boarding ladder ideas 25 ft boat (Irwin 25)

[jrophoff]

Any boarding ladder suggestions? It's a smaller boat so not sure if a stern ladder is the best option. I currently have a rope ladder, but we all know how that goes .

If anyone has this boat or a boat of equivalent size please let me know what works best for you.

[CorvetteGuy]

Look at the kind that folds up and hooks to your toe rails (two candy cane with rungs)sorry can't think of the real name other than a bording ladder, it is ridged and folds to a reasonable size to stow in many spots.

[guitarguy56]

Originally Posted by CorvetteGuy

Look at the kind that folds up and hooks to your toe rails (two candy cane with rungs)sorry can't think of the real name other than a bording ladder, it is ridged and folds to a reasonable size to stow in many spots.

You might mean this ladder

I don't have one for my boat and considering getting one.

[jrophoff]

Originally Posted by guitarguy56

You might mean this ladder

I don't have one for my boat and considering getting one.

That looks like a good concept. It comes with locks that you attach to your boat.

[Alex W]

Our Catalina 25 had a ladder that was offset to one side of the transom and which folded down. It worked well and could be deployed from the water, which is a good safety feature.

You can buy the same ladder from Catalina Direct. It looks like this could easily be retrofit to an Irwin 25. They include the hinge/mounting brackets with the ladder.

I couldn't find other ladders for our Catalina 25 with the same properties of being able to be deployed from the water, folding up nicely out of the way when not in use, and staying attached to the transom.

[andrewalexander]

hoff....here are a couple of shots of a transom ladder on my Irwin 25. I don't know the manufacturer...sorry, but it can give you an idea what can be done

....@

[jrophoff]

Thanks Andrew - Is that something you installed? Is there a backing plate where the ladder is bolted on, or is the transom more than capable without a backing plate?

[rhr1956]

I installed the deck brackets just forward of the shrouds. The ladder clips into the deck brackets and folds down so there are two or three rungs under water. It's very easy to climb aboard using the shrouds as a hand hold.
WEST MARINE P012868550 at West Marine

[Lake Superior Sailor]

On outboard powered boats we used the out board to get on the boat, no ladder, I do the same with my dinghy......Dale

[tschmidty]

Gaerlick has some options that are reasonably priced.

http://www.garelick.com/Transom-Boarding-Ladders (this url hates me)

Here is something similar but I don't know what the mounting hardware looks like.

http://marinepartdepot.com/foplla3st.html

For installation, I'd always out some kind of backer instead of just washers, there can be significant loads on a boarding ladder.

I'd also recommend one that mounts permanently and can be deployed from the water, it really is a huge safety feature. A ladder that lives in a cockpit locker does you zero good when you are overboard. I could 'sort of' see having an short 'emergency' transom ladder and then a longer ladder that hooks on the side for other situations (boarding from the side in waves can be easier) but that seems silly compared to just having one that is always available.