Going for a swim?

[Tony]

Hi folks,may I remind you that I´m an actual,sharp-end,Swallow-Boat solo MOB?But while I could steer the boat ashore with a foot on the rudder,climbing back in was a hopeless proposition.So,no half-arsed solutions here-Great Poseidon will likely give one warning only.

Hi Johan.

I know JUST how you feel....
Seems this thread is going around in circles. If you start at PostNo. 1 you will soon get giddy.

Are bolt-on bits the answer or is it down to basic design?

[Peter Cockerton]

Graham

Your latest bracket looks the best solution so far and i'm going to get one made up locally. Did you produce drawings for it which i could poach. When the ladder is in the parked position it seems to touch the gunnel is this a problem when moving the tiller. If the timber blocks were a little further back that would keep the ladder away from the gunnel would it not. Must thank you as i was about to purchase one of these ladders and stick mounting timber mouldings to the rear deck on my Bayraider which i was not looking forward to.

[Graham W]

Peter

No drawings I'm afraid.  I just asked the fabricator to stick to the following brief and then left it to him:
Whole thing must be removable - not welded to rudder fabrication
Bracket slides over buttresses either side
Fastened at the back using a long bolt
Braced using the roller bolt with additional eyenuts
Wings at an angle either side on the upper surface of the bracket to support ladder struts - not too far back so as not to hit transom when rudder hard over, and so that ladder stands clear of the rudder when it is down
Must allow rudder to be hauled up in dead ahead position
Needs some means of fastening ladder in up position that does not foul transom when rudder hard over (or hauled up)

Although it is not clear from the photos, when the ladder is in the up position, it is braced against the wooden blocks so that it does not interfere with the transom when the rudder is hard over - there is about 1cm clearance.

[Peter Cockerton]

Graham

Thanks for reply and i want to implement this idea ASAP as i'm off with family to Cardigan Bay area for holiday in 4 weeks time.. Spoke to Matt and he likes the idea but can't help until later in the year. Would your fabricator be interested in making another bracket for me do you think.

Just a question but with 1cm clearence betwee the ladder and the transom when tiller central the ladder still clears the transom when tiller hard over (sorry just can't visualise it) but it must be so.

Many  Thanks

Peter

[Graham W]

Peter

If you let me have your contact details, I will put you in touch with him.  He is not on email.

Graham

[Peter Cockerton]

Graham

Many Thanks

07774111112

[Julian Swindell]

Looking at Graham's ladder-on-the-rudder there is one concern I would have. I had thought of fitting my ladder right in the middle, where it would project down over the rudder quite well. But if the rudder blade was tilted up, the ladder couldn't be deployed. Touch wood, I haven't fallen in yet, but the nearest I came to it was at anchor, when the rudder was tilted up. Similarly when I leave her on her mooring, the rudder blade is up, and getting into the dinghy is the time you are most likely to fall in and need a ladder to get out again. I always leave the ladder hanging over the stern when I moor her.
I hate to say it Tony and Johan, but one reason I didn't consider a CBL when I wanted a cabin boat was because I wanted a transom for a boarding ladder. Is it not possible to bolt on a ladder on one side just in front of the stern post? Or have a flip over telescopic one there, which could lie across the stern deck when not in use?

[Graham W]

Just a question but with 1cm clearence betwee the ladder and the transom when tiller central the ladder still clears the transom when tiller hard over (sorry just can't visualise it) but it must be so.

I have spoken to Peter but just to clarify, there is 1 cm of clearance from the transom with the rudder hard over and quite a lot more clearance when amidships.  The positioning of the wooden blocks stops the ladder from moving any further forwards and getting in the way when stowed in the upright position.

Concerning Julian's point about what happens during an MOB with the rudder in the uphauled position, I think I would cut the rudder uphaul line with the knife that I usually have about me, whether or not the ladder was installed.  Exceptional circumstances demand exceptional responses and hang the cost......

[Johan Ellingsen]

Hi Tony,

Let´s go to "Not all Swallowboats,etc" so we don´t clutter up the boarding ladders

Johan

[Graham W]

Here is a photo of the bracket without the ladder on.  I am thinking of leaving it permanently mounted, with maybe some non-slip pads bolted on to the winglets, as an aid to getting back on board if the ladder is not there.

[Terry Cross]

Graham
Nice to meet you again at Bala. All of us thought your boarding ladder was brilliant.
Could you contact me on 01270522251 or terrycross@martexmarine.com re.Bags

Terry Cross "IONA"

[Simon Knight]

Great thread.  I saw a home made self-rescue ladder being tested on a Drascombe Rally.

I think it was Douglas Hopwood who designed the boarding ladder being used in the picture.  It is made of ply and stows flat on the rear deck.  The MOB swims to the boat extracts and fits the ladder and boards.  Douglas has drawings and can be contacted through the Drascombe forums.

best wishes
Simon

[Julian Swindell]

I have seen several solutions like this where the MOB "reaches inside the boat, gets out the folded up device, hooks it over the side and then happily climbs back on board." When you have been for an intentional swim from an anchored boat on a nice sunny calm day, I am sure all of this can be done. I have done it myself. If you have just slipped, fallen headfirst into the sea in all your clothes and come up to see your boat moving away, I just don't think it will work. For a swim ladder, OK, but for emergency re-boarding I think the ladder has got to be in place and ready to use, not stowed away somewhere on board.

[Simon Knight]

I agree with you Julian, but include it as better than nothing.

[Graham W]

The new ladder works really well.  When leaving the boat at night (diving over the side), I drape an extra long rudder uphaul line over the gunnel.  Next morning, I swim up to the boat, give the uphaul a swift tug to detach it from its clamcleat and then pull the rudder and ladder down ready for boarding.  My son can climb in over the side but those sort of manoeuvres are now well past my capabilities.