Overboard Rescue: Parbuckle/Ladder 3

Previously, I explained why I’ve concluded that a combination parbuckle/boarding ladder may be the best person-in-the-water (PIW) recovery device for use on a small, low-freeboard boat like my C-Dory. In the second part, I described how I had my parbuckle/ladder fabricated by the folks at George Broom’s Sons. Now it’s time to mount it onto the boat. I won’t keep you in suspense; here’s what I was after:

In order to accomplish this, I needed to install some fittings. Long, flat pad-eyes designed for 1-inch webbing are readily available, and would have worked. But I wanted to be able to remove the ladder routinely, without backing out screws every single time. I considered a pair of pad-eyes and carabiners, but I thought this would be somewhat…um…inelegant; I was concerned the carabiners would be excessively bulky, too floppy to hold the ladder in position effectively, and could rattle around, producing unpleasant noise at a choppy mooring.

No, I wanted something else. I wanted something similar to this anchor stopper:

But try as I might, I could not find anything like this available in any of the marine hardware outlets I visited, and I visited a lot of them! So I decided to make one myself. First, I needed some metal stock, and I decided that aluminum channel was the appropriate material to use, because it’s reasonably easy to cut, drill, and sand, and it stands up to saltwater reasonably well. Again, I went to all my usual hardware sources, but could not find just the size I needed. At last, I found it online from Online Metals. I’d never heard of them, and I didn’t really feel like waiting to have it shipped. I figured I would be able to find what I needed right here in town.

But hold on…before I continued my search, I decided I should learn where Online Metals is located, since they had just what I needed. Wonder of wonders! It turns out that Online Metals is located about two miles from my house. So I placed my order (specifying “will-call/pick-up”), and rode my bicycle down there the following morning. Like George Broom’s Sons, this is another tremendous find. Online Metals is the place to go if you need a small quantity of specific metal sheet or extruded shapes. Seriously, they’ve just about got it all. Take a look:

I spoke with Tom in Will-Call, who had my order ready to go, and I took it home with me. From there, I… Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I’ll cheat and let the pictures do the talking…

…Producing, after a couple of hours, a pair of these:

Which I then installed, like this:

So, does it work? Well, we won’t really know that until we test it with live Person-In-Water volunteers (probably me) a bit later in the summer, when the water on Lake Washington is warm enough. Stay tuned! In the meantime, however, let me assure our readers that even if it’s a complete failure for overboard rescue, I already have an alternate use for the parbuckle/ladder: rigged as a hammock, it’s the best seat in the house! Here’s Aaron, chillin’ out on my boat and checking his email from Mystery Bay last weekend.