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Swim Ladder Recommendations

Czech Mate

Member II
Does anyone have any suggestions for what would be a good choice for a transom mount swim ladder for an E32-2 and where it could be purchased? I'm having a lot of trouble finding one that will fit on the transom properly but also give me the length I need to get it down in the water for boarding. Certainly would appreciate suggestions. Thanks.
 

havoc

New Member
swim ladder

If you find a swim ladder we just purchased a 32 and need a swim ladder for our boat and are very interested in what you find.
Thanks,
Mike
 

Akavishon

Member III
so?

Have you guys found suitable ladders? I am really struggeling with mine ... it fits perfectly on the stern rail, but when lowered it's barely in the water and not that easy to climb up on. Has anyone replaced their E32 ladder with a more user-friendly model?
 

Ray Rhode

Member III
You might want to check out the swim ladder exxtension in the "Owner's Projects" section. I made one for my E-35 and a friend made one for his E-32. It's cheap and you can make it as long as you want.

Ray Rhode
S/V Journey
E35-III, #189
 

Glyn Judson

Moderator
Moderator
Boarding ladder and emergency boardng.

Dear Mike and two other nameless E32 owners looking for a boarding ladder solution. To use a ladder for dual purposes, you might want to consider placing it at a boarding gate on one side of the boat. In any kind of sea with the stern flying up and down, one could safely make it back to the boat only to get injured or worse trying to board a ladder on the transom. Anecdotally, the former owner of E31 hull #41 shouldn't be alive today for that very reason. He was well offshore delivering the boat from Nantuckett Island to Portland, ME when he began dragging something under the boat. It turned out to be a polypropelyne line of some sort tangled in the propellor. Within four or five free dives he'd freed the prop and swam to the stern to board the steps there. When as he came up the boat came down and knocked him for a loop. He told me that he came within inches of passing out and barely had the strength after that to drag himself back on the boat. That story and a personal experience with the same setup on our E31 while tied bow and stern on a mooring at Isthmus Cove, Catalina was enough to convince me to get a ladder fitted at the starboard boarding gate. I might add that I was fully clothed at the time of my near accident and the weight of the water in my Anarok almost pulled me down. I came very, very, very close to drowning mere feet from our boat. It's at times like these two instances above that it becomes obvious that the easier ladder is the safer ladder so we weighed the cost of ours against the loss of a life and life won out. It's a 70" ladder that places three steps in the water. It also mounts very easily to the side of the boat using very cool, dedicated cars that attach to the Genoa track. It took less than five minutes mount it on our boat. We got ours from Mystic Stainless http://www.mysticstainless.com/page2.html. It folds into three sections that I hold in place to the lifeline across the starboard gate with UV stable hook and loop. I added a light trip line to the bottom rung (rung stows up and outboard of the other two) that I coil on the side deck and can be easily grabbed from a swimmer in the water. One tug on the line and the ladder unfolds instantly into the water, safely rigid. Getting aboard is then very simple. So ask yourselves the same questions Marilyn and I did after that close call and apply it to you or any member of your family. If you're going to replace that ladder anyway, why not do the smart thing and avoid asking yourself later on if something unfortunate were to happen, "Why didn't I get that ladder like Glyn has?" Glyn Judson E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey, CA
 

jmcpeak

Junior Viking
You sold me on this type of ladder with your story (glad your ok).

My 36RH has no ladder, all I have is a plastic ladder I can hang over the rail, but it is a POS. Someone has to stand on track overhang brackets if someone is climbing up the dang thing. This is fine in the harbor, but what if it is rocking and rolling in high seas, hell, the person holding the ladder might go over.

I've always said I can just use the boom and rig up a line, but that takes time, how do you keep the boat and person together when rigging the boom line? Never thought about that till now.

It's easy to convince my wife to purchase safety equipment, but at $800, might take a little time to find the cash.

Thanks for the post...
 

Dave Rummens

Junior Member
Side Mount Boarding Ladder on My E35-2

I agree with Glyn. For a lower priced alternative, I bought a removable stainless steel 6 step gunwale mount ladder at West Marine at a much better price. I mounted mine on the port side. It does come with mounting brackets that you mount to the deck. You just attach the ladder whenever you need it. The ladder folds and fits in the lazerette of my '72 E-35-2.

Attached is the page out of the WM E-Catalog (pg 268). I purchased the #5407095 ladder (brackets purchased separately--weird.) We have used ours a number of times anchored in Monterey Bay and it works great. What is nice is you can get your foot on the low rung without having to knee yourself in the chin, plus the curved rails at the top are great for grabbing as you climb in.

Of course the downside is it is not mountable on the genoa track as Glyn's is, which, as the website pictures show, is nice for quick deployment. With this configuration you do have to dig it out of the locker (I keep it on top of everything else so it can come out quickly). It does clip into the mounting plates quickly and locks in, but you can't have it mounted while underway.

If anyone wishes I can take some shots of how it looks.

Regards,
Dave
 

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