Boat ladders and upper body v leg strength

[shoredivr]

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.

I posted this in the thread, because I love this dive boat and its twin Xmas tree ladders and well thought out handrail placement:

“Yes I have noticed the ladder spaces/handrails issue too. Some people designing the ladders don’t seem to think about diver height. It’s not all about strength, it’s also about reach. But let’s thump on about fitness.”

“The best boats I’ve been on have easily accessible hand grabs/rails. In this example, photo taken by a buddy, there’s red vertical outside rails on the swim platform on the port and starboard sides, and the centre silver rail the diver is holding on to. All rails are easy to reach from any step.”

“Once all the divers are out of the water, the centre silver rail is removed and stowed before the gate is closed. The person who designed this thought about short divers, tall divers, all divers. I can make it up this ladder in doubles, singles and sidemount.”

“Still promoting the lift idea to prevent bubble shunting though.”

*Edit: the boat is the AMG out of Waupoos, Ontario, now owned by ABUCS SCUBA in Brockville Ontario. The guy who designed this is Wayne Green, as far as I know.

 

[Ana]

I'm wondering how this would work in 'real time'. It seems I'd have to check out the dive op before I make reservations. And I guess this would be a great place to start.

With the caveat that the world during and after the pandemic is weird.

You really need to take your time before making reservations with a charter. There's their equipment on one side but also their routine is important.
I started developing a list of questions to ask before giving out my credit card #.

Then it got to a point that I felt the need to exchange waivers with the charter, I sign yours but you sign mine too. That's when I realized the charter world evolved in a way that I couldn't handle anymore, maybe I became the "get off my lawn" type of old fart but in any case ... Ask away, the more information you have in advance the better. Ask here and ask them directly. Even if you accept something less than optimal at least you can prepare instead of being surprised and potentially ruining your diving day.

I know lifts in the US are an issue but any commercial boat that has divers as their only customers should have a ladder that is friendly for the average customer.
I doubt the average customer walks 2 miles a day, just a guess based on what I see in the charters around my area.

 

[Gareth J]

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.

Whilst we may have a bit of a moan about the BSAC in the UK. One of the great benefits is it is lobbying on our behalf.
I doubt that the American diving community have one group that is lobbying to the same extent with the same level of access to government agencies as the BSAC does in the UK.

 

[Gareth J]

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.

I whilst I respect and support a "women's perspectives" subforum. Most of what is being discussed in this thread relates to the health, safety and well being of divers, ALL divers. Irrespective of their sex, sexual persuasion, or gender identity. As such, all groups should be positively encouraged to engage and contribute.
There is an old phrase, divide and conquer, by separating divers into sub groups you weaken our voice, especially on points that relate to safety.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I whilst I respect and support a "women's perspectives" subforum. Most of what is being discussed in this thread relates to the health, safety and well being of divers, ALL divers. Irrespective of their sex, sexual persuasion, or gender identity. As such, all groups should be positively encouraged to engage and contribute.
There is an old phrase, divide and conquer, by separating divers into sub groups you weaken our voice, especially on points that relate to safety.

Twas merely a reminder my friend:

Pinned post header for Women's Perspectives subforum:

Welcome to the Women's Perspectives Forum!

This is a forum where our female members are welcome to talk about ideas, concerns, and anything surrounding diving that their male counterparts - and some women as well - may not experience or care about. While participation in this forum by any of our members is not excluded, we ask that everyone recognize that this forum is a NO TROLL ZONE devoted to subjects that primarily concern female divers. As such, we ask that all participation be confined to civil discussion of the posted topics without questioning the need for the topic or forum itself.

Please note that offtopic or posts that do not conform to the spirit of this particular forum may be removed with or without notice.

If you have any questions at all about whether a post is appropriate here, please PM a member of the moderating team first and they will be happy to screen it for you.

Your cooperation is appreciated

 

[NothingClever]

Then it got to a point that I felt the need to exchange waivers with the charter, I sign yours but you sign mine too.

Hah! I love this and totally get it.

 

[Kimela]

I whilst I respect and support a "women's perspectives" subforum. Most of what is being discussed in this thread relates to the health, safety and well being of divers, ALL divers. Irrespective of their sex, sexual persuasion, or gender identity. As such, all groups should be positively encouraged to engage and contribute.
There is an old phrase, divide and conquer, by separating divers into sub groups you weaken our voice, especially on points that relate to safety.

Just don't be surprised if we start talking about 'female problems' - we're bound to break out with those types of discussions without any prior warning!

 

[The Chairman]

Ask for a rope on that Christmas tree ladder. It really helps.

 

[Gareth J]

Just don't be surprised if we start talking about 'female problems' - we're bound to break out with those types of discussions without any prior warning!

Well, if it helps us improve the dive trip experience for our female branch members, bring it on.
Although in fairness to them, none of them are 'shrinking violets'.They are not shy about putting the rest of us right when we step out of line, or pointing out where we could do better.

 

[DaniDives]

Put your feet on the lowest bars, hold the ladder as high as you can with your hands, crouch down into the water and hoist yourself up. Works better than extending your legs and trying to climb up.