4 Step Boat Folding Ladder, Stainless Steel - FO4500

I bought many ladders for boats and this Five Oceans ladder is the best ever. Very strong, very resistant steel, and great packaging. I'm very happy.

Quite a few older small sailboats still exist from the golden 1970s of fiberglass production, with traditional transoms and the deck being well out of reach of a swimmer. What's needed is a quality ladder, narrow enough to share the transom with an outboard motor or outboard rudder, with enough steps to facilitate boarding from the water. This little ladder is almost perfect - well-made, good-looking, easy to use - about the best design available. But....

Cons:
1, Still not enough steps. All boarding ladders should have a MINIMUM of TWO full step spaces under the realistic waterline (3 is better). Many people lack the upper-arm strength to clamber up before getting a foothold - now imagine it in chop or truly bad weather. This one would be MUCH better with one or two more steps. I had to fit it high enough to keep the lower corner from dragging in the water with the boat heeled. I was left with only one step below the waterline. I fixed this by BUYING ANOTHER FIVE OCEANS LADDER, removing its bottom section to attach to the ladder already on the boat. This required lots of modifications to both.

2. The hardware tends to be a little lightweight. I replaced all the small-pattern 1/4-20 locknuts and used standard-pattern ones - AND I turned them around so that the naked threads beyond the nuts would not gouge bare feet on the steps.

Five Oceans have got a goof thing going and with a little more attention to real-world detail these products will be top-notch.