Climbing out of a shallow river - how hard can it be?

[system 4-50]

I've discovered that the flappy thing used for climbing out of the water can also be used to steer the boat!

[rusty69]

5 minutes ago, Mike Hurley said:

I am impressed that he still has his hat on.?

More impressive when he goes backwards 

[Tony Brooks]

Knowing the problems with climbing rope ladders I bought a folding four step rigid ladder designed for rubber boats. When deployed it can hang from a T stud/dolly, With the hinge on one side be propped up against piling. Hinge on the other side folded so the bottom section sits on and digs into the mud to help the OPs situation.

 

Its the four step version of this: https://www.seaflo-uk.com/3-step-inflatable-boat-boarding-ladder-12025-marine-inflatable-rib-yacht-5306-p.asp

 

It is stored between the cruiser stern down sheet and the swan neck and retained by a bungee so it can be deployed by a single hander from the water - I did try it and it works. Not sure how one would get to a ladder on the roof in that situation or one stored elsewhere.

[gbclive]

4 hours ago, PaulJ said:

 

Hi Clive,

Shall be interested to see how you get on with the ladder on the counter.

 

Hi Paul?

We have hit a slight snag at Weston Favel - there are some snakes swimming around the boat!

There will probably be a short delay while I convince Christine that they are harmless grass snakes.

(Obviously, I need to remain on the boat in order to supervise the experiment ?).

[doratheexplorer]

I've been in and climbed back up onto my deck without a ladder.  I'm only 5'1 (and a half).  Maybe the fact that I don't have a beer belly hanging over my trousers helped me a bit

[MtB]

5 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

Maybe the fact that I don't have a beer belly hanging over my trousers helped me a bit

 

Which bit DOES it hang over then???!

[gbclive]

4 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

Serious question. Do you know the correct way to climb a rope ladder?

 

4 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

The way I was taught

We do now, thank you ?

The bank was sloping slightly, so a bit tricky getting ones feet rather than just toes onto the rungs.

[Alan de Enfield]

21 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

I've been in and climbed back up onto my deck without a ladder.  I'm only 5'1 (and a half).  Maybe the fact that I don't have a beer belly hanging over my trousers helped me a bit

Did you have buoyancy aid(S)

[Jennifer McM]

17 hours ago, gbclive said:

We recently bought a rope ladder with plastic rungs.

 

Got to use it today when we succumbed to the heat and went for a cracking swim in the Nene just downstream from Doddington lock.

 

Beautiful clear but weedy water, with the bed shelving gently down and away from a relatively low grassy bank.

Depth at the edge was about 2’ and the grassy bank was only about 18”.

I’m 6’ 2” so I reasoned that to get out I would simply stand up at the edge facing away from the bank and use my arms and legs to spring neatly into a sitting position on the bank.

 

However - having read various cautionary forum discussions on this and just to be sure, we rigged the new rope ladder to a mooring pin, but thought it unlikely that we would need it?

 

WRONG! 

 

The sloping silty river bed was incredibly slippery, even though I was wearing diving boots with good tread.

After a refreshing swim, each time I tried to stand up next to the bank, there was a splash as my feet shot away from under me.

 

So it turned out the ladder was the only realistic way back up onto the bank.

 

If conditions are as nice when we stop tomorrow I’ll try the ladder from the counter which will likely be a whole different ball game.

 

(BTW, aware of Weil's disease)

 

 

 

 

We must be quite near to you, having just gone through Woodford Lock. 

 

We bought one of those rope ladders, and the first time we used it was a week or so ago when a relatively oldish lady boater fell in the river as they were mooring their cruiser in Ely. We gave them our rope ladder to help her out.  It was useless! As she tried to step onto the rungs, the ladder went away from her, making it impossible to pull herself up. Now we're trying to think how we can make the ladder usable. In the end she was pulled out by two burly men, which resulted in her having horrible bruising to her arms, wrists, and abdomen. 

 

At the time I stupidly added that at least the water was clean.... when a little voice piped up from another cruiser saying that their toilet get dumped in the river.  ?

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, Jennifer McM said:

We must be quite near to you, having just gone through Woodford Lock. 

 

We bought one of those rope ladders, and the first time we used it was a week or so ago when a relatively oldish lady boater fell in the river as they were mooring their cruiser in Ely. We gave them our rope ladder to help her out.  It was useless! As she tried to step onto the rungs, the ladder went away from her, making it impossible to pull herself up. Now we're trying to think how we can make the ladder usable. In the end she was pulled out by two burly men, which resulted in her having horrible bruising to her arms, wrists, and abdomen. 

 

At the time I stupidly added that at least the water was clean.... when a little voice piped up from another cruiser saying that their toilet get dumped in the river.  ?

Its not the ladder that is useless - like any piece of equipment it should be used correctly.

It always help to learn how to use 'stuff' and practice with it.

[Jennifer McM]

1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Its not the ladder that is useless - like any piece of equipment it should be used correctly.

It always help to learn how to use 'stuff' and practice with it.

Absolutely! It was useless at the time though.

[WotEver]

16 minutes ago, Jennifer McM said:

Absolutely! It was useless at the time though.

You climb up the side of it, not the front. 

[Alan de Enfield]

3 minutes ago, WotEver said:

You climb up the side of it, not the front. 

Post #11 (1st page) explains it in pictures.

[doratheexplorer]

30 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Did you have buoyancy aid(S)

No.  I do have a rail around the deck.  I grabbed hold of that, put my foot on the top of the rudder and pulled myself up.

[WotEver]

1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Post #11 (1st page) explains it in pictures.

Yup. 

But soggy lady may not have been wearing a black leotard. 

[cuthound]

5 hours ago, rusty69 said:

I don't recall you looking like that when we met! I would have remembered. 

 

Perhaps he wasn't wearing his hat? ?

[gbclive]

49 minutes ago, Jennifer McM said:

It was useless! As she tried to step onto the rungs, the ladder went away from her, making it impossible to pull herself up. Now we're trying to think how we can make the ladder usable. In the end she was pulled out by two burly men

OK - the result of our experiment:

EXACTLY as Jennifer reported!

(This was after studying the approved technique).

I don’t think we were even close to a successful rescue.

Plan B onto the pontoon that was about 1/2 the height of our counter also failed.

Two pics to prove we (she) tried?

Our plan C worked with the help of a guy off an adjacent boat.

Plan D was for Chris to crawl up a high nettle bank.............and probably a divorce☹️ 

 

All this was was sort of funny in the summer, but it’s sobering to think of how this might have played out in winter or spring, perhaps with injuries and without a nearby boat to help.

My thoughts now are to obtain an aluminium ladder / boarding plank.

I remember someone here using spring clips to snap checkaboard plate to the rungs for use as a plank. Snap off to use as a ladder.

I think some sort of feet would be helpful to increase the area, reducing the tendency for the ladder to sink into the mud once loaded with a persons weight.

Anyone want to buy our so called “rescue” ladder??

 

[Alan de Enfield]

17 minutes ago, gbclive said:

 

 

 

 

It might have helped if you had turned the engine off (in the above picture), or were you using the prop to try and 'flick' her up out of the water.

 

Be careful - foaming at the mouth and a fear of water - it could be Rabies.

Edited August 7, 2018 by Alan de Enfield

[gbclive]

1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

It might have helped if you had turned the engine off 

Less sporting though?

[David Mack]

21 hours ago, gbclive said:

Beautiful clear but weedy water, with the bed shelving gently down and away from a relatively low grassy bank.

Depth at the edge was about 2’ and the grassy bank was only about 18”.

I’m 6’ 2” so I reasoned that to get out I would simply stand up at the edge facing away from the bank and use my arms and legs to spring neatly into a sitting position on the bank.

The sloping silty river bed was incredibly slippery, even though I was wearing diving boots with good tread.

After a refreshing swim, each time I tried to stand up next to the bank, there was a splash as my feet shot away from under me.

So it turned out the ladder was the only realistic way back up onto the bank.

 

When I had to go in a couple of weeks ago to clear the prop Belfast was moored on the end of a length of piling on the Stort.  Worried that I would be unable to climb out up the piling or onto the boat I reconnoitred the unpiled bank further up and found a section with something of a sloping beach (and access through the nettles). I cautiously stepped into the river up to knee deep to establish that I could stay stable, and get out. This was a hundred yards along from the boat, but at least I could have waded or swum that distance if necessary.

 

I don't have an escape ladder on the boat, but I pressed into service one of the engine room ladders. This is only about 3 ft long, but I tied the top of it to the piling to stop it sinking into the mud, and in the end it was easy to get out. Not so helpful for an unplanned immersion though.

[PaulJ]

Great pics Clive. 

I assume the first was taken before you had spotted there was more snakes ?

 

 

[gbclive]

15 hours ago, PaulJ said:

Great pics Clive. 

I assume the first was taken before you had spotted there was more snakes ?

 

 

Actually Paul, they didn’t come back - at least we did not see them.

I think they may have been traumatised by our shenanigans?