The EEZ-IN II integrated transom ladder is completely hidden from view when not in use. I had not seen one before and they emphasize it is for OEM use you can’t retrofit one but depending on the boat, I bet you could. ![]() Recently, I attended a trade show for boat builders and a company called Garelick was showing their EEZ-IN II Ladders. If the person in the water can’t actually get a leg up on the ladder, it is useless. Part of the Council’s recommendations is that “The top surface of the lowest step of a reboarding ladder, if installed to meet the requirement of this standard, shall be at least 12 inches (305mm) below the waterline with the boat in the static floating position.” OK – it’s maybe not a crash, but it is a splash and accidents do happen. Remember the days when people refused to wear car seatbelts? People used to say, “Not me! I won’t wear a seatbelt. Stupid.īuilders may argue that there are costs to this, that such ladders or reboarding devices are not attractive, or don’t fit with a boat's styling.but I see all that as just excuses. Now, in my opinion, not to have a means of unassisted reboarding that is accessible to, or deployable by, the person in the water, is bad. ![]() That is why many boats, even ones from very good builders, may not follow the ABYC Standards. That means guidelines – not laws or regulations. Re-stated in more specific terms, the Council's mission is to develop quality technical practices and engineering standards for the design, construction, maintenance and repair of small craft with reference to their safety. The mission of ABYC is to improve boating safety and reduce the number of injuries and fatalities that occur as a result of improper design or maintenance. The group's goal was to develop safety standards for the design, construction, repair and maintenance of recreational boats. ![]() Coast Guard's Merchant Marine Council back on February 1, 1954, in New York State as a not-for-profit corporation. The American Boat & Yacht Council was formed by members of the Motorboat and Yacht Advisory Panel of the U.S. In the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) Standards, in section 41.9.1, it clearly states that a, “Means of unassisted reboarding shall be provided on all boats, and must be accessible to, or deployable by, the person in the water.” It’s only common sense, but sometimes common sense is in short supply. While losing your balance and hitting the water is bad (really bad if you are carrying an arm load of valuable things), clearly there should be an expectation that this may happen and every boat builder should aptly equip their boats to facilitate reboarding by a person who has fallen overboard. It’s been a long time since I went for an unexpected swim, but it’s happened to me before and it will probably happen again.
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