Over the side rail ladder. Thanks for input

G

greeneyegi

New member
Ive decided to go with the stowaway ladder for the side of my 03 22' cruiser .
Having twin motors has made this decision, for now, easy.
I am looking for tried and true ladders that go great with our boats.Pics would be great.
 
http://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-mari ... P012868550

This one worked great on our 22 cruiser and is now working great on our Ranger Tug.

Buy an extra set of mounting brackets and install them on both sides so you can move the ladder port to starboard.

You will really like this ladder if you or crew are frequent swimmers. The steps are just wide enough, and the 4 steps are deep enough in the water to make getting on board very easy.
 
My solution is photo 39 in my album. Sorry I don't know how to get that picture from there to here. This served us well as a comfortable way to get into the cockpit from the dock too. It could be used on either side but we stored it in place on the starboard side. It was never in the way and always handy.
 
Not to be negative, as I have a similar ladder on the rear at the cockpit of my boat, as well as one at the front next to the bow pulpit, and a swim step too, but the one limitation I can think of with these over the gunnel ladders when used alone, is that if you fall overboard and are alone, you cannot get to the ladder to re-board the boat unless the ladder is already deployed over the side. Visualize: You're in the water, and the ladder is down inside the cockpit! No way to reach, deploy, and re-board. Advantage: Swim Step.

Also, if you are older, heavier, and not so strong and agile as you used to be, an extra step might make a difference to you, perhaps the difference between re-boarding and not. (Advice from a 73 year old.)

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Not the one that can be seen in the west marine post up top. The gunnels don't need to be holed for the larger gunnel mount shown in the second set of photos from another poster. For the west marine, you do drill for two stainless surface plates that you screw to the top of the gunnel. The ladder has a matching, "nub" on each rail that slides into a slot on those surface mounted plates on the gunnel. It locks in and can also stow the ladder by placing it on the inside of the cockpit with the bottom folded up.

Caution, don't leave any boarding ladder over the side when underway. Regarding an emergency re-board for the single hander or emergency re-board, my 22 gunnel was low enough that I could get a hand on the ladder to move it outboard in an emergency overboard. However, I also keep a single step sling ladder on board that can be pulled in an emergency, even from outside the boat. If you went overboard and are in physical trouble from injury, then all bets are off if you are single handing. Our low free board Dory's and my Ranger 21 tug are not the problem that many high free board boats present when trying to struggle back on board.
 
Thanks for posting my picture, Colbysmith. The black sockets came with the ladder from West Marine. You can order extra sockets for different locations. I didn't go with the clip system because they are designed key-hole fashion to only hold secure from one direction and I wanted to use the ladder for stepping safely down into the cockpit from a dock in addition to getting in from the water. Very good handholds already on the boat (roof rails etc.) two big holes for the sockets that provide dual purpose or 8 little holes for the one way plates. Whatever.
 
Whatever you use, make sure the stand-off posts are as long as possible. When boarding the boat heels some and your weight will force the ladder into the boat and you will find your weight hanging out too far for easy boarding. Been there,fought that. Finally tied a big fender on the inside of the ladder to keep it out a bit.
 
That's why I mentioned that I extended the standoffs. Easy to do using the left-over tubeing from cutting off the bottom step. Use smaller telescoping sized pieces about 4 inches long. Pop-rivet the smaller tubes 2" (or centered) inside the larger ones to strengthen the splice. ALUMINUM RIVITS! If you enlarge the pictures in the standoff area you can see the splice and the rivits. Takes a little nerve to cut up a $100 ladder but at least you know it will work, I wasn't sure until it was done.
 
I'm pretty sure that for me, a 3 step is too short, and would be unusable for my 5 foot tall wife, so take that into consideration before buying a 3 step or cutting off a fourth step.

I like the idea of using a fender for keeping the ladder out further from the hull if needed, but I found on my 22 that the standard hull push-off braces that are part of the ladder placed it easily such that when boarding at my weight of 200 lbs, that the ladder tilted off vertical only a small amount and didn't cause any boarding problems.

I have bad nerves in my feet and have to wear boat shoes or water shoes on my ladder. My spouse has no problem with the rung width. Of course in an emergency I'll get up that ladder dang quick, shoes or no shoes. Some folks prefer a very wide rung and some even add a teach board to each rung.
 
I purchased the ladder from west marine.It only came with these little metal hanger type pieces.
Im looking for the word to search for the SS pieces you install after drilling holes to hang the ladder in on side.
thanks guys
 
I'm not sure which ladder you have, but I would typically call them ladder brackets, or maybe boarding ladder hardware. I see Garelick calls them "Ladder Mounting Catches." There are also ladder standoffs.

Edited to add:
Oh okay, I think you mean those black round sockets? I'd never seen those before, but it looks as though they may be Garelick pontoon boat ladder sockets, which they call "deck mounting cups." Is this them?

1235021_4.jpg


If so, they can be found at this link:

http://www.garelick.com/Removable-Foldi ... nting-Cups
 
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