Man overboard! Bathing ladders, must try harder.

One of the worst things that can happen is falling overboard, bad for you (potentially worse if alone) and bad for the people who have to get you out again, be honest, when was the last time you practiced?

I am not going to go into the maneuver you perform in order to get back to the person in the water, I will leave it to you to refresh your memory and make a plan. Lets look more at when said person in the water is back at the boat, doesn't even need to be an emergency situation, how about swimming whilst at anchor, a perfectly normal and enjoyable thing to do, in your eagerness to cool down, you forgot to put out the bathing ladder, no problem, I'll just, ill just, ill just, oh shit!

I tried in vain to find a good video to add to this post, all of the man overboard recovery videos focus on hauling people over the side of the boat, this is quite normal, they would assume the person in the water is unconscious and cannot help themselves in any way, but what about if they are fine, it was just an accident and they will use the bathing ladder to get back into the boat?

That sailing yacht movie

The very scenario of jumping in the water and forgetting the ladder was used in a movie called Open Water 2: Adrift, I wouldn't go out of your way to watch it, it´s annoying, especially if you have the first clue about boats, that aside, it is a serious point.

I am experienced in this area, as a diver, I have climbed up more ladders from the water and of different types than most and as a full time professional in the boating industry, I have been up and down more bathing ladders than I can remember and, I can tell you one thing, they seem to have got worse over the years.

Just recently, a brand new boat, I wont tell you the make, but the company is huge and should know better. The bathing platform is very large, the bathing ladder is a pocket type, this means that when folded up and not in use, the ladder collapses and gets pushed into a purpose made area of the hull, sometimes with a door or flap, brilliant, until you actually need to climb up the ladder, even if you were in the water it would be difficult at best, impossible even, why? There is simply nowhere to grab onto when you get to the top of the ladder.

Other new boats have the ladders at such an angle when opened that they give you the impression we are all in training to join the Cirque du Soleil, such are the balancing acts one must perform.

Unfortunately this is not uncommon, I don´t know why, it´s as though this vital piece of kit has been put to one side and forgotten about, I suspect it has something to do with design, keeping clean lines and all that. Sailing yachts in this respect are often superior to motor boats, there is less nonsense about the way the back of the boat looks, I have very often seen emergency pull out ladders as well as the standard, easy to use folding bathing ladder.

A very practical bathing ladder

Solutions

The easiest thing is just to check the bathing ladder that you have, things to check:

• Security, how well is it fixed to the boat?

• How easy is it to open from on board and more importantly when in the water?

• How easy is it to climb up? More rungs would be better, is it a long reach to pull yourself up?

This is one of the best bathing ladders I have ever seen, from Nautinox in Italy, the integrated handhelds make getting aboard so easy.

A video of the ladder in the above photos from the manufacturer

Conclusion

For any problem, there is always a custom solution, especially with ladders, they are one of the most produced accessories for boats, every kind of folding, opening, removable, longer, shorter can be obtained and if necessary custom fitted.

Before you sign on the line, I beg of you to check the bathing ladder, it might be boring, and sexy ladders do not sell boats, but it could one day save you.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this article, please feel free to follow me on social media.