Boat ladders and upper body v leg strength

[Kimela]

Like this?

At least in this picture there is a hand rail on the boat - I still would't want that experience, just saying I would love to have had that hand rail to use my extraordinary upper body strength!

 

[tursiops]

This has been discussed many times. @Wookie knows it best. Something to do with regulations etc etc.

see Hydraulic Ladder
but especially Boat diving.Do we have it all wrong?!
The latter is a long thread, but there are some jewels among the chest thumping.

 

[RyanT]

I like the fins on (aka Christmas tree) ladder. Taking your fins off is one less thing to deal with (especially in sporty seas) and you've got everything in place in the event you get pitched off the ladder. With that said, I might be an outlier in this discussion because I'm just as happy taking my fins off and climbing a traditional ladder. My buddy on the other hand really likes the fins on ladder because she always has a hard time getting her left fin off. I suspect individual strengths and mobility will dictate a lot of preferences.

 

[Cert1967]

Ladders?

Place your ladder directly on the side of your house - straight up the side - and it will be hard to climb. Maybe scary?

Place your ladder at an angle - you loose top reach - and it will be easier to climb. For me, my legs and arms work much better in this orientation.

Not a physio, but a properly angled ladder seems to be the ticket. Handholds at the top and you have a winner.

 

[Edward3c]

I've never been diving in the U.K. What do you mean by "lifts"? Like a motorized device to get divers up and on the boat?

See the link in post 27.

 

[KenGordon]

Sah......weeet!!! Why don't we have those in the U.S.?

You don’t want them hard enough to change the rules to allow them. You are prepared to go on boats that expect people to get up ladders, possibly provoking bends. Scuba is a somewhat macho activity. Consumers are generally at a disadvantage compared to service providers.

You could try getting together in an organised way and trying to influence whoever needs influencing. If it really is a regulatory problem then no one boat is likely to want to pioneer it just to watch everyone else get a free ride. Thus the best way forward is likely to be everyone’s getting together and explaining that ladders are discriminatory and dangerous to people with high nitrogen levels.

 

[chillyinCanada]

The men posting in here, should feel free to do so but please keep in mind that this thread is under the WOMEN'S PERSPECTIVES subforum.

 

[Kimela]

Just wanted to let you all know that I did write an email to Dive Paradise to let them know about the ladders (thank you to those who suggested that I do that). It was not an angry email - I never intended to bash them in any way - and they took my email in exactly the way I meant it. They asked for more info (what boats, specifically, were we on), and today I got a response from the CEO. Here's what he said (and I wouldn't expect anything to change in the midst of COVID, but it's nice they're planning to address it):

"Thanks for letting us know — yes, it is in our planning to upgrade these ladders. We are looking not only at adding handrails, but also adding a gentle slope so that the ladders aren’t completely vertical. Both of these upgrades will make life easier, and will hopefully be taken care of in the not too distant future."

 

[RyanT]

The men posting in here, should feel free to do so but please keep in mind that this thread is under the WOMEN'S PERSPECTIVES subforum.

Wow, thanks for the reminder @chillyinCanada, I missed that. My buddy (a female) and I are both tech divers. We talk a lot about this. She's really strong, but still struggles climbing a ladder in doubles. She's a constant advocate for fins on ladders. Her issue is two-fold. First, she struggles to get her fins off with a deco bottle. Her arms are naturally shorter, so she lacks the reach I do. Second, she has trouble getting her fin straps on over her wrists, as her computers sit right up near her hands. Women have shorter arms and just have less "real estate" to put computers and fins straps, etc on the arms.

 

[pauldw]