Transom Ladder

[Nasher]

I was determind to sort out a way that my kids could get back in the boat by themselves when anchored up off the beach, and of course for me when the days activities have taken their toll.

I liked the Idea of a fold down transom ladder like you see on a lot of hard boats, so kept an eye on ebay and picked one up that was missing its mounting brackets and legs.

When it arrived I made up some stainless mounts with nylon feet, and tried it on the back of the Ocean, only to find I couldn't make it fit without it touching the engine when its on full lock and lifted on the hydraulics.
The problem is of course that the tubes and A frame on a RIB narrow the useable width of the transom so much.

It went in the back of the garage until today when I had a sudden inspiration.
Out came the hacksaw, I cut 2.5 inches out the middle, then welded it back together again.(Trusty 250Amp Mig with stainless wire and Argon)

Its now still wide enough for my size 9's, and should prove useful.
Only time will tell if the stainless wire I had in the garage will be good enough not to discolour.

Nasher.

[Mike B]

Looks sweet.

Must be the time of year for this - after spending last weekend pulling people into the boat after exiting doughnuts I decided it was time for a ladder too.

I wish I could get one on the transome but there is no way cause people wouldn't fit under the A frame - so I went for one of these for over the tube £46 from compass http://www.compass24.com/cgi-bin/abn...k&ARTNR=117541. I have added some strategic pipe lagging so the tubes don't get rubbed and it seems perfect. The lifting eyes fore and aft make perfect anchor points and I can move the ladder to any of the four corners of the boat.

It's not good for when the boat is trailered as the tubes don't have the waters support from underneth, but once in the water it should be fine.

Cheers

Mike