SailNet Community banner
  • SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!
21 - 35 of 35 Posts
Discussion starter · #21 ·
When you said you did not do woodworking I did not know you were a professional craftsman. Still impressive first foray into woodworking.
Thanks for the compliment. Surprisingly there wasn't much that translated from doing metalwork to woodworking. I always thought I was pretty good with my hands, but woodworking still took me an embarrassing amount of time to learn. Plus I had almost no tools for it.

I'm already excited thinking about making a boarding ladder for the new boat. I might make this one folding too.
 
New to this thread. Nice job!

To reduce the tendency to float...and also make it lighter...you could taper the bottom end of the ladder (as viewed from the side) as not as much strength would be needed, as you go down . No change in weight of wood out of the water, and less wood trying to float.

I assume your hardwood will be solid? Solid wood would be stronger for the steps and you might not need the brace underneath. But the hook at the top would need reinforcement if you use solid wood on the sides.
 
I realize this isn't the most amazing craftsmanship there is, but I'm pretty proud of it.

I've never done any woodworking before, just some carpentry. This was surprisingly difficult to do, especially since each side of the ladder had to be shaped separately to fit the hull. It took a lot of self educating and research.

Marine hardwood plywood, sealed with 4 coats of epoxy, then two coats of varnish for UV resistance. It weighs 15 pounds, which is light enough to pick up one handed.

No fasteners, the rungs are set into routed slots on each ladder side.

This only fits on the starboard side, which I'm fine with. It stows on the cabin roof butted up against the mast.

Now that I know a little more of what I'm doing, I'll build my next one out of a nice hardwood. But that will be for the next boat.

View attachment 136030 View attachment 136031
View attachment 136032 View attachment 136033 View attachment 136034 View attachment 136035 View attachment 136036
 
woodwork and joinery require some decent stationary machinery and the skills to use them... table saw, jointer, thickness planer, drill press, shaper or router workbench with vise and clamps. There is only so much you can accomplish with hand tools.
 
woodwork and joinery require some decent stationary machinery and the skills to use them... table saw, jointer, thickness planer, drill press, shaper or router workbench with vise and clamps. There is only so much you can accomplish with hand tools.
You and I may need the above tools for woodworking. Plenty of fine wood crafts were produced long before table saws and routers were invented. Still plenty of woodworkers relying on mostly or all hand tools to create.
 
Love it. I was always looking for something like that on my last boat. I spent a lot of time trying to get the West Marine stainless ladder standoffs to fit the compound curves of my boat. I never was able to get a satisfactory result, which lead to climbing up a ladder that slanted backwards. And the ladder was never long enough to get more than one step in the water (and that one only slightly below the surface). All in all, it made for a difficult climb. Looks like you've hit on a great solution, and that will make a big difference in your enjoyment of the boat. My current boat has a step through transom, with the stern pushpit containing a ladder that folds down from the swim step. After swimming off the boat for the first time, my daughter announced that the new ladder alone was worth the price of the new boat.
 
Impressive. Have you had a chance to test it in the water yet? any issues lifting from flotation? I want to build something removable like this but for dinghy access/unloading not really water.
 
Discussion starter · #30 ·
Love it. I was always looking for something like that on my last boat. I spent a lot of time trying to get the West Marine stainless ladder standoffs to fit the compound curves of my boat. I never was able to get a satisfactory result, which lead to climbing up a ladder that slanted backwards. And the ladder was never long enough to get more than one step in the water (and that one only slightly below the surface). All in all, it made for a difficult climb. Looks like you've hit on a great solution, and that will make a big difference in your enjoyment of the boat. My current boat has a step through transom, with the stern pushpit containing a ladder that folds down from the swim step. After swimming off the boat for the first time, my daughter announced that the new ladder alone was worth the price of the new boat.
That's exactly why I wanted to build it. There were a few situations that the west marine ladder was borderline dangerous to use, and at best very ineffectual.
This one has two complete steps below the water, and the third is very close to the waterline.

Impressive. Have you had a chance to test it in the water yet? any issues lifting from flotation? I want to build something removable like this but for dinghy access/unloading not really water.
I haven't yet. Since we bought the new boat we changed our plans and I'll be selling the boat I built this ladder for, along with the ladder. We'll take it out once before we sell it though, but it won't be for a month or so.
 
Discussion starter · #32 ·
I realize this isn't the most amazing craftsmanship there is, but I'm pretty proud of it.

I've never done any woodworking before, just some carpentry. This was surprisingly difficult to do, especially since each side of the ladder had to be shaped separately to fit the hull. It took a lot of self educating and research.

Marine hardwood plywood, sealed with 4 coats of epoxy, then two coats of varnish for UV resistance. It weighs 15 pounds, which is light enough to pick up one handed.

No fasteners, the rungs are set into routed slots on each ladder side.

This only fits on the starboard side, which I'm fine with. It stows on the cabin roof butted up against the mast.

Now that I know a little more of what I'm doing, I'll build my next one out of a nice hardwood. But that will be for the next boat.

View attachment 136030 View attachment 136031
View attachment 136032 View attachment 136033 View attachment 136034 View attachment 136035 View attachment 136036
Looks darn good!
 
Yes! We bought an Islander 28. Very exciting. I'm worried about the missing forward shrouds, but Jeff_H thinks they're not missing, just converted.

Nice! That's a nice boat. One of my dockmates for many years has one. We were both out for a day sail last week, and we wound up in an impromptu race. We were pretty evenly matched, but I think that if all things were equal (sail quality, skill of the crew), I think her Islander 28 would outsail my Catalina 28. That Bob Perry knows his business.
 
21 - 35 of 35 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top