Getting back on the boat fron in the water

Hi all

We had a interesting day today in the race around the bay

The wind was blowing fairly hard with squalls coming through ever so often and at one point we had a 30 second gust that showed 50 knots and caused a fair bit of havoc to the race fleet with 2 of the 5 boats competing deciding to call it a day

After the race we tied a up at the marina and had a warm drink and as I was getting of the boat I slipped and ended up in the water

There were no fixed ladders close by so I swam to a boat a couple of berths away that had a swing down swim ladder and with some difficulty I climbed up and out of the water

I was wearing my wet weather trousers and stormy jacket and with all my clothing soaking wet it was not as easy to get out of the water as I thought it would be

Everyone else other than the skipper had left so I was not too embarrassed but he could not lift a soggy 110 kg out of the water and the only casualty is a dead mobile phone,a swollen side of my left foot and a few aches where I hit stuff on the way into the water

This got me thinking that if I fell overboard on my boat I would struggle to get aboard again even with the fixed ladder on the transom

I am thing about having a rope ladder attached to my fixed ladder tied up to the top rail with Velcro or similar and if I fell in I could pull it down into the water so I could climb up to the fixed ladder

Any thoughts would be appreciated

Regards Don

That's actually an interesting evolution Don and I think it may not be a bad idea to bring it to the attention of the club safety officer if you have one and see if a day can be organised where everyone has to fall off their boat ad see what difficulties they experience getting back on board.

Hi

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LooseChange said..
That's actually an interesting evolution Don and I think it may not be a bad idea to bring it to the attention of the club safety officer if you have one and see if a day can be organised where everyone has to fall off their boat ad see what difficulties they experience getting back on board.

Hi Loosechange

That is a good suggestion and I doubt that many could make it on unassisted unless the had a swing down ladder to climb up out of the water on

The worrying thing about down here is that you have not got all that long before hypothermia sets in and you have bugger all strength left to do anything yourself

The funny thing about today is we had a new guy on the boat and I told him to be careful getting off as the stainless rail you normally put you foot on to jump off is slippery when wet and then I went and slipped on it myself

I normally have grippy sailing shoes on but I took them off on the boat and put on a set of crocs with worn soles so I have no one else to blame but myself

The boat I fell off has a swing down ladder but it was tied up stern to in its berth and when the skipper tried to swing it down it fouled on the pontoon

Also you would need to untie it to swing it down and it would be impossible to do this from in the water

Regards Don

The biggest danger is slipping/tripping/falling into the water and being knocked unconcious on the way in.

Add hypothermia to that situation.................well you know what I am talking about.

I can climb aboard using my windvane steering gear. The tricky part to climbing up the stern is the first foot hold. As HGO2 indicated a permanent step on the rudder blade is one way. Some boats have cutaways in the rudder as foot holds about 6 inches below the waterline. I could probably use the top of my rudder blade but have not tried it. With a first foothold below the waterline and permanent hand holds up the stern you have a chance if reasonably fit. At sea in a bit of slop its very difficult, even when I was a fit young bloke, now I would have great difficulty.

I also have a fender step but I don't think thats much use in this situation

Maybe get a second section of ladder fabricated that attaches and is hinged at the bottom of your existing ladder it would fold down and plop into the water another three feet. Maybe a soft closing clip that would allow the person in the water to let it down but enough of a clip so it doesn't fall down all the time.

I have a fold down ladder which has a rung on a central spine 60cm below the water line.

Next step is at 30cm below the water line and the next just above the water.

With a higher side than a Top Hat more rungs are necessary above water as required.

I have no trouble getting on board with this ladder. [PS Mk 1's have a lift out at the stern which makes planned entries easier]

As a solo sailor I ALWAYS use a harness so my real problem is if I go overboard ahead of the stays!

To counter that problem I have a rope with two loops in [measured as above] tacked, with light cotton,
to the deck gear where I can get at them from the water.

That works on a Top Hat, but for higher sides ????????

The bottom part of the ladder is shown below folded up.

Mind you I will have to rethink all this as I am constructing a wind vane per Ramona's design

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Ramona said..
That's a nice looking set up there. Perhaps extend the sides where the tubing goes to the pivot joints and fix it to the rear gunwale on either side of the stern. Have it so it folds up against the pushpit when stowed.

The rope ladder is a good alternative but I would suggest you try it in nice calm water first. Very difficult to use if your young and fit. The fixed ladder with the first step well down is really the only way an old bloke will get out.

On my fishing vessel I had a SS handle about 18 inches above the waterline, underwater there was a ledge about 12 inches below the waterline. By using the rise and fall of the boat in a bit of a seaway I could get the first step easily and pull myself up. The firm first foot hold is critical.

Hi Ramona

I understand that the rope ladder would want to go back under stern if I was holding on to the bottom rung of the fixed ladder but I was hoping it would at least give me something t push against with my legs as I pull myself up the fixed ladder

Regards Don

Donk, i have used a rope ladder similar to the one you posted the link to . Except the one I have has timber steps with knots under each step .

Works well .

The plastic one in the link looked not to have knots under the steps . don't know how that would work !

Not sure that the rope ladder will work, to be effective means that it needs to be deployed at all times. So unless you have it attached with a method of deploying it from the water you are still in for a long swim.

This type of boarding ladder is very common and at $149 is quite economical.

www.whitworths.com.au/oceansouth-4-step-boarding-ladder-2-2-step-folding

This is what was fitted to Second Wind. If the folding part is secured up with a slip knot it will be quite easily deployed from the water if you happen to be in it.

Hi

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LooseChange said..
Not sure that the rope ladder will work, to be effective means that it needs to be deployed at all times. So unless you have it attached with a method of deploying it from the water you are still in for a long swim.

Hi Loosechange

What I was thinking of doing was attaching it to the bottom of the existing ladder and storing it behind the bottom of the ladder between the ladder and the transom and holding it there with a couple of Velcro straps

If I fell in I could swim to the ladder undo the Velcro, pull out the rope ladder from behind the existing ladder and then use it as something to put my feet on to climb up to the existing ladder and get on the boat

Regards Don

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nswsailor said..
Better shot of Seaka's ladder.

The flat swings around to come into contact with the lower step making a ridged ladder to climb.

The lower tread is what divers use and is the best idea for the bottom rung.

The bottom rung rests on the stern deck when fully raised.

The lower part of this was retro fitted to the ladder by welding two halves of the tube together. You can see one of the welds.

Nice! I like it, simple and effective

A interesting article here that mainly deals with small boats but has some interesting points www.boatus.org/findings/44/

Regards Don