Advice On How To Use a Plank Please

[Chris Pink]

Sensible people agree with me always.

[Bod]

Sensible people agree with me always.

Can I borrow that for my gravestone please?

 

Bod

[David Mack]

All very amusing but if the gap between boat & bank is big enough to need a plank then how does the single hander manage it?

 

I sometimes ponder this as i'm puttering along and my eye falls on the space where the plank would be if i had one - I may decide to visit the K&A at some point & advice on here is that a plank is needed so some sensible advice would be appreciated by me at least

 

We have two holes drilled in the corners at one end of the plank, with a length of rope tied through each, leaving a loop about the same length as the plank. Place the plank vertically just inboard of the gunwale, with the non-rope end at the bottom, and then you can lower the plank like a drawbridge onto the bank. Hop off down the plank, tie up the boat, and then either tie off the rope loop to a mooring pin/bollard/ring, or reverse the plank and tie the loop off on the boat. Easy.

[Tigerr]

Some solid, sound advice from seasoned plankers upthread - lots to learn here.

I myself have recently acquired a plank that is also a ladder. It is made of aluminium however so perhaps doesn't qualify as a plank - and an affronmty to the traditionalist, but it has a real advantgae in being very light/easy to use. This was bought after Mrs Tiger fell in at a marina in February and wasnt able to climb out due to height of piling/boatside and the cold. Overall its an excellent bit of kit and enabled a person in the water to climb out before hypothermia sets in. Of course one needs to remember to mount it flat side up otherwise one would be walking on the ladder treads but so far we have managed that OK.

If anyone buys one of these excellent ladder planks - be advised they strip the paint off the gunwhale with the serrated aluminium edge so it is a good idea to put rubber halftube fendering along the underside edges unless you are aiming for a chipped and trashed paintwork look - a popular look certainly on the K&A.

The drawbridge model is particularly interesting. How long before we see canalboats with fully featured marine gangplanks? Handrails, steps, pupose built mounting stanchions, foldflat for stowage on deck etc - it is an area ripe for development. I expect future generations of boaters will look back on horror at the unsafe 'planks' of today.

[Wanted]

Some solid, sound advice from seasoned plankers upthread - lots to learn here.

I myself have recently acquired a plank that is also a ladder. It is made of aluminium however so perhaps doesn't qualify as a plank - and an affronmty to the traditionalist, but it has a real advantgae in being very light/easy to use. This was bought after Mrs Tiger fell in at a marina in February and wasnt able to climb out due to height of piling/boatside and the cold. Overall its an excellent bit of kit and enabled a person in the water to climb out before hypothermia sets in. Of course one needs to remember to mount it flat side up otherwise one would be walking on the ladder treads but so far we have managed that OK.

If anyone buys one of these excellent ladder planks - be advised they strip the paint off the gunwhale with the serrated aluminium edge so it is a good idea to put rubber halftube fendering along the underside edges unless you are aiming for a chipped and trashed paintwork look - a popular look certainly on the K&A.

The drawbridge model is particularly interesting. How long before we see canalboats with fully featured marine gangplanks? Handrails, steps, pupose built mounting stanchions, foldflat for stowage on deck etc - it is an area ripe for development. I expect future generations of boaters will look back on horror at the unsafe 'planks' of today.

Got a link?

[RLWP]

If it had links, it would be a chain - silly

 

Richard

[Davidss]

Got a link?

A useful link, giving real world development and use, is to the blog http://www.narrowboat-waiouru.co.uk/search?q=ladder which in this case I've searched for posts including 'ladder'.

 

Readers will have to judge for themselves if what they read applies to their situation.

 

HTH

[Tigerr]

Got a link?

 

Here. http://www.miracleleisureproducts.co.uk/rescue-ladders/rescue-ladder/prod_9.html

 

As you can see the ladder is being modelled by a veritable role model boater in a real life rescue drama. No bimbos for this campagn but a genuine old, male, overweight and grumpy bloke - although he may be acting grumpy as poart of the motivation in the role of accident victim. I think many of us would have advised an alternative shirt as horizantal stripes on a figure of that stature are rarely flattering - but he has the look of a man who knows his own mind.