|
Hi Tom and the Group
I wish I knew you were looking for a boarding ladder. I have installed one on my boat and two other BCC's for under $300. The ladder is telescopic with for steps or rungs. It collapses to about 18" long and is about 4 feet long when extended. The only modification is the bracket that is made for under deck mounting has to be cut, bent and welded. When installed in the brackets it can be hinged up to connect to the underside of the lifeline. If anyone is really interested I can ask Lokke to take a photo of his and post it on this site. I would ask Mike to do the same but there is a snowballs chance ......that he would have a digital camera..... There is a challenge for you Mike Cochrane!!!!!!!!
Roger
|
|
Roger,
Your boarding ladder sounds quite interesting; please forward drawing or photos when available. Thanks.
John E. Stamps CPA CFP 9541 Cypress Lake Drive, Suite 5 Fort Myers, FL 33919 Tele 239-275-9997 Fax 239-931-9186 E-mail johnestamps@earthlink.net |
|
Hi John, I bought a throw away camera that will provide CD photos with the film. I took photos of the ladder and some other ideas that I will post on the group site. It will take a week or so. Not even sure if it will work. I was told by the two guys who I installed the ladder for that $300 was too much. They paid the bills while I did the work. Anyway, it will be posted soon....I hope.....
Roger
|
— Roger Olson <roger.olson@att.net > wrote:
wish I knew you were looking for a boarding ladder.
I have installed one on my boat and two other BCC’s
for under $300. The ladder is telescopic with for
steps or rungs. It collapses to about 18" long and is
about 4 feet long when extended. The only
modification is the bracket that is made for under
deck mounting has to be cut, bent and welded. When
installed in the brackets it can be hinged up to
connect to the underside of the lifeline.
I have one of Roger’s boarding ladders on Zygote
(BCC28 #116). Similar to the other of Roger’s
innovations that I copied, it is elegant, simple,
effective and inexpensive. Roger was good enough to
have it made for me. Thanks again, Roger!
The basic ingredients are:
-
one or more pairs of mounting brackets (West Marine
catalog #519355, US$10 a pair) - see mounts.jpg, about
113K if I’ve successfully attached it (apologies for
the rust stains and general dirtiness: I’m just back
after a couple of weeks abroad and took the pic this
morning while busy on other matters); and -
a Windline over-platform type telescoping swim
ladder (mine is model UP-3X, West Marine catalog
#165045 US$125) - see ladder.jpg, about 105K.
The key ingredient is the bracket, modified as Roger
described above. See lfitting.jpg, about 60 K.
Cheers
Bil
Penang, Malaysia
http://search.yahoo.com.au - Yahoo! Search
- Looking for more? Try the new Yahoo! Search
|
There has been some interest on boarding ladders lately. Bil Hansen sent some photos of the type that I installed on my own boat and on others. It is simple, inexpensive (relatively) and easy to install. However there are some minor modifications that must be made to the mounting brackets.
The ladder can be ordered from West Marine #351901, four step, over platform and sells for $145.
The mounting bracket are the key slot type WM # 519355, they come in pairs so if you want to mount your boarding ladder on either side of the boat you will need to buy two packages of two.
After you have the parts the procedure is as follows:
1. Reverse the mounting brackets on the ladder so the flat side is facing down. Tighten the bracket so it remains in position and takes some effort to move it. Move it to 90 degrees to the ladder so the steps are slightly slanted outward.
2. It is best to install some stainless or bronze "D" mold where the ladder will rest to prevent any damage to the bulwarks and rubrail.
3. Hold the ladder against the rubrail with the brackets at about 90 degrees to the ladder. The bracket should be resting on top of the bulwarks where you want to mount it. Mark the inside of the bracket where it passes over the bulwarks.
4. Extend this line up the sides of the bracket and cut the sides down to the bottom. Do not cut through the bottom.
5. Bend the bracket down until it seems to have a comfortable set against the inside of the bulwarks. Now remove the bracket and have a piece welded between the gap. See photos attached. The welding cost will vary by shop.
6. After the bracket is welded, install a 1/4" carriage bolt in the bottom hole. It is best if you can find a snug washer to install on the bolt first so the head extends out from the bracket about 1/8".
7. Set the keyslot brackets over the head of the carriage bolts and hold the ladder in position where you want it to set and mark the holes. Note that the ladder must be slid into the small part of the keyslot. I mount mine so the ladder has to be removed by pulling forward. This is because I might want to get underway in a hurry and forget about the ladder. The forward motion will just push the ladder harder against the bracket.
8. Drill the holes for 1/4" bolts. I use flat head machine screws so the head is countersunk on the outside of the bulwarks. If nylon nuts are used on the inside they will have to be ground down because the ladder bracket "may" hit the nuts preventing the carriage bolt head from setting in the keyslot.
9. I splice a small lanyard to the ladder that is used to hold the ladder to a lifeline stanchion when deployed. It hold the ladder to the underside of the lifeline when moving short distances. It also holds the steps up tight for storage.
If you have any questions please feel free to email me at roger.olson@att.net
|