rear ladder safety knot

[StuM]

The Highwayman's Hitch is good, or there is the Tumble Hitch:
Tumble Hitch | How to tie the Tumble Hitch | Various Knots

(Grog rates the Tumble Hitch better)

[ozskipper]

You could try tying it up with Cotton Wool. With a rope tied to the step. Should you need the ladder the wool breaks and down comes the step.

[sartorst]

Be careful with this type set up as I was on a friends boat sailing along at a good pace when I opened a beer leaned back on the ladder/push pit the knot came untied and i did a back flip off the boat! my friend was laughing hysterically because I flipped and re boarded without spilling my beer I never wast beer!

[RainDog]

Originally Posted by sartorst

Be careful with this type set up as I was on a friends boat sailing along at a good pace when I opened a beer leaned back on the ladder/push pit the knot came untied and i did a back flip off the boat! my friend was laughing hysterically because I flipped and re boarded without spilling my beer I never wast beer!

One great advantage of Paul's idea is this will not happen.

[Paul Elliott]

Originally Posted by Richard5

Nothing should be so ignored for that length of time. However, if I got this right what Paul is saying stick a monkey fist through a shackle.

Not quite, but that's not a bad way to trigger some types of shackles (the ones where you release the shackle using a fid), although I would rather splice a loop through the trigger eye.

With my setup the quick-release shackle normally has a short lanyard attached to the release pin -- the shackle I used was from an old tether which I had retired. I replaced the tether with several feet of light line, and the monkey's fist is at the other end to give the person in the water something to grab. It doesn't have to be a monkey's fist, I just felt like tying one -- how often do you get the chance to tie a monkey's fist???

Every now and then I give the shackle a fresh-water rinse and work it a few times to make sure it's not getting corroded or salt-crusted.