Snapdragon III
Senior Member
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2016
- Messages
- 422
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- Snapdragon
- Vessel Make
- Custom 56' Skookum trawler
One of the things I don't like about my boat is that it is hard to get on and off of it at the dock. It has two boarding locations on each side. The one at the widest part of the boat, where it is close to the dock has a very high gunnel, and you really have to climb up there. It's not too bad at our home marina as I have steps installed on the dock, but it's a pain when traveling. It is also a pain when we have older friends over, as they have a very hard time getting on board.
The rear gate has a much lower gunnel, and would be easier to step over, but since the boat is football shaped, it is always too far away from the dock to be usable. There is usually around 24" of water between the boat that the dock at the rear gate location. The solution I came up with was to build boarding steps that would clamp over the gunnel at the rear gate, and extend out diagonally toward the dock. This would make stepping up much easier, and would also fill the large gap between the boat and the dock. When not one use it folds up vertically against the hand rail, and I will bungee it in place. It can be used on either side of the boat.
I came up with a design based on using left over material from a couple projects I've done recently. I built it over the last few days, then took it out to the boat to test fit today. Once I got it fit properly I took it home again and installed the chafe protection which I made out of old fire hose. I am excited get the final version installed on the boat this weekend.
The rear gate has a much lower gunnel, and would be easier to step over, but since the boat is football shaped, it is always too far away from the dock to be usable. There is usually around 24" of water between the boat that the dock at the rear gate location. The solution I came up with was to build boarding steps that would clamp over the gunnel at the rear gate, and extend out diagonally toward the dock. This would make stepping up much easier, and would also fill the large gap between the boat and the dock. When not one use it folds up vertically against the hand rail, and I will bungee it in place. It can be used on either side of the boat.
I came up with a design based on using left over material from a couple projects I've done recently. I built it over the last few days, then took it out to the boat to test fit today. Once I got it fit properly I took it home again and installed the chafe protection which I made out of old fire hose. I am excited get the final version installed on the boat this weekend.
