Closed ladder with fins on?

[mike_s]

just so folks understand....


here is a "Closed rung Ladder"

and an "Open Rung Ladder". You can see here on the open run ladder that getting on with fins is possible as you move your foot/fin outside of the ladder to get to the next step.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Sounds like a very bad idea, an accident waiting to happen.



I certainly hope they tell folks when they book that they have such silly and dangerous rules.

I'd hope so too. If I were told to either keep my fins on or pass them up I'm pretty good with not going on said boat. I've done enough dives to know what works best for me and what's safest.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Mike can you edit that huge photo?

 

[idocsteve]

Here's a random picture that I found that shows a ladder similar to the one on the Eagle's Nest.

Note the square shape and it's angled slightly

 

[W8less]

A side note caution with tree ladders. Most of the tree ladders are hinged at the top with a line attached to the bottom so that they can be lowered down by hand or pulley. 2 years ago out of Anacortes WA. the ladder got away from a deck hand and whacked and I mean whacked a diver on the surface on the side of his head. It was a glancing blow but still cut him through his hood pretty good. I shudder to think if it was a direct hit.

 

[Gilldiver]

Each ladder style has its pros and cons.

The enclosed ladders that I have seen and used tend to be home made out of galvanized pipe T’s and pieces and were very common up till about 15 years ago when the stainless steel T ladders started being made by a number of manufacturers.

A T-ladder is easier for most divers in calm to medium seas as you don’t have to try to lift the fin tip and aim it into the ladder, but once you get to building seas and a quick interval, anything less then 9 seconds, and I find a T-ladder can get quite challenging. Add in a cross sea and some rocking and it gets real fun.

With a T-ladder, as the boat rocks and your weight shifts from side to side you can have your foot slip off the end and either fall off or get a nice groin pull. In those seas, I like an enclosed ladder as I will put my foot right into the angle of an enclosed ladder and brace it.

As for Howard, it’s his boat, his rules. His people skills are not all that great till he gets to know you. Its how he is, you don’t like it, don’t dive off his boat.

 

[Gilldiver]

As for keeping your find on, that is a good rule for rough sea conditions and some boats. Look at the photo of the old Seeker, that ladder was a long climb and more then a few divers fell off it. Stay out of falling range of the diver in front of you, keep you mask on and reg in your mouth till you are on the boat.

I have seen many divers hurt by the ladder and swim platform and only a very few hurt from DCS. The maximum danger in diving is always at or near the surface and next to the boat.

 

[TSandM]

I can climb tree ladders with fins -- I don't like to, but I can. But if you fall off such a ladder, the likelihood is that your foot will pull out of the space between the rungs. If you fall on a "square" or closed ladder, you could easily end up with your body as a huge weight and lever, providing force to a foot caught by the fin and lying across a step. I don't even want to think about the fracture that would ensue. People DO fall off ladders, which is why one is almost always briefed to stay away the steps when a diver is on them.

But I really didn't want a discussion of boarding with or without fins; I wanted to know if other people have encountered boats where you have to wear your fins on while boarding a closed ladder. This is the first time I had ever heard of that.

 

[Teamcasa]

But I really didn't want a discussion of boarding with or without fins; I wanted to know if other people have encountered boats where you have to wear your fins on while boarding a closed ladder. This is the first time I had ever heard of that.

In the hope this thread does not end up being a clone of this one http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/advanced-scuba-discussions/337501-you-helpless-without-fins.html .

Please post in the linked thread for fins on or off questions.

 

[knowone]

YES. When the boats a buckin and the crews a duckin it's
Mask on face
Reg in place
Fins on feet
till bum in seat.
Quickly.
Sometimes the conditions in the bath tub change during a dive.
All opps should install a padded hoist with with elevator music and serve tea.
The last step is crap. Oops late for contortion class.