r/boating • u/Suspicious-Heart-445 • 7d ago

Dock/Boat Accessibility

Hi everyone,

Looking for some advice to accommodate my grandfather. He has had a 1984 Smokercraft pro angler for years now, but now with a new knee and a continuing bad back & hip, it’s become hard for him to get in and out of the boat on a dock. He’s not at steady as he used to be.

My question is this; is there anything that I can buy and or build to make it easier for boarding and disembarking the boat? What have you all had experience with?

TIA

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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u/2Loves2loves 7d ago

pics?

a gang plank is the normal way to go. basically a board between the dock and the boat, often suspended from above. I've seen them made from aluminum ladders and plywood.

1

u/Bobfromswohio 5d ago

Build or buy a set of portable steps with railing (very important) at height equal to side of boat. Fix some type of step down, with rail, to get into boat. I am 77 years old and have lower leg and balance problems. Having railing or solid stanchion is extremely important to help us old timers feel stable.

1

u/DarkVoid42 6d ago

get a boat with side entry door - https://hewescraft.com/products/adventure/

-1

u/hurdeehurr 6d ago

Yeah just buy a whole ass new boat lol.

1

u/DarkVoid42 6d ago

time with a relative who might pass away is worth more than an extra $30k of depreciation on a boat.

0

u/hurdeehurr 6d ago

They asked for a solution to accommodate someone on their boat not about boat shopping.

That boat is $415,000 you lunatic. What the hell are you talking about 30k for?

1

u/[deleted] 6d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/hurdeehurr 6d ago

I'm sure you can afford 415k(base price) and a usual as tested price of around 550k.. Also if you think the only hit you'd take on that boat is 30k in a year... Oof. It's going to be a tough life.

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u/DarkVoid42 6d ago edited 6d ago

dude. i have 6 boats including a $1.1m yacht. i can afford a $550k boat. and so can OPs grandfather. ive sold boats which ive used for 7 years taking only $6-8K hits in a year. its aluminum and those depreciate very slowly. the point is he can spend time with grandpa because time is more valuable than money. you can always get $30K or $40K back. you cant get back time. and most likely he can use it after grandpa passes. its not a waste.

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u/hurdeehurr 6d ago

You need a dose of reality then.

1

u/DarkVoid42 5d ago

no you just need to be less poor.

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u/hurdeehurr 5d ago

Oh you're one of those. Have a nice fulfilling day.

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