard to steal stuff off baots, it makes it a lot easier for the thief. I think one's ladder should be chained to the cradle so that anyone breaking into the yard to board boats will not have an easy access ladder. The unexpected is always upon us. ( A little philosophy for the board)This reminds of a time when I used to keep my boat on a mooring. Just after the boat was launched I realized i had not brought the oars for my dinghy. The yard boss said to just use someone elses' oars so I did and was certainly going to return them as I found them. As I was rowing in, after securing the boat to the mooring, I dragged my dinghy up the launch ramp and there was a guy standing around. I said hello and he said "Can you beleive it? Somone stole my oars."

 

[CalebD]

It is not right but it happens.

I too lost a stepladder that was not locked from under my boat at the boatyard in Glen Cove, LI. There is an awful lot of give and take that can go on in a boatyard conerning extension cords, water hoses, ladders, and stuff that seems like crap someone else left behind. I liked your note to the a$$hole who stole your ladder thought. I do hope he falls off and hurts something. Always borrow, never appropriate like I did when I found a 15# Danforth that was rusted and all alone in the boat yard with no boat near it. I still feel bad and have not used it but I bet it will hold my 19' Lightning in mud. I have lost other stuff too to yard guys cleaning up (maybe) like some worn winter tarps. One man's garbage is another man's jewels and one man's ceiling is another man's floorAs Ross said, you could build another A-frame stepladder from basically scraps but I know it is the principle of the thing that pisses you off. Some people are just so ... clueless (to use a nice word) when it comes to manners and respecting other peoples property. Even, or especially, people you dont even know or are not there. Is there no more trust between people or does everything have to be locked up?Another philosophical question for all of you fellow know-it-alls.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Sorry it happened to you

Been there done that. One time had to drive my car up to the boat, stand on the hood and hop on board.A step ladder in the trunk of the car solved the problem forever. I just had to remember to put it back in the trunk when I left, for the next trip to the boat.

 

[Big Joe]

Not my ladder

The Fargin bastages took my buckit. Damn!Regards

 

[Pete]

In today's world of

everyone suing everyone for anything and every thing I think I would keep it locked at ALL times even when set up to the boat lock it to a stanchion or rail or something. Also as a safety precaution and also to make sure it is there when you want to get off the boat(don't laugh I have seen that happen). If a person was arrogant enough to steal you ladder and did get hurt (as your note express is you wish) don't you think they would be arrogant enough to sue you for having an "attractive nuisance" and want you to pay for the medical bills as well as unimaginable pain and suffering,lost wages,etc. etc. Not to mention the embarrassment you caused them ! After all it would be your fault as you left your ladder unattended and "inviting" some one to use it(after all it is a public location) and they will most likely claim it was defective and that is why they fell, not because they were clumsy and fell. Not to mention your note hoping that they get hurt(that note would be the equivalent of sex with 72 virgins to a liability lawyer). This is exactly why boat yards do not leave ladders around for people to use. Sad,sad state of the world when a unfounded liability issue can ruin your life. Simple little life lesson LOCK your equipment.

 

[Bria Hanna]

I had a ladder I found in the dumpster

It was an aluminum ladder that looked like someone had run it over. It was a little twisted and very beat-up looking, but very solid and sturdy. I never had to worry that it was going to be there because I knew no one would even borrow it, much less steal it. I would still have that ladder today but I forgot to get it off my cradle when I sold my last boat. Now I have to be like everyone else and lock my new ladder up.

 

[Rick I]

All our ladders have to be locked

in our yacht club. This makes it a bit harder for thieves and vandals to board.

 

[Steve O.]

A pet peeve of mine, too.

I don't lock my ladder because when the boatyard launches the boat they don't want the ladder locked to the cradle. In fact they have cut the lock off before.I really wouldn't mind if anybody borrowed my ladder but just PUT IT BACK WHEN YOU ARE DONE FER CRISSAKES!

 

[Rodney]

You are Lucky

You are lucky they didn't steal the damned ladder when you were up inside the boat as happened to me. Being stranded 12' in the air is not fun especially after the yard closes.

 

[tom]

must be lucky

To the best of my knowledge no one has stolen anything from my boat. I actually lost a fender and when I got back to my slip that evening someone had fished it out of the water and put it on the dock next to my slip. Now I've probably jinxed myself and everyhting on th eboat will be gone or vandelised this weekend.  This last saturday there were two guys crappie fishing on the dock. One seemed nervous but they were friendly and had a nice stringer of fish. I assume that they had permission to fish. But it does make me a little nervous having people hanging around the dock. Especially in winter when there aren't many people around. But since they knew which boat was mine the last thing I wanted to do was make them mad. I am going to take my fishing pole this weekend. They had some nice looking fish!!!

 

[Warren Milberg]

You can make

a nice collapsible ladder out of old 2x4's for almost nothing. I made a one consisting of 2 sections each 3 feet long. One section was about 3 inches wider than the other so I could bolt them together and make a 6 ft ladder, yet fit easily into the trunk of my compact car. I glued some old carpet to the edges so it wouldn't scratch the boat. I doubt the whole thing cost more than $10 and I NEVER left it in the yard. I bet I used that old ladder for 10 or more years before my wife gave me a holiday present of one of those 12 ft fold-up ladders from Home Depot (that I also keep the trunk of my car all winter). I do have to admit, however, to borrowing a hose now and then, but I always make a note of where it came from and always return it to that place....

 

[Ross]

I am beginning to think that we attract a better

class of boaters up here. There are ladders under almost every boat in the yard, none of them are chained, we all know who owns which boat. Sometimes if I leave a ladder up against the boat when I return in a week I find that it has been moved a little. I always run a line through the top so that it doesn't blow down and sometimes the line shows that somebody used it and put it back.