How do I safely enter a boat from the water?
I want to get back aboard after swimming, but the stern looks too high to pull myself over. How should I use the bathing ladder, and what happens if the platform is folded up?
Answer
The safest way aboard is a securely mounted bathing ladder with steps extending well below the water and solid handholds above it. Before anyone swims, check that someone in the water can deploy the ladder and any folding platform without help from the cockpit.
Check the boarding route
Start with the ladder release. Even a sound ladder is useless if you cannot reach its retaining strap or latch from the water. With the boat secured, lower the ladder from aboard and check its hinges, mounting bolts, retaining pins and handholds for looseness, corrosion or damage.
Aim for a lowest step roughly 600 mm below the surface, with two or three usable steps underwater. This lets you place a foot on a rung with your knee bent, instead of lifting it to chest height. The depth depends on the installation and the boat's loading. Test it in sheltered water with another adult aboard.
Switch off the engine and prevent anyone restarting it. Keep clear of the propeller, outboard leg and exhaust outlet while boarding.
For a planned swim, secure the boat against drifting and leave a capable person aboard. Check the current before entering. Even a modest flow can quickly carry you beyond swimming distance.
Lower the platform and ladder
On Hallberg-Rassy yachts covered by the supplied manuals, the normal return route is the transom bathing ladder. Some models also have a folding bathing platform. Its release arrangement varies with model and equipment.
- Powered platform: find the emergency operating button on the transom, reachable from water level, and learn how to use it before swimming.
- Hallberg-Rassy 400, 40C and 50 with a manual platform: route the platform control line over the middle tube of the pushpit, leaving its free end hanging within reach from the water.
- Other arrangements: check the boat's own instructions for the release, lowering sequence and ladder extension. Do not assume every transom works the same way.
Keep fingers away from hinges and stay clear of the platform as it swings down. Extend the ladder fully and engage any locking arrangement before putting your weight on it.
The maximum static load quoted for the Hallberg-Rassy folding platforms in these manuals is 250 kg. This is a stationary load limit. It does not permit jumping onto the platform or using it as a lifting point. Confirm the limit for your boat.