Transom Ladder for BRS15

[ricknriver]

Hi, Glad Richard's ok in NZ and prayers for the families of those lost and those injured. Are there any concerns with mounting a telescopic SS boarding ladder to the transome of my BRS15? Would ensure backing washers/plate. Thinking I would mount the bracket near the top of the ransom and hold the steps up and together with a strap to keep the folded steps just below top of transom and clear of the sheets, and above the WL. Would like to have this reboarding safety feature for our older bones just in case :-). Thanks, R

[Tom Lathrop]

Interesting question. I am not sure that a transom ladder would be of any use in a boat as small as a BRS15. In order for it to be useful, the boat would have to be head to wind and probably the anchor would have to be deployed. Who does that when you are in the water? If there is another crew (they would need to be aboard) they could perhaps head the boat upwind enough for the transom to be boarded. If there were another crew they could more easily hold the boat in trim well enough for your to climb in over the leeward side. Don't know your age but I am nearly 80 and think I could get back in my Lapwing which has higher sides than a BRS15.

The best course is to practice a capsize and find out what needs to be done first hand. That is the best advice I can give anyone with a small sailboat anyway. Finding out that you can't get back aboard or have trouble recovering the boat from a capsize in the conditions that usually cause flips is often traumatic as others who have posted such events can testify.

[wkisting]

Thinking I would mount the bracket near the top of the ransom and hold the steps up and together with a strap to keep the folded steps just below top of transom and clear of the sheets, and above the WL. Would like to have this reboarding safety feature for our older bones just in case

That sounds well-reasoned to me. If you haven't already, I would probably reinforce the transom where the mounts attach. A square (maybe 3" x 3"?) of 1/4" Okoume at each mounting point would probably be fine... just something to give it a little more stiffness/heft at the attachments where it bolts through. Ideally, at least two steps should extend below the waterline when the ladder is deployed; otherwise, it can be very difficult for non-athletic or disabled swimmers to step up to the ladder and it won't serve much purpose. Since you mention your "older bones," I thought that was worth pointing out. Before you attach the ladder, you may even want to take the boat out to the water and swim alongside the transom to get a clearer mental picture of a comfortable depth (below the transom) for the bottom step to be easy to step onto. Just guessing, I would think the bottom step would need to be about 18" below the bottom of the transom.

[paul_stewart]

The Dawn Patrol has a small folding ladder on the stern that we have enjoyed. It is out-of-sight from the cockpit. I wouldn't cruise without it. For your BRS 15 you might be able to find one this minimal or even smaller.

--Paul

cs20dawnpatrol.blogspot.com

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[wkisting]

Paul, that's exactly the sort I had in mind for our CS20. Do you happen to know the manufacturer/model? I've seen a similar style, but the one I came across was too cheap looking and not very sturdy. Yours looks much nicer.

[paul_stewart]

Wes,

Yes I did find the old invoice: "Garelick 2 Step Stainless Steel Transom Ladder 19513." Weighs 5.3 lbs and has 1" stainless tubing.

Item # GAR-19513 at Wholesale Marine, 3999 Woodridge Blvd, Indian Springs, OH 45014, www.wholesalemarine.com, 877-388-2628, sales@wholesalemarine.com. On 2/7/2008 it was 61.99 plus tax.

Looks like the price went up over the past two years. At www.wholesalemarine.com it appears to be 85.81.

Still... I'd say it's worth it to have a good ladder.

I see they have a more minimal one-step version also: for 41.90 the two-pound GAR-19612 which might work well on a smaller boat or on a BRS-15. It has 7/8 inch stainless tubing and is roughly the same width as the GAR-19513. Looks like it might be good, too, but I have no experience with that one.

A keyword for searches is "transom ladder".

cs20dawnpatrol.blogspot.com

--Paul

[Mike Vacanti]

Here is a type of boarding ladder you could build yourself, I saw this on the Duckworks website a few years ago:

diy boarding ladder

It doesn't look like it would cost much and it could be made to look halfway attractive.

[Steve Day]

Wes,

West Marine price matches any bonafide offer out on the Internet for the same make/model, and you can pick it up at the store there at Lake Lanier.

In any case, make sure you have at least two rungs in the water to make sure you don't have to do any special gymnastics moves to get out of the water. The older we get, the more we need to consider that. I used to get out of the water easily using only the cavitation plate on the outboard for a step on my Dad's boat. There is no way I could do that now!

Steve

[Tom Lathrop]

After posted that I did not think a boarding ladder would be of much use on a BRS15, I was surprised that many not only think otherwise but have fitted boarding ladder to their dinghys. I guess the reason I am surprised is that I've sailed such boats for a loooong time and have never seen a boarding ladder on such small boats. I have seen scads of capsizes in all kinds of boats of similar size though with crews reboarding by climbing over the sides. The largest such is Southern Skimmer which is admittedly reaching the range where a ladder might make it safer and easier.

All this is of no consequence if others do find a ladder helpful and I acknowledge that. With 80 coming on much too fast in September, maybe I should make a practical trial in Lapwing this summer to see if my physical condition is better in memory than in fact.

[hokeyhydro]

As Wes mentioned the ladder has to be deep enough to use without being an acrobat. The *cute* swim ladder on my runabout is useless for anyone with many miles on their age clock. My larger boat has a "dive" ladder which goes down maybe 2 feet below the water - nice. A test swim under calm conditions is a way to gauge the ladder design.

[ricknriver]

Thank you for all the ideas and thoughts. Going to try one of the telescopic ones but bring it straight up with the mount near the top of the transom and clip/strap it up tight. Will get as many steps as can fit between the top and bottom of transom when closed so it will be clear of both mizzen sheets and water. Will also try rolling/climbing in from the stern quarter (when water warms a bit) as Tom suggested as freeboard there not much more than my canoes that I can still (for a few more years I hope) self rescue that way. Thanks again. Rick