Best way to get on your Mac26 when the tailer is in the water

[ibEddy2u]

I have a Macgregor 26S trailer sailor. Sometimes I want to sail just a few hours by myself. My problem is getting on the boat when launching it.

Currently I push it off the tailor and use a long rope to walk it to the dock about 30 feet away. I’m thinking of something that will let me get on the

boat from the back ladder while staying dry or something that would make it more reasonable climbing up the side of the boat. A dinghy would work

but would also get in the way and add complexity since I would only use it when launching. I do have a monster dinghy on its own trailer that I used as

a speed boat before I fell in love with sailing.

[Stickinthemud57]

I'm not sure I understand the problem. I'm guessing the dock is right at water level, making it necessary to climb up onto the boat rather than step on, correct? In this case perhaps a ladder that hooks over the side coaming would work. Am I missing something here?

[Highlander]

buy a big drone & airlift urself onto the boat
It,s a pita when theirs not a dock beside the ramp
J

[Jimmyt]

Are you at a ramp without any finger piers? Like Stick, I’m not sure I understand the problem.

If you don’t have finger piers between the ramp lanes, board from the bow and back the boat off using the outboard. Motor to the dock and tie up.

Since you didn’t show a pic of your rig, I don’t know if you have a boarding ladder at the front of your trailer. The M trailer has a boarding ladder at the winch.

Nice video, by the way. Wow, that is some flat water.

[ibEddy2u]

I backup the Mac 26S into the water. Now I have to climb up the front ladder (risky) or the back ladder (easy).

The trailer is the original trailer and in very good shape. Getting on from the back while in the water seems the best way to go when alone. It seems safer and quicker given my dock setup.

I’m thinking of a small roll-up dinghy like the West Marine RU-250 or a Paddle Board to get me to the back. These options mean more setup and more stuff to manage.

In this video I’m out with my brother at the dock but when I’m alone it’s a pain.

[OverEasy]

Hi IbEddyU2!

We have a Sea Lion trailer so it doesn’t have that nifty MacGregory designed ladder incorporated to the winch post.
So when we have to launch without the benefit of a pier I climb up the spare tires ( one for the trailer and one “50 mile wonder” for the tow vehicle ) then up and over the bow rail… or under it .

Alternatively we carry a collapsible telescoping ladder that I secure to the bow railing before launching to clamor aboard but that generally gets me wet to my knees (or higher) with that approach.

Best Regards
Over Easy

[ibEddy2u]

I would like to do more sailing by myself and even camp on the water overnight. It’s not that I’m a loner, in fact, there are two major swim areas within 45 minutes of sailing. Now you have to talk to all these super girls in bikinis, but fortunately most of them are polite, charm school or something. Climbing up the Mac is not the only thing that causes me much stress.

I never considered going up the fender or know how deep the water is there. It’s not just that I have to climb up the front/back/fender, but it’s that at this point the boat although still on the trailer is floating and no longer secured to anything while I’m climbing.
In the picture the fender is almost all the way back and the boat is taller there on my setup.

[Stickinthemud57]

I think I might understand now. You want to be able to get on the boat while it is still on the trailer, but after you have backed the whole rig into the water, is that correct?

I can see the problem in this case.

My trailer has a ladder like OverEasy's but even though I consider myself pretty agile, I don't like using it. Slipping and falling from there would hurt. A lot.

I have climbed on using the fender as a step, but that is not much better. It's a long step from there up to the coaming and my legs are short.

Setting a ladder against the side while on a slanted, possibly algae-covered ramp does not sound like a good idea either.

The aft boarding ladder would seem to me the best available option "as equipped", but my fertile mind has cooked up (or half-baked, as the case may be) a possible solution: a removable ladder that would attach to the side of the trailer between the wheel and the outrigger. It would take no small amount of design ingenuity and a good welder, but I could see something like that working. That or a very long hook-on ladder like this:

https://www.amazon.com/DotLine-Step-Gun ... 8517&psc=1

You would probably have to modify the stand-offs to accommodate the curve of the hull and put something on the ends to spread the load out.

[ibEddy2u]

Yes, it’s still on the trailer and free floating while I’m trying to get on it.

I like the ladder and found one that I can order from Walmart and return it in store for 30 days. I may just order that one and try it.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/JIF-Marine-D ... /109778276

[ibEddy2u]

This is what I really need

[Stickinthemud57]

OK, I'm going to put it bluntly. That gal has more b*lls than sense, IMO. Maybe she felt it was her only option, being in a remote part of the world and needing that drone to pursue her livelihood. She obviously had the skills to pull it off and make lemonade out of lemons, and I'm sure that video will help boost her subscribe level even higher.

[Russ]

OK, I'm going to put it bluntly. That gal has more b*lls than sense, IMO. Maybe she felt it was her only option, being in a remote part of the world and needing that drone to pursue her livelihood. She obviously had the skills to pull it off and make lemonade out of lemons, and I'm sure that video will help boost her subscribe level even higher.

Agreed!

Would it have been so hard to at least wear gloves and some climbing gear? All those branches could not have been good.

She doesn't explain how she got the drone back down when she jumped in. Wouldn't it get wet also?

[OverEasy]

Nuts and an Idiot!
Grossly inconsiderate too!

She’s off the beaten path offshore in a region with limited resources then for the sake of a couple hundred dollars of used equipment endangers not only herself but what limited rescue and aid personnel might be available in the area for a vanity ‘recovery’.
What a selfish and inconsiderate individual who only thought of herself and her personal possessions rather than those that would have to get out there to pick up her mangled carcass if she had slipped, a rock dislodged, a scorpion had stung her or simply gotten stuck on that rock or forest top.

No consideration or appreciation of the people and resources that would have been called out to deal with a situation entirely of her own making and wholly un-necessary.

No consideration of the ordinary people, because of the remoteness and being offshore, who will be compelled to help her if things went badly. Is she going to tearfully say “I’m sorry to the family of a would be rescuer who falls and gets crippled or killed trying to help a person like her? Crocodile tears maybe…

There are enough real situations in life to deal with instead of having to contend with shortsighted selfish people like her.
While I’m glad she managed to get through it without apparent injury she ranks pretty low in being a person in responsibility or worth spending any time on.

And yes, I speak from experience having spent years of my own having to deal with salvaging useless individuals just like her who had the inconsideration and hubris to recklessly endanger others who will be morally obligated to assist jerks like her when things go sideways.

Sorry if the above offends anyone except her. But that’s my opinion …. What a stupid and foolish and grossly inconsiderate person.

Responsible people don’t just do what they feel like doing when it potentially puts others at risk … especially for some useless piece of crap like a drone that can be easily replaced without risk.

There is nothing laudable above what she did.
It was selfish, reckless and inconsiderate.

Just my opinion.

Best Regards
Over Easy

[OverEasy]

Here’s another concept idea or two you might be able to use for boarding…

- a “pole ladder” with alternating swing up steps:



- a rope ladder:



Both are relatively compact to store aboard when not in use.

When we use our telescoping ladder we attach the top rung to the bow pulpit, cockpit or stern railings and generally just let it hang.
A couple loops of line or a pair of large clips seem to work for us.
When getting up/down from the bow (like to access the beach) we find this works out fairly well.
Mind you the hook over type is really nice especially if you have the space to store it when not in use.

Whatever works best for you is what’s important.

Best Regards
Over Easy

[ibEddy2u]

She can climb I can't. See if we can spot the other quality that I like in a girl.