Swim Ladders for Trimarans

Buying a 1993 Crowther Buccaneer 33 next month and am curious for some swim ladder ideas. (Love to swim,snorkel) Transom mounts aren't going to work as I have a outboard runner. Ideally some solid Mount near the main hull makes sense. Possibly something that could make boarding from the dink easier also seems like a thought. Did I mention that I'm no longer as agile and weigh 275 lbs dry?

Thinking of naming her Time2Tri also...(first and prob last Tri)....

 

Did you ever work anything out? Taking a quick look at Bucc 33 pics it seems a ladder set up on the aft beam next to the main hull pivoting aft like a outboard sled would work. Cables to stop the swing at the right angle when down and a tackle or line to raise it. In fact you might want that line ending in a cam cleat hanging down over the side a couple feet so you could drop the ladder if you jumped in while it was still up.
A funny notion is the same idea but more of a hollow ramp that is able to float. If it was 3 feet wide, 1 foot deep the end would submerge a couple feet to handle more than 300 pounds. In fact you could make it a custtom decked dinghy scow for a double duty dink with the front end able to unhook from the front beam. 4 feet wide would be very stable.

 

Better late than never for a reply ,! Bought the boat and been on the hard for 18 Months now. Still no permanent ladder. Love your thoughts-although your last paragraph lost me.. I am designing a sled for my outboard and might be able to incorporate a ladder but I’m guessing your floating hollow ladder makes a lot more sense for this big dog by keeping it to the post side opposite the sled.

 

That is a blast from the past. I think I meant to say the front of the scow bow hooks to the aft beam. I was sort of thinking of something like a stand up paddle board on steroids to do double duty as a dink or ladder. This isn't really hard to figure out. Like a board sailer it is decked but you can put in step inserts at the right angle for use as the ladder. If you keep them small it doesn't matter if they collect water when it is pulled up but for a drain they could all be plumbed to a central drain tube that goes out the stern of the scow ladder. Deeper hull might be better for that one.

Of course with your motor in a sled that stern transom is opened up for a conventional folding ladder. All fun to contemplate, thanks for reminding me. Make the thing light, 1/4" ply would be plenty, if it is too heavy it is hard to drag the dink up the beach as well as weighting the stern down. For beach duty I tend to roll things on boat fenders.

 

T2T, Why is that boat still on the hard??? I certainly enjoy sailing my 33 .
I have mounted a flip up sliding four step ladder on my port crossbeam, but it takes fairly strong/agile crew to climb up it. I have been considering a drop down step off the same area with a folding ladder mounted to it. Still not a great solution and I would really prefer something that could be deployed by a swimmer in the water. I have not come up with a good answer yet, the "sled" idea is not so bad if you don't mind the weight.
Bruce

 

Make it foam Bruce. I salvaged a foam core board sailor and it is light enough to carry under your arm while being 12 feet long.

 

I don't have a ladder on my cat - it has steps down back. But most people still need some way of getting themselves out of the water. I have a small piece of nomex (could be ply but better still a 5mm solid sheet of fibreglass) that is shaped nicely and is glassed onto the rudders trailing edge. It makes a very nice first step for a swim step. So look at the rudder as well. Stay away from the outboard - you really don't want people near an outboard when swimming.

 

I take a lot of different people sailing, and often they swim off my boat. I have found that unless a ladder extends at least 20 inches below the surface, (about two steps), many are challenged at climbing up. If the boat has any forward movement, even deeper is necessary to get most people back on board. A positive angle, more like steps, really helps. Our older tri's that don't have a built in transom swim platform are a design challenge. I also race so extra weight, particularly aft, would be a problem. My current ladder, mounted below a crossbeam aft, only gets the first step below the waterline. I would like a better solution.
Cavalier, how do you mount a board like that so it doesn't drag when you are sailing, and how do you get from the board up to the deck?
Bruce

 

All right Bruce here is the 30 second sketch. It shows a side view of the scow/board/sled. The front pivots can drop into a bracket or tackle could be used but a foam core board is going to be light enough to lift up the bow with the painter.

The back is raised or lowered with tackle off the hull side, pulled up you have the same clearance above the water as your aka or make the bow pivot able to handle a 180 pivot and it rests upside down on the net.

The neat thing about the floating ramp/ ladder is it will conform to the surface waves allowing your 2 or 3 swimstep extension ladder to maintain the same depth. To me a plunging ladder is a hazard as you try and get a foot on.

Length and width can be tailored to suit, size will determine floating capacity for paddle and sail use as a dink.

 

Just looked at your Bucc photo and saw the alum tube akas. Just as easy to make a padded hook/pivot that mounts on the sled and hooks the tube. Lots of ways to adapt the concept.

 

The Bucs have waterstays that complicate things. The inner stay ends are right where you would want the ramp/board to be next to the hull. I have my outboard mounted on the other side (starboard) and it is aft of the crossbeam, but a ramp would be too long aft.
B

 

Thanks for the picture Bruce. By the ama then and 180 onto the net. Of course an over hang is better for a swimmer activated drop. Inshore a stretch aft shouldn't matter unless the race committee wanted to rate it LOA.

 

You could also give up length and paddling utility for a floating ladder only on the port side opposite the motor.

 

Or .... A short transom mount ? Kicked up the ladder/ ramp shouldn't extend up enough to create windage.

 

This is my most alternative floating Bucc 33 ramp suggestion for Bruce that shows how carried away you can get kicking ideas around. This allows for the aft set rear aka and waterstays. The pivot has to be able to handle the current when the ramp is deployed as the ramp runs parallel to the aka. I've given up on a scow for this one as hanging off the hook it is all side current loads for this contraption. The flotation is handled by the streamlined hull on the end that the ladder deploys from.

The only way I can figure out to make a dink out of this on short notice is to have a long thin pivot "hull" that runs along the main tri hull and under the net and aka on the forward end for launch convenience. Because of the short fatter float on the end for the swim ladder and the long thin float next to the main hull we should give a nod to the Harry proas and call it the Rob Bob to reflect the ladder going up and down with the waves or the Denny Dunk if you fall off it.

The 30 second sketch shows it on the port side since Bruce's motor is to starboard. With enough space between the end of the ramp and the ama it might make a good kayak or dinghy entry spot with the aka up there serving as a railing.