Swim Ladder Pull Down Rope

It doesn’t happen very often… and it doesn’t happen very often to anyone on my boat… but it does happen.  Someone loses their balance and falls off the boat.  Sometimes this happens while the boat is still in the marina.  Hopefully, the person falling in cleanly misses the dock, and just goes into the water.  WHAT AM I SAYING???  Into the water - - this time of year???? YIKES!!!!

But, the question is, what do you do once you are in the water?  How do you get out?  How can you get back aboard the boat?  Do you have enough strength to hoist yourself up onto the dock with its slippery logs underneath?

Here’s one idea that works if you have a swim ladder that you lower to climb aboard after swimming in the summer time.  Get some polypropylene line and a fid (hollow tube with a tapered end).  Fit the fid over the line and then double the line around the next to the bottom rung on the swim ladder.  Now push the tapered end of the fid into the middle of the line and pull it through for six or seven inches.  Point the fid through the weave and pull it free.  This will lock the line and establish a loop around the rung on the ladder.

Now, tie a loop in the line that will reach the top rung of the ladder and wrap around your stern rail and the ladder a couple times.  Have the loop extend aft over the top of the ladder/stern rail.  Push a loose loop of line through the tied loop and repeat several times to make a “chain of loops”.  Simply pulling the long end of the line will now pull the loops free and the ladder will deploy.

Now cut the line so that you can use the fid again to make a loop in the end of the line.  This way if you are in the water, you can easily grab the loop near the water’s surface and pull the ladder into place.

You may have to “figure” things out a bit for your own ladder.  BUT - - This is such a little thing… but might just save someone’s life on a cool spring weekday when there aren’t many folks around.

BarnacleBillHolcomb@gmail.com

5099933214