Passarelle on a cat

[davedindubai]

Hi cat owners,

I'm really interested in what you guys are doing to aid stepping ashore in the Med?

What passarelle do you have?

hydraulic / manual?
folding / fixed?
carbon / teak?

Do you have a handrail? How long would you suggest?

I'm expecting a few more marinas in our future with mostly stern to, floating pontoons and I'm looking for something a little more permanent than a scaffold board.
Pics of your solution, prices and where to buy all greatly appreciated. It's for the port side of a L450.
Thanks, Dave

[MikeFergie]

Have a look at Sailing zatara on YouTube. They have one on their 55 ft cat

[davedindubai]

Originally Posted by MikeFergie

Have a look at Sailing zatara on YouTube. They have one on their 55 ft cat

Thanks for the tip. I would but i'm offshore and can't access YT.

[multihullsailor6]

Dave,

In my experience you should plan for a passarelle of min. 3 m in length attached to the furthest aft point you can manage on your cat. This will enable you to pull the boat a bit further away from the jetty should swell arrive. Also plan for being able to affix the passarelle at points port and starboard so you can avoid obstacles on the jetty like power boxes etc.

[davedindubai]

Good idea. I could install a socket each side for use with a 'pin' style gangway.
I like that idea.
Would you think the middle step would be about the right height / distance from the aft of the boat?

[Perfect Ride]

Hi Dave,
We did two seasons in the Med and after looking at several options went with a disposable one: Home depot style ladder with attached, finished, plywood. Added some hardware to attach and were set to go. It worked well for us and when done the boat was back to normal (no attachment holes) and we were able to give away the weight to another cruiser. I maxed the length to what would fit in the forward locker and I think it was 3-4 meters.

[mikedefieslife]

I use a loading ramp the type you’d use to get a motorcycle into a van. Works well, is foldable and not too heavy.

I have seen all kinds of passarelle setups, some even with doorbells.

[Amberina]

hey Dave,
we have a opacmare passerelle....just super.
when docking , on push on the button, and we can retrieve the small lines holding the forward docking lines very easily.
we do the manoevre (docking) with the passerelle up.
as soon as tha backlines are on board, passerelle goes down, and if needed , a marinero can step on the boad, to give assistance.
btw, we are just the 2 of us on board.

[admiralslater]

Our Outremer has a fixed passrelle of about 2 meters. It workd well except when the peir:is a lot higher thanthe boat at low tide then it can cantilever itself out of th sockket I am raising the soket this year . It does not have a hand rail

[tosk68]

Opted for the carbon foldable gangway Lagoon offered. Handrails for mother-in-law. Came with two sockets so we can choose which level to mount it from. Works well, looks good and is light, light, light. But expensive...

[davedindubai]

Update:
I’ve bought an Ali gangway in Gib. 2.5m, folding and 12kg.
I’ve added a pad eye to the underside of each aft corner of the solar tower and mounted 2x ‘ink well’ directly below on the top step.

I can now raise and lower the gangway as and when required. Works a treat.

[Naughty Cat]

We have 3m. I agree with Multihullsailor6 on the whole.

I would add that we rarely use the fixing points. This is why.

If mooring stern to a floating pontoon they are normally low enough that you can just step over from transom to the pontoon. So the passerelle only really comes useful on a concrete quay where the height means that you want to step from a higher (and further) step to the quay. Now, if the passerelle is fixed into its fitting, the angle between its base and quay becomes important. Too steep and the quay end of the passerelle is in the air and dangerous. 2 fittings is an idea but you might not want to have a fitting on the engine cover as they can leak, or you have to remove the passerelle to access the engine.

So that is why we rarely use the fitting, but, instead simply secure the end of the passerelle to whichever step we use, making sure the boat end of the passerelle is sitting on a foam pad.

I agree longer is better. Either have wheels on the quay end or run lines to the boom/mast to stop it dragging on the quay as you move around. Weight is really important (we have aluminium, but I am seriously considering going carbon. We never use the handrails. It makes it feel narrower, wouldn't hold the weight of a person and is a faff. Personal opinion though...

Remember to measure your hatches to make sure you can store it.

Nothing wrong with a plank, but if appearance is important an old bit of wood might let the side down a bit...

[Palarran]

I tried the folding motorcycle ramp for 4 years - quite rinky dink IMO. Same for the ladders with wood strapped to them. On a cat it's harder then heck to keep the gangway elevated off the quay. And if a passing ferry throws up a wake, you could be in for a lot of gelcoat work. It happened to me.

I went with a Berzengoni, but should have bought the Opecmare. Also, I paid in Turkey about twice what they would have charged me in Greece, so it does pay to shop.