Who Keeps a Ladder with Them ?

[teneicm]

Hi Folks-

As we sift through the house determining what things need to be sold in preparation for living aboard, I've wondered about our collection of ladders. We have a couple of various height stepladdders and one telescoping standard ladder. During haulouts they're great, but I'm thinking they aren't worth the space and weight the rest of the time? What do you liveaboards do?

And while on the "paring down the home stuff" topic, what was was the one thing you sold thinking you wouldn't need that you later regretted?

Cheers- Matt

[idpnd]

I've got the exact one shown in this blog post and I am intending to convert it to a gangway as & when.

[Bash]

ladders? Every boat yard I've ever used has plenty of ladders around that can be borrowed.

The one thing we got rid of that we needed to replace was a hand mixer. No sense living on a boat if you can't bake a cake once in a while.

[MarkJ]

Is this an IQ test?

My favorite tool is my 50 foot firemans ladder!!


Matt! Shake yourself!! Yes, they are your prized ladders but you gotta get rid of them! No you won't get a good price for them. You will end up giving them to a mate or getting .99c on Ebay

Going crusing means getting rid of all the crap. Yes ALL of it!


If you are going direct to the Mediteranian then you might chop off 10 foot of ladder but only if your boat doesnt have a swim platform. Anyway a plank is better, and planks are cheap! in Egypt the guy wanted to sell me his whole timber yard for $10.

The ladders go, Matt. Along with your golf club and your wifes 100 pairs of shoes with dresses to match.... and the 317 piece cutlery set Mum bought you for a weding gift.

"paring down the home stuff" topic, what was was the one thing you sold thinking you wouldn't need that you later regretted?

NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(I am still thinking of selling Nicolle....)

And also be careful when using Ebay to sell stuff off. You really may only get 99cents for good stuff. Much better to give away something worth $100 to a friend than giving it to a stranger for 99 cents.

Finally: When giving stuff away to friends don't expect them to take it! We linded up all our stuff and the first round of invitations went to our very best friends. they picked over our TREASURES like crap at a jumble store and rejected the LOT!

It was late January and we asked 2 friends if they wanted their Christmas presents back (we hadn't told anyone we were going till 2 weeks before we did): 1 friend said yes she wanted her vase as she really liked it when she saw it......... the other just looked at her present in almost disgust and said 'nup'.

Friends. you can't shoot them!

Matt give up! You are going cruising! Now get rid of your old life!




Mark

[Randyonr3]

Originally Posted by MarkJ;

(I am still thinking of selling Nicolle....)
Mark

Tried that, but it seems they always bring her back in the morning..

[zeehag]

only ladder i ever neeeded on my boats was the boarding ladder--now i have a gorgeous true mahogany and bronze folding to be mounted on formosa one--lol----yards have their own and they are rickety...

[teneicm]

Mark- Hey, believe me I'm not wedded to keeping this stuff around. About my only concern with regards to "stuff" is getting rid of it all (which is fine, even if I only get my .99 cents of ebay) only to discover that I now need to buy something I just disposed of- and I know I'm not gonna get the deal I just gave someone else....

Since most boats here are on the hard 50% of the year, I've been in enough of them where there are actually ladders squirreled away down below. I personally couldn't see any reason to have one, except to possibly double as a passerelle while cruising areas where med mooring is prevalent, but I'm not out there doing it (yet) so just wanted to confirm my hunch.

Thanks- Matt

ps- we

[FSMike]

Ladders no. I wish I'd kept my collection of blues records because we have a house again.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by teneicm

. About my only concern with regards to "stuff" is getting rid of it all .. only to discover that I now need to buy something I just disposed of-

Theres nothing really. Its far better on the strage capacity to just think everything through a million times not only for the cost by where to put it.

if there is something it will be small and therefore not a great drama.

I really can't think of one thing I would have brought from home.... unless it was a truckload of stuff, if you know what I mean.

Tools are different. i don't have a good socket set and I have burred nuts at the moment (hmmm) that need good sockets. By the way, when I need to borrow a tool I always go to a USA boat. Those folks spend stupid amounts on tools. Great quality.


have fun with getting rid of everything. Once you get used to it it becomes a wonderul release!

[sarafina]

If you felt the need for one this might be the best you could find. I have had one for 15 years and it is a workhorse, stable and strong and collapses to almost nothing! Makes an A Frame ladder comes in 4'. 6', and 8' I think.

[CharlieCobra]

I like that one Sara.

[sarafina]

it's a sweet design... pricey, but when space is at a premium...

[unbusted67]

I second what Mark said, just with half the flare. I often want to sell Beth too. I also agree that the stuff that you will give away that you will need to buy again - it does happen it's inevitable - is always small enough that it doesn't hurt you. It's not like you will be saying, "damnit I did have space for my cuisinart, barcalounger, and stereo system on my boat, why did I get rid of that stuff?" More likely it will be stuff like tools etc.

[ka4wja]

Matt,
A ladder on board, for a liveaboard and/or cruiser???

NO.....I can't think of a use for one.....(except of course as a "paserelle", when med mooring...)

I used one side (8') of a very heavy-duty GRP (fiberglass) extension ladder as my basis for a nice paserelle....
I screwed a long piece of "non-skid" StarBoard to the rungs of the ladder, allowing it to be used as a 8' long, heavy-duty (but not too heavy) non-skid gangplank / paserelle, working very well on floating docks/pontoons, when set right-side-up.....
Or, when turned up-side-down, it gives a very nice walking ladder / paserelle, for use on higher docks/quays/walls.....(see photos of this)

I have photos of my paserelle set-up and working well in Gibraltar, and a photo (showing part of it) stowed/secured for offshore/Atlantic crossing, secured to the toerail, aft pushpit, and stanchions.....
I'm including the links to those photos, as wel as hoping I'll be able to attach them here....

Annie Laurie Translant
Annie Laurie Translant
Annie Laurie Translant


So, unless you build a paserelle similar to mine, can't think of any reason to have a ladder on board.....

Good luck and Fair winds...

John
s/v Annie Laurie

[Roaring Girl]

We are in the Med and really don't bother to keep your ladders! If you can't find a friend or bother with ebay, then give to a charity - eg a local training workshop.

We have a passarelle, rather like the one ka4wja described, with detailed pictures and explanation at our blog (tag below, and they're currently the latest posts). But you can easily get a bit of wood - plus a ladder if you want it - in Spain. (We did, and in fact didn't bother with one till we'd gone from Gib all the way to Barcelona.) It lashes perfectly securely to the pushpit for passage-making.

Boatyards will have a way to get you aboard when on the hard. Personally, I wouldn't see the folding ladders described above are worth the space and the one that folds cross-ways may actually be harder to stow than a relatively flat object tied to your rails. (that of course depends on your stowage arrangements.)

We do carry two plastic folding trestle ends, which can be a total PITA but are invaluable for a large surface (scrounge any old bit of wood) when working ashore. Much harder to find alternatives to them than to find a ladder!