Boat Ladders

[nlareau]

I'm fishing in cold water and wearing enough clothes so that if I ever fell in I'd probably sink like a stone.  Yes, I am always (always) wearing my vest unless it is hot and the boat is stopped.

My boat needs a ladder.  I hate the idea of sticking one of those BPS $60 two step ladders to the back of the boat.  You know, the ones that fold down.

a) they are ugly
b) I don't think 2 steps gets into the water deep enough to be much good.

Anybody got any bright ideas?  And don't tell me to go buy a new Triton.  The built in ladder is smart and a nice design, but a new boat is not in my future...

[BigCheese]

Neil get with WildBill he installed a latter on his old TR series boat(model before the installed the boarding latter).  It looked sharp and worked like a charm.

[nlareau]

Thanks.  I'd be interested to see what it was.

[spetro]

tritonEd has one as well.  Shoot him an IM or post this question in dock talk or the fiberglass board. You may get a faster answer.

[Ouachita]

There are some considerations I want to bring out. If you fish alone I wouldn't let aesthetics obscure safety too much. I bought a new anodized aluminum pocket folding ladder made by GG Schmidtt on EBay for $180, in the original box, new, retail price $507. http://www.ggschmitt.com/ The company selling on EBay had about 20 in different models for sale plus a warehuse of other boat accessories, going out of business, and is gone now, but I see good deals there from time to time. It folds up on the rear deck and can be kicked overboard out of the way, and is easily pulled out from outside the boat. I've looked over many boarding ladders, and can say with confidence you get what you pay for. Cheap ladders are easily warped with one use, break under a load (many not advertised as not capable of handling 200 pounds), or are difficult to use in an emergency. Some require someone on board to unfold it into the water. My ladder only requires reaching the leading edge, easily yanked into the water. Its 3 steps go far enough into the water I can quickly step into the bottom step. It also stands out properly when deployed, not hitting the side of the boat wrong. A metal ladder striking a gel coat could do some severe damage. If you fish alone a lot it would be a good idea to select one you don't need help with. When there's nobody with me I hook the rear seat pedestal with a lanyard tied to the bottom step to have a way to pull myself up and over, as when soaked I'm not as agile as I need to be and have difficulty pitching forward going up the ladder. When water is pouring out your backside, your backside weighs a lot more than normal, pulling you back into the lake. I've never had to use it in an emergency, but practiced so I'd know what to do. A child could probably scamper right into the boat, but at my age it's a tough experience to do it alone.

Jim

[scwildbill]

Neil.....The old TR series Triton's didn't have a boarding ladder as standard but they did offer one as an option for a price!!.... It was expensive but then again how do you put a value on your life... I didn't want an Ugly ladder sticking off the back end of my boat either till I realized what would happen to my family if I fell overboard in the winter.

Try this.... This summer take out all your winter gear and put it on then jump in the lake. Make sure a buddy is there to help you cause you AIN'T getting back in that boat! That's all it took for make a believer out of me!

Now I know we're gonna have guys say, "just go to the back of the motor, put your feet on the cavitation plate and hit the trim switch."..... I say try that with all your winter clothes on and see if you can do it!...I'm pretty physically fit and not over weight and I couldn't do it!.....

Neil, I had to buy the Triton option cause no other ladder would work due to the design of Triton's transom. Mine had just two steps also which is plenty to get you in and out of the water. You also gotta remember that it's not just the steps but a place that you can grab onto to pull yourself up onto the ladder.

I really get a kick of out people that say..."Yeah I carry a rope ladder in that compartment right there"... What good is that ladder when you're already in the water!.....

Don't skimp on safety items!!!..

Oh and by the way I thought my ladder was ugly too but never once did anyone come up to me and say that... Most complimented me and said "hey, that's a good idea"

I'll leave you with this thought...........How much is your life worth?

[nlareau]

...snip

I'll leave you with this thought...........How much is your life worth?

That entirely depends on who you ask.    I think the average price I heard was $0.02.

Yeah, I'm going to buy a ladder.  No question you can get into trouble FAST in cold water. 

[Ouachita]

$0.02....Hmmmm. I read from a book on economics the government considers the value of one working American lifetime is over two million dollars, in terms of total effect on the national economy, including taxes paid. A married couple accounts for much more value by producing more workers spending. The money you earn goes back into the economy and generates on average up to 50 times what you spend, some folks causing 2-3 hundred fold increase in their share of GDP. You spend a dollarwhich becomes income on through many hands, each time taxed again and again, and that dollar finances businesses which provide jobs and more prosperity.

I believe safety is well worth the cost. Live long and prosper! Y

Jim

[scwildbill]

  Well that's another way to look at it!!!

[Ouachita]

As you can see, you are important to me, each to another, in more ways than one or a few. 

Jim

[Ouachita]

I found some digital photos my daughter took of my ladder folded up and extended if you are interested. I haven't taken time to figure out how to post them in my gallery here, but know how to email photos. All I need are instructions.

Jim

[DAWG]

Jim,if you have an account at somewhere like Photobucket.com or myfishing pictures.com they make it easy to download your photos there and can be trasnferred here.

[spetro]

Jim....if you want....email them to me and I'll post them in your name. 

[nlareau]

My email is in my profile. Yes, I'd like to see them.  I'm going to add a ladder the questions are just where, how, and where.

[Ouachita]

I sent 3 to you and CCd a set to Spetro in the same email, asking him to post them here. I tried using the Additional Options, browsed to the files, but it says it won't take a JPG file, text only. I tried posting them in the Gallery, but didn't find a tool for adding a photo, so my Gallery remains empty.








Jim

[Ouachita]

Hope this works. Here's my boarding ladder. It's a GG Schmitt & Sons, white aluminum.







Jim

[nlareau]

Thanks for the pictures. Nice work on the installation.

[Ouachita]

If I had the camera (SANTA, are you seeing this?  ) I'd add one showing the tow strap that has a loop at each end. One loop goes over the rear seat pedestal. the other end loosely knotted to the ladder. Even though the ladder is easy to get on and climb, getting over the edge onto the deck is impossible for me without that strap to pull myself up. I got it at Wal Mart, about 6 feet long, made of webbed nylon. When there's someone using the rear deck we coil it up under the seat. There will be no pulling a partner up without it, as that could result in both of us in the water. We fold the ladder off the deck either upright out of the way or folded once down over the side, but if doing that it has to be brought back up before taking off. I considered putting it on the transom, but when the motor is turned all the way to one side it would prevent deployment.

Jim

[nlareau]

I'm buying a ladder today.  Yesterday I had 2 pairs of thermals under brush pants, two shirts, a sweatshirt, and then the PFD.   So that's 3 pairs of pants and 5 shirts.  I'll stick on the rainsuit if it is really cold.

The water was 42 degrees and I was by myself.  Even I have to admit that isn't smart.  At best if I fell in I might get to shore, but I'd be frozen trying to walk to get help.

I'm putting in the ladder and stuffing some old clothes in plastic and storing them.

[Ouachita]

Having that ladder ready is step one. It's imperative to get out of the water ASAP. If I fell in this cold water I'd head for shore and build a fire to warm up and get dry before going in. It would be a good idea to call someone to let them know what's going on and where you are recovering. A good friend or any available lake patrol agency would be glad to go check on you. We've found many an angler coming directly to the ramp soaked and suffering hypothermia, unable to load the boat or drive, needing an ambulence, black & blue, incoherent. Adding wind on that run back in is a bad idea when wet and cold. I carry a Zip Loc bag full of "rich pine" splinters, including a lighter. That would be enough to start a rich pine stump on fire. Those are common here, easily pulled up. They burn like soaked with kerosene. Once warmed up I'd put on dry clothes lept in another bag. The clothes, a plastic tarp, twine and a wool blanket are in a plastic bag shrunk down really small by attaching a vaccum hose to remove air, the whole thing about 6"X8"X4". Next time I fix that up I'll add two hard plastic sheets sandwiching the contents to make it shrink flatter like a book so it will store better. I keep an MRE in the boat in winter, which contains a pouch that will quickly warm some chicken soup.

Jim