deck/gang planks whatever the name and barge poles

[paulstoke1975]

can the planks be made from scaffold planks? and where's best place to get the poles from?

[Alan de Enfield]

It would be 'normal' that when you buy a boat the Plank & Pole (+ loads of other stuff) is included.

 

Here is the Inventory of the boat we sold last month :

 

Inventory

 

Cruising :

 

Bow & Stern mooring ropes

Centre mooring ropes

Mooring stakes x2

Tennis balls x3

Mooring ‘nappy pins’ x2

Hose-pipe

Anchor

Anchor chain

Anchor rope

Windlass x2

Anti-Vandal key

Full set (6) side pipe-fenders

Spare side pipe fender

Shroppie-shelf ‘wheel fenders’ x2

Life ring

Cruising guides - various

 

Maintenance

Spare Oil filter

6 litres API CC oil

Spare Air filters

Engine fan-belts x2

Fuel Dip-stick

Battery topping up (distilled) water.

Anti-freeze

Stern gland grease (Part Tin)

Bulb(s)

Tiles

Fire spares (rope, glass etc)

Calorifier draining kit.

Engine workshop manuals

Spare water filter element

Prop shaft special tensioning spanner

Pump-Out fitting key.

Gas bottle spanner

[Peter X]

Any old plank will do as long as it's wide enough to walk along, long enough to reach the bank, and strong enough to take your weight.

A scaffold plank should fit the above criteria so will do the job nicely, ideally with some sort of non-slip surface added.

You may wish to consider the nice-to-have extra of a couple of cross battens near one end to hold the plank in place upon that raised bit at the side of your bow or stern deck whose technical name I don't know.

[brassedoff]

Glad you asked this OP, i was wondering myself.

 

 

A guy walks into the builders Merchants and says ' Have you got a couple of Planks '

 

The Builders Merchant shouts into the back of the shop 'Andy Eric, their some fella asking for ya'

Edited August 3, 2015 by brassedoff

[paulstoke1975]

It would be 'normal' that when you buy a boat the Plank & Pole (+ loads of other stuff) is included.

 

Here is the Inventory of the boat we sold last month :

 

Inventory

 

Cruising :

 

Bow & Stern mooring ropes

Centre mooring ropes

Mooring stakes x2

Tennis balls x3

Mooring ‘nappy pins’ x2

Hose-pipe

Anchor

Anchor chain

Anchor rope

Windlass x2

Anti-Vandal key

Full set (6) side pipe-fenders

Spare side pipe fender

Shroppie-shelf ‘wheel fenders’ x2

Life ring

Cruising guides - various

 

Maintenance

Spare Oil filter

6 litres API CC oil

Spare Air filters

Engine fan-belts x2

Fuel Dip-stick

Battery topping up (distilled) water.

Anti-freeze

Stern gland grease (Part Tin)

Bulb(s)

Tiles

Fire spares (rope, glass etc)

Calorifier draining kit.

Engine workshop manuals

Spare water filter element

Prop shaft special tensioning spanner

Pump-Out fitting key.

Gas bottle spanner

its got the holder for the plank pole so i assume the owner took the to there new boat

[Heffalump]

Scaffold planks are great, I'd be surprised if a good percentage of planks out there weren't repurposed from scaffolding. Some people tack chicken wire on one side to help when slippery or icy.

[brassedoff]

Good idea using Chicken Wire

 

 

thanks

[twbm]

Wherever you get a plank from, put it across a low gap - two milk crates or such like - and test it with a little jump and bounce.

 

That way you won't find the weak spot when over four feet of water.

[system 4-50]

Scaffold planks vary considerably in weight, even from a single supplier. The plank I use for my boat is half the weight of some of the other planks that came in the same batch. Heft them before acquiring, and choose the best.

[Cheshire cat]

You could buy a piece of ash at great expense or buy a piece of 2 x 2 from the local timber merchants and shave the corners off. A quarter of the price.

[Heffalump]

You could buy a piece of ash at great expense or buy a piece of 2 x 2 from the local timber merchants and shave the corners off. A quarter of the price.

 

2 be 2 be? I think your plank walking skills are better than mine!

[5thHorseman]

If you are suggesting length of 2 x 2 pine for a pole I think that is a pretty dangerous idea

[Woodstock]

Got a pole from midland chandlers on freaky Friday. I think they did 2 different lengths- OH wanted the biggest one and nope we haven't used it yet and he won't stick it on top of the boat- its down the corridor. I suppose if we didn't have one we'd have needed one by now. I'm thinking of cracking a bottle of champagne when it's actually used

 

Ps- is there a proper boaty term for corridor?

[nebulae]

We use a short length of all. ladder with a piece of non slip plate sits on u brackets. on rungs. Very light and strong,plus a ladder to get out of canal to towpath/with a loop of rope hooks over the stern bollards to get out of the water on to the stern of the boat .Plate lifts off(very light) to use ladder. Patted self on back for origional thinking,then saw the same thing in a chandlers for £120.!

[gaggle]

 

2 be 2 be? I think your plank walking skills are better than mine!

A lad filling a skip for me using a wheelbarrow asked if I had a plank he could take it up , I pointed to a plank of 6x 2 and he said , I will need feet a like an effing budgie to get up that.

[MtB]

Wherever you get a plank from, put it across a low gap - two milk crates or such like - and test it with a little jump and bounce.

 

That way you won't find the weak spot when over four feet of water.

 

 

 

Which canals do you boat on where there is four feet of water six feet from the bank?!

(but only 18" five feet from the bank, hence the need for a board?)

Hmmm.... tying myself in logical knots here

[b0atman]

 

 

 

Which canals do you boat on where there is four feet of water six feet from the bank?!

(but only 18" five feet from the bank, hence the need for a board?)

Hmmm.... tying myself in logical knots here

Salthouse dock 22 ft . Castleford moorings 8ft thankfully could get close to edge .

[MtB]

Salthouse dock 22 ft . Castleford moorings 8ft thankfully could get close to edge .

 

 

You miss my point. Twbm said four feet of water under you if it breaks!

Who needs a plank when there's four feet of water?

[b0atman]

Boat pole builders merchants stair hand rails .

Scaffold planks read the support spacing on them its for a reason e.g.they have knots in them and are not great at load bearing.

 

 

You miss my point. Twbm said four feet of water under you if it breaks!

Who needs a plank when there's four feet of water?

That's why I put thankfully could get close to edge, following your point that depth negates problem

[Jerra]

Boat pole builders merchants stair hand rails .

Would that not be pine (or similar) and so more prone to splitting dangerously along the grain?

[MtB]

Would that not be pine (or similar) and so more prone to splitting dangerously along the grain?

 

 

Yes it would. Hard to understand why anyone would buy a stair rail when a beautiful 15ft ash longshaft can be bought for about £35 from Rose Narrowboats.

[Jim Riley]

Got my eye on a long twig free and relatively straight ash sapling about 50/60 mm dia where I go walking. Strip the bark off, slight wiggle should stop it rolling.

[DHutch]

Aluminum pole, that's what you want.

 

Use our gang plank very infrequently, although last time I used it was a foot short, we had two, to devised a counter balance system with in on the end of another. All to get the dog off for a pee...

 

 

Daniel

[MtB]

Aluminum pole, that's what you want.

 

Use our gang plank very infrequently, although last time I used it was a foot short, we had two, to devised a counter balance system with in on the end of another. All to get the dog off for a pee...

 

 

Daniel

 

 

No yer don't. They make yer hands go all black and dirty...

[Dr Bradley]

My gang plank is scaffold and works well. Poles need to be hardwood so bite the bullet and go to a chandler.