To make it easier to get ashore via the stern of our boat, we decided to build a gangway ourselves, as the solutions offered commercially were too heavy, too expensive and too unwieldy. And the usual simple wooden plank seemed too simple and not solid enough.
We bought an ordinary aluminium ladder 2.5 metres long with nine rungs and two small swivelling plastic wheels from the DIY store for around 50 euros, which we screwed under the stiles at one end. We also had four plywood planks of the same size, ten millimetres thick, cut to 29 x 29 centimetres and, after treating them thoroughly with wood stain, clamped them between the uprights, leaving one rung free at each end. They hold there by themselves; if you want to be on the safe side, fix them in place with two screws each. Two thin guide lines are tensioned with shackles and snap hooks between the end of the ladder and the pushpit so that they fix the gangway to the side. This gives us a stable and easy-to-handle transition to the quay wall.
While sailing, we stow the gangway along the railing and tie it down there. The double benefit: When we take the boat out of the water, we always have a ladder immediately to hand without having to remove the boards, as we can easily climb up every other step.
- Achim Weckler, Neu-Isenburg
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