Steps.
We take them every day. Big ones, small ones, baby steps when we are
learning something new. We climb up them, down them, count them – our
life is practically measured by how many we’ve been able to take!
Well this week I have had the privilege of getting a new set of steps
to make access to the boat easier. Getting on and off a boat can be a
simple thing or a tricky thing depending on where the boat is tied up.
In some places we have sat against a floating jetty and the lowest
part of the deck has been our access point. This makes getting on and
off a breeze. At other places we have been against a fixed jetty and
how easy or hard it is to get off is dependent on the tide. My dodgy
hips sometimes call the shots and I remain on board waiting for a
better opportunity, wait to get off when the tide puts the steps
closer to my reach!
A while back we moved Argos into a new pen, one we can remain in until
the day we set off from here. It’s against a floating jetty but with a
little twist – we aren’t alongside it, we are at the end of it and it
comes at right angles to the bow. All the boats tied up at this part
of the marina are much shorter than us, and sit with their sterns in
to the jetty. We on the other hand are bow in and we pass the jetty by
a few feet, sticking out across the other side of the jetty.
We sized up this spot when it was empty and knew we would fit, that we
would sit comfortably and the only difficulty would be that instead of
having easy access to the boat we would have to climb up higher as the
bow is the highest part. We figured the right sized ladder would make
this manageable and on the first day we were here, popped into town to
get one. Things don’t always work as smoothly as we expect and it
didn’t take long before we discovered that what we wanted and needed
was not readily available.
The highest step ladder we could find anywhere here was three steps
and put us about a full foot below deck level. It was sturdy though
and had a handle to hold on to while getting on and off, so we bought
it and hoped that we could make it work. It has always been a bit
tricky. We only had a few mishaps though - it fell in at one point
when high tide saw it get caught in the cables on the bow, and our
best attempts to find it on the bottom were futile so we had to get
another – this time we tied it to the jetty so that even if it did
fall in we could retrieve it! We have had a few stumbles – in the wet
weather the steps can be a bit slippery – and sometimes getting off
with bags or just when we are in a hurry has resulted in some funniest
home video moments. Once or twice I have overbalanced when stepping on
the ladder and had it tip – the results might have looked funny but
always left me with a sense of trepidation.
For me the hardest thing though is that being a foot below the boat
climbing on and off, and with the boat constantly moving during the
manoeuvre, a lot of pressure is put on my hip joint and has been the
source of some pain and injury.
More recently, after several trips to the chiropractor, I set about
trying once more to find a four-step step ladder to make things
easier. Eventually, after some weeks of visiting different hardware
stores and hunting on line, I found something that might have been ok,
at a cost, and hoped someone local would be able to order it in for
me. I was all set when Peter announced that he was going to build a
platform to put the step ladder on and then it would be high enough
without going to the expense of buying a new ladder – such a simple
solution – not sure why we hadn’t thought of it before!
So off to work he went, with plans to build a simple platform in his
lunch break.
What a surprise was mine when he arrived home with the most perfect
set of steps! He had started the platform and then had some other
ideas and with off cuts from form work at the house-site he had come
up with more than I would ever have hoped for.
Getting on and off the boat has become a breeze. I can do it no-hands,
can keep talking on my phone as I’m coming or going, can bring
shopping home without having to hand bags up to someone on deck – it
really is amazing. No more twisting to step on or off and no more
near-misses. The steps look very permanent but no doubt someone here
will find them useful when we do leave!
Of course it’s going to be easier for others now too to visit us and
be able to get on the boat easily. We have had a few visitors clamber
on board in the past and then mention that they shan’t return!
My only lament? That knowing he could build these steps it took so
long to get them! Oh well, it was all about having junk timber laying
around and the tools handy. Still, having made these I now know that I
need never again struggle. If we should find ourselves again in a spot
where we need something specific, well it will be off to the timber
yard for us!
Did I mention how much I appreciate them though? Oh gosh – they are my delight!
I practice getting on and off just for the fun of it now! What was
once a source of stress has become my greatest pleasure! How life does
that!