Trying out a Emergency Ladder

[rustydiver]

With a few conversations about Emergency Ladders I thought i would buy one and try it out, i do carry an aluminium ladder on the roof which is useless up there, so bought one off these

http://www.piplers.co.uk/emergency-ladder-134cmfor £33 inc postage.

I added a 1/2 kilo diving ankle weight in the bottom step to make it fall quicker, mounted it on the top handrail.

I donned my drysuit and jumped into the water and gave it a go 3 times, once approaching from the front off the boat, and found it quite easy to climb up, in fact easier then the aluminium ladder which made your foot slip off when your foot hit the back off the boat.

It stays out all off the time when out on the canal and when back at the marina it just unclips and stows away, no use in the marina its against the pontoon.

we took a video off it in action

 

I hope it can be off use to some.

Edited September 1, 2016 by rustydiver

[Sea Dog]

Hmm, such sterling efforts do not deserve the ignoring your post appears to be getting so far Rusty. Most of the ladder ideas on here are unproven - at least yours works! Thanks for posting.

[Top cat]

Thanks for filming and publishing your test. It looks just the job I will get one

 

Top Cat

[UseleSS Enterprise]

Well done sir. Hope you are on commission?

[cobaltcodd]

Looks like a great idea. I guess I'd have to attach to the central T stud as I don't have a handrail

[Grassman]

Thanks for the demonstration. It certainly does the job. I was leaning towards buying an aluminium one but now think one of these would be better suited to my boat and would save having yet another item lying along my already cluttered roof. I like the idea of the weight added the bottom too.

[rustydiver]

When i got back to the marina the Marina boss caught sight off it and he was impressed.

Such a small compact item for not a lot off money, got to be worth a go.

Being on the G&S Canal its deep when I've been fishing I've hit 10ft deep along the pilings along the edge and image that the centre channel it could be twice as deep.

 

Plus the good thing trying it out in the event I'm going to need it i know how its going to deploy, work and how hard it could be to climb with wet clothes cold water etc.

Edited September 3, 2016 by rustydiver

[Grassman]

I've just come off the G&S canal (now at Tewkesbury) and remember seeing your boat. I wish I'd have sussed it was you and I could have taken a closer look at it. You could even have given me another demonstration, lol.

[bigcol]

Looks good

 

But if you hadn't put a weight on bottom ladder, would the bottom steps not have just floated?

Or are the steps heavy enough to keep dropping through the water till fully deployed?.

 

Thankyou

Col

[Theo]

Hmm, such sterling efforts do not deserve the ignoring your post appears to be getting so far Rusty. Most of the ladder ideas on here are unproven - at least yours works! Thanks for posting.

sir!! sir!!! please Sir!!!!

 

Mine works too.

 

N

[Sea Dog]

sir!! sir!!! please Sir!!!!

 

Mine works too.

 

N

Sit down Theo. It's nice that yours works too, so you're a good boy, but you didn't show us yours or film it in glorious technicolour. Rusty did, so he's a very good boy.

[rustydiver]

Looks good

 

But if you hadn't put a weight on bottom ladder, would the bottom steps not have just floated?

Or are the steps heavy enough to keep dropping through the water till fully deployed?.

 

Thankyou

Col

They do but slowly. I dropped it in the fish pond at home and it was slow. That bit off extra weight just makes it deploy quicker.

I've just come off the G&S canal (now at Tewkesbury) and remember seeing your boat. I wish I'd have sussed it was you and I could have taken a closer look at it. You could even have given me another demonstration, lol.

I would have lent you my dry suit. ??

When your back down this way give us a shout b

Edited September 4, 2016 by rustydiver

[bigcol]

They do but slowly. I dropped it in the fish pond at home and it was slow. That bit off extra weight just makes it deploy quicker.

.

b

Thankyou

[LEO]

Thanks for the test and video, have ordered 2!.

 

L.

[Sea Dog]

Thanks for the test and video, have ordered 2!.

 

L.

Are you planning to fall in at the same time as someone else or just repeatedly and fancy a change now and then?

[Wrinkley]

Thank you Rusty. I have been dithering around for maybe 2 years over this. Ever since my wife fell in when I was not there. She did manage to get out as it was not a hard edge (armaco). After seeing the video it is just what we need and confirms the ease of use. I have just placed an order.

 

Once again thank you.

 

Graham

[LEO]

Are you planning to fall in at the same time as someone else or just repeatedly and fancy a change now and then?

 

No, it's just that I moor against an Armco piled bank and can fix one to a pole behind the Armco and use if I fall in and the other can be used on the boat when travelling, for the price it's worth playing safe.

 

I fell in when moored up one November morning a few years ago, firstly I was lucky not to hit my head as I fell, second the water was about 4ft 6ins deep and very cold and finally it was impossible to climb out, a mooring neighbour had a ladder handy which we could use.

 

Bearing in mind funeral costs, for £32.50 it's better to be safe than sorry.

 

Ordered this morning, dispatched this afternoon......great service.

 

L.

[Sea Dog]

No, it's just that I moor against an Armco piled bank and can fix one to a pole behind the Armco and use if I fall in and the other can be used on the boat when travelling, for the price it's worth playing safe.

 

I fell in when moored up one November morning a few years ago, firstly I was lucky not to hit my head as I fell, second the water was about 4ft 6ins deep and very cold and finally it was impossible to climb out, a mooring neighbour had a ladder handy which we could use.

 

Bearing in mind funeral costs, for £32.50 it's better to be safe than sorry.

 

Ordered this morning, dispatched this afternoon......great service.

 

L.

Sounds entirely reasonable to me! I was just joking back there

[rustydiver]

Thanks I'm pleased that it was off some use to some.

I do believe its worth the effort trying it out to, now i have an idea how it deploys while you are in the water. How the ladder movers when climbing it.

One thing i did do was lengthen the blue rope that came with it that, its all inside the yellow bag, i added an extra rope run to the ladder inside the bag to give me something to hold onto when grabbing it first when deployed.

[DHutch]

Good work.

 

Obviously this requires an amount of pre-deployment, and or a second person onboard, depending on where you mount it?

 

 

Daniel