Pachuca has a beautiful stainless steel boarding ladder at the stern. Unfortunately I am not able to fold it down into the water while the Monitor wind steering is in place. To date we have boarded the boat from the Zodiac by clambering on the Monitor framework. However, this will not be of use in the tropics when we wish to go for a swim from the boat.
Ric at the Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op has built a superb boarding ladder that we can hang off the toe rail just forward of the cockpit on either side of the boat. It is made of aluminum and is light enough to hold up with one extended arm. It is held in place by two pins that click in place with small bearings.
The top photo shows the securing mechanism, with one pin set back to show the locking ball. The pins pass through the openings in the toe rail.
When I return to Fremantle I will remove the Monitor to reduce the LOA of Pachuca to 12 meters, the length of her pen. In short coastal cruising around W.A. I will rely on the autopilot. For longer cruises such as to the Abrolhos islands I will reinstall the Montior, which can be done in minutes.
2 comments:
sounds like you want to do a lot of swimming. The water must be warmer than WA!!
That's a very nice piece of work indeed.
I'm puzzled regarding the red sheet zip-tied to the toe rail. Spinnaker???
I can see it causing problems on a lee rail in heavy going. I don't see it on Pachuca's Neah Bay starboard profile photo. Is it only on one side or have you removed it?
Curious minds...
Post a Comment