We’ve got a ladder

Fixing the screws

Biehlmarin has delivered a bathing ladder for my Seascape 27, just on time for the summer and bathing season in northern Germany.

With the ladder, they supplied instruction how to assemble it.

Easy enough for doing it myself.

I really wanted to assemble it myself to get familiar with the hull material. You never know when repair skills come in handy. There will be no one in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean to do things for me, that’s for sure. So rather practice tied up in a harbor.

Required material & tools

• The ladder
• 6x niro steel 6x35mm screws
• 6x niro steel big shims
• 6x niro steel nuts
• Pantera or SikaFlex and spray gun
• Electric drill
• Sharp HSS steal drill 6mm
• Another man or women
• Screw driver
• Fork spanner
• Permanent marker

Assembly (~ 30 minutes)

1. Positioning of the ladder and marking of the drill holes
2. Drilling: 90° angle with steady pressure and not so many rpms – it seriously felt weird to drill holes into my boat!
3. Cleaning of the boat and ladder parts with high alcoholic solution to get rid of any fat resedue
4. Application of Pantera or Sika for sealing purposes, at the same time it glues the ladder onto the boat.
5. Fixing the screwes – the person inside the boat has the hard job as this must be done in a rather tight and inconvenient position.
6. Drying … the boat builder recommended one day
7. Enjoy!

Currently, I tie up the ladder with some rope when secured, I did not like the plastic fixation supplied with the ladder. The downside, the ladder cannot easily be unfolded from a person already in the water. I will think of another solution.

The ladder itself does not reach very far into the water. It has one step approx 20cm below the surface which is absolutely sufficient to get back on board. Another step further below would not have the required width, as the letter on it’s left is parallel to the canted angle of the rudder.

!!!CAUTION!!! check out this post, the ladder requires reinforcements to the pushpit, otherwise the laminate will take structural damage over time.