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your right all! Safety first.

So best would be al ladder that swings up like the But the ladder of the is too long to just swing up.

Why not take something that is ready to install, just buy it for 30.--?

There is a foldable telescopic ladder. Just use the half. Then first snap it short with the telescopic function. Then swing it up. . Never used it before. But as it is alu... and cheap... could be the burner for the ? And on the starboard side put a permanend stand for stability.

Look this link:https://www.top-artikel.ch/pi/Themenwel ... kAQAvD_BwE

So I don't know if you really could use the ladder if you are in the cockpit. But at least you see the ladder is up an maybe it will work such a way.

Or you go in boatic stile... means more expensive. But then in SS than alu. Maye it would fit better becouse it was ready to mount as you have already the correct fixture up. Maybe it will not be so robust for all day use. On the other hand there is no click mecanism...
https://www.svb.de/de/teleskop-badeleiter-4-stufig.html

Hi Kurz
I think install a centre post simple ! or bridge support system more complex then use the original ladder & these brkt,s
https://victory-products.com/collection ... ts/aa54085
& have the ladder just swing up this will reduce head room & usable space .
Now how about a 1 1/4" center s/s post & modify the original ladder to swivel sideways into a center upright position which could be moved into it,s original broadside position by anyone from the cabin or the cockpit & for anyone who was going to enter the cabin it would b very obvious that the ladder would have to be turned .
But for me I think it would not b worth the effort I,m 70 & fairly agile tho not as strong as I used to b sadly to say lol , so I,d sooner have the ladder stay as it is & not have something else to think about

J

I was thinking of putting a 3 in. angle iron across the top. Bolt it to the two traveler bolts. Then moving the ladder rails to the starboard 1 in. port I could get 5 in. and make new steps, with the center step moveable. Any thoughts ?

I am trying to consider kurz idea - I think where he is going is to put a solid metal bar inside the ladder tube on one side.

I'm looking at this from the standpoint of sheer weights - I think the issue with niceaft was a downward load from the companionway. But when I look at that I see a ladder that really would collapse to the rear if enough weight were put on it because of the rearward lean of the ladder:



So I am wondering how much weight the ladder can really support without breaking the fiberglass where it's bolted at the bottom??? At that angle it would be like a lever - enough weight would pull the bolts through the fiberglass at the bottom - but that can only happen if the cockpit MOVES to the rear also - and that's not gonna happen, so - the sheer angle downward is probably not significant but it IS important. There seems to be no support under the cockpit. This needs to be taken care of before the ladder can be removed.

The other sheer factor i was looking at was sideways but the ladder would roll and collapse in a sideways sheer:



Because the wooden ladder steps would crack and break at the bolts if the ladder rolled to the side - so there is no sheer strength in that direction.

But the one place where I see a LOT of sheer strength is in the UPWARD direction - it would take a HUGE amount of force to pull the ladder upward from its current location:



And this makes sense to me because the main sheet is essentially towing almost half of the weight of the boat through the water - that is the thing that makes me a little nervous. I'm picturing a traveler that is expressing sheer loads in a sideways direction on the system. Remove one ladder rail and now the sideways sheer strength is gone - things can move from port to starboard,

It just makes me pause.

I know for a fact that there is lots of bracing & strength around the area of the ladder base , plus where the ladder bolts onto the bottom it,s at least almost 1/2" thick fiberglass on my boat , I do have pic,s I,d have to dig out of my laptop , but if u can get into my Batt upgrade posts their might b pic,s there
J

If you put a pipe inside one side from top to bottom and cut the outer tube above and below the top and bottom step. That would give you the hinged side. The other side you could cut at the top and bottom and put some kind of splint that could be pinned when underway.

Did you happen to mod your interior ladder? Do you have any pics?

It appears that there is another feature of the Mac26X that I’ve been taking for granted in the swing-up ladder!

It appears that for the Mac26M, the ladder is indeed a structural feature in the vertical axis of tension and compression.
The ladder structure doesn’t appear to provide much in the lateral (side-to-side) axis nor in the fore-to-aft direction.

With that in mind it would appear that if one wanted to made a Mac26M swing up ladder like on the Mac26X (so that it maintains a barrier to accidentally falling in as was mentioned in an earlier post) it could suggested that it could be done by cutting the ladder tubes in 4 locations, 2 near the top straight section and 2 near the bottom straight sections.

The top two would be for strong hinges bolted though each side of the cuts with at least two bolts above and below the cut. That would allow the ladder to swing up into the companionway thus blocking it and allowing access to the aft berth (like in the Mac26X).

The bottom cuts would also require slip-fit exterior sleeves that could be slide up and through pinned above and below the cut. That could still allow the ladder to function as a ladder, swing up to block the companionway (to avoid an accidental fall), allow the ladder tubes to retain their vertical tension & compression structural functions.

Just a suggestion……

Best Regards
Over Easy