Q. How does it install to a boat or a dock?
A. Because Skamper-Ramp was originally designed for use in swimming pools, dock installation is easy if there is a vertical face to the dock. Simply tie both rope ends to one cleat and make sure the ramp is snug to the dock face.
Boat installation often requires some ingenuity, and awareness that chop may “kick it up”. Outboard motors, are the easiest – as in the picture here, simply brace the ramp on the stern alongside a motor and tie both ropes to one stern cleat.
With a swim ladder, some people re-lace the rope to the set of holes below the Skamper-Ramp logo and then tie it around the ladder rails and brace it between the top rung and the bottom of the platform, so that the underside of the platform keeps the ramp from going vertical.
With a large platform that is high off the water, some people put eye hooks on the underside of the platform about 6″ back from the end. Then re-lace the rope so that you can tie the ramp through the eye hooks and back down through the ramp, allowing the ramp to stay dragging behind and under the boat. The advantage to this is that in chop the ramp won’t kick up and the underside of the platform allows a brace so the ramp doesn’t go vertical.
The back (“open box”) end of the ramp requires approximately 6″ of a vertical surface to brace against, or must have the underside of a rigid horizontal surface to brace against. As with pool installation, the ramp also must have at least 3″ submerged beneath the water. We will honestly tell you that if your boat gunwale is too high out of the water (like many sailboats), has a sloped transom/stern or no place to “create” a brace, it may not be appropriate for your boat.
Filed under: Blue Haven Pools | Tagged: pool safety
