Safety Ladders at your Marina

Bop

Bop

Active Member
Sep 3, 2013
300
Georgian Bay/Lake Huron
Boat Info
2001 410 Express, Highfield DL350 w/40hp Yamaha
Engines
Cat 3126
At our marina we barely have any safety ladders around the docks. There is one max every 6 or so slips at best at the ends of the finger. I notice most marinas have one at every slip. I asked but the the comment I got was "use your boarding ladder if you fall in". Am I being unreasonable expecting a better answer? The water is still in the 40's right now. I can't imagine trying to pull yourself out fully clothed and cold, let alone having to swim god knows how far to find a ladder.
 
I can't even tell you where a single one is in our marina, or in any marina I've ever been to for that matter. In the event that I would need one, I'd certainly freeze before I found it. If you've got one every 6 docks or so, then your marina is way ahead of the curve.
 
Previous marina I was in had none - zero.

Current marina, my finger pier has two, one on the opposite side and one on the end.

Mark
 
Z-Worthy said:
I can't even tell you where a single one is in our marina, or in any marina I've ever been to for that matter. In the event that I would need one, I'd certainly freeze before I found it. If you've got one every 6 docks or so, then your marina is way ahead of the curve.
Click to expand...
Ditto
 
Frankly I cant imagine a marina with a ladder. It would be covered in barnacles and useless in a few months.
 
I would say 1 in 10 marinas in So CAl have them. Our water can get in the high 50's in the winter, so that is still cold enough to cause some issues, especially for a fully clothed, poor swimmer. I think they should be mandatory as well.
 
We have them at every slip, kind of need them since we get more than 4 feet of tidal swing every change, more at full moon, storms etc. I think every marina should have several at the very least!
 
Being president of our marina association ladders are high on our list. We suggested drop down ladders that are above the surface and you simply pull down to lower the steps. The county who owns and manages our marina said, The cost was too high at $600 each. They also stated they have no one to do maintenance on them. Imagine if a county official fell in how soon we would see some ladders. BTW we are nearly the highest fee marina west side of lake Michigan and have the fewest amenities. Good luck on the ladder issue.
 
There are no ladders at our marina. Our Marina is owned by the National Park Service and U.S. Coast Guard HQ used to be next door.

We have life rings, but that's about it.
 
One every six slips is pretty darn good, IMHO. My marina (which is also on the higher side of the price point) has them on every dock, but I couldn't say how often... maybe 5 or 6 for each 50-ish slip dock.
 
We have several in our marina as do most other marinas here so just assumed it's mandatory.....as well as being extra safe.
 
Use them all the time climbing from finger pier to dinghy.

We store the dinghy at a nearby rack storage inside when we are not at the boat. After we get there its a short walk over, then a ride back in dinghy. Until we are ready to leave the dinghy stays tied up next to the slip.

Would not be a workable approach without the ladders.

Haven't observed a barnacle problem - don't think the marina staff cleans them - or maybe they do.
 
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