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The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.
I'm prepping my boat for paint and was curious what these clips on the starboard side of my boat are for? They must be a custom install from a PO. My best guess is that they are for locking in a gangplank of sorts...any ideas?
Some insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time!
Very similar to the brackets for the ladder I installed inside Sarge's cockpit.
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
Thanks for your reply. Interesting that the PO would install a second ladder unless he thought the one one the stern was unusable due to the reports of it hurting people's feet? That or for some reason they wanted to allow people to get into the cockpit from the side. Hmmm. I may or may not get rid of it and fill the holes before painting. Is there a reason that a ladder at the side would be helpful? I'm pretty young so I don't know if it will be useful for me or my friends haha.
As I approach my 70th birthday I'll offer the perspective of someone much less nimble than you probably are. A boarding ladder that can be temporarily installed - and otherwise left lying at the ready on the finger pier - could be quite nice when loading and unloading equipment and provisions before and after taking the boat out for the day. My girlfriend, in particular, could benefit greatly, and some guests I've brought aboard would be grateful. From the finger pier alongside my berth it's almost two feet up to the top of the cockpit coaming. Obviously, as the boat roles that little ladder would tilt quite a bit, and it might need rollers instead of rubber cups on the feet. Instead, I have a little two-step platform that lives permanently on the pier for this, but maybe your P.O. thought a little step-ladder like Dave's would be an easy solution.
The trouble with a destination - any destination, really - is that it interrupts The Journey.
Lee Panza SR/SK #2134 San Francisco Bay (Brisbane, CA)
I vote to keep it. In addition to the reasons others have already mentioned, you might keep some water out of the cockpit if you encourage your guests towel off on the bow after swimming.
I should get one of these. Imagine five kids boarding from the swim ladder just so they can immediately jump back in the water, over and over again....
Seems to be some confusion about the ladder type. I Think Dave has it right as a dock boarding ladder like he shows in the picture. I don't think they are for a swim ladder. Swim ladders don't usually attach with those type of hooks. Least none that I have seen.
Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688 Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound
More than that, it's actually listed (and I use it) as a "cockpit ladder." My brackets are on the inside of the cockpit rim (sorta like coamings), and I have a set on each side so whatever side a dock ends up on, I can put the ladder there. (You guys have the cockpit seats--I have an open "party deck" that's a big step down.) The ladder isn't suitable as a swim ladder--it's supposed to be on an angle to the cockpit sole. And for a dock, most folks prefer a stationary step attached to the dock--not something that will shift around with movements of the boat. However, there may be swim ladders that use the same brackets. (I don't know what I'd think about having nothing but screws holding a load that's pulling outward on the ladder...) Generally they attach to the deck--not the side.
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
Several years ago, side mount boarding ladders were available to purchase and add to a boat. They were especially popular with boat owners who wanted a firmly mounted but removable ladder, long for getting out of the water, or short to assist with boarding from a pier or a dinghy.
DavidP 1975 C-22 SK #5459 "Shadowfax" Fleet 52 PO of 1984 C-25 SK/TR #4142 "Recess" Percy Priest Yacht Club, Hamilton Creek Marina, Nashville, TN
I appreciate the insight, boys. Found the ladder on google using your keywords and yep, that has got to be what it is. $120+ though?!
I was wondering, by the way, do the feet of the ladder sit on the dock or against the boat? I will leave them in and consider getting a ladder one day. I do have some older folks as friends that would appreciate the easier access.
I was wondering, by the way, do the feet of the ladder sit on the dock or against the boat?
Your question addresses my misconception earlier (wasn't paying attention in the middle of the night). The dock ladder has feet on the dock. The swim ladder has feet that curve back against the hull.
Unless those brackets are bolted through the hull and not screwed to it, the ladder I showed should sit on the dock so most of the weight is supported by the feet and pressure against the hull (and not pulling away from it). A swim-ladder design with "feet" against the hull should be thru-bolted.
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
I have the same brackets on my 1980 and was told that it was a factory option (pre-transom ladders) for a boarding/swim ladder. Defender has such ladders but the mount is slightly different. Anyway, I would prefer bolted and on the transom so I never did anything with it. I have toyed with adding the transom some boarding ladder which is available through CD
Peter Bigelow C-25 TR/FK #2092 Limerick Rowayton, Ct Port Captain: Rowayton/Norwalk/Darien CT
Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ. The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.