Rubber Ladder for Local Marina
19th August, 2022
The marina had an old vessel that was being dismantled due to age and rotting away, and to reduce any environmental impacts, they opted to dismantle the vessel while still in the water. Specialist contractors completed the dismantling of the vessel over a number of months.
The vessel being removed from the marina freed up space, which the marina operator planned to use as a temporary birth. For this to be actionable, they requested for us to make bespoke rubber ladders to run down the side of the quay. The purpose of the rubber ladders was to allow access to the marina, whilst also acting as a rubber protective bumper, whereby if vessels bumped into the ladders, there would be no damage to either the quay or the vessel.
Our team at Aquaseal Rubber had a number of conversations with the customer and designed a rubber ladder that would be large enough to replace the wooden option, which would have still needed a rubber D section fitting to the outer face.
After a few conversations and sketches, we decided on a 250mm wide and 250mm rubber bumper section. This design would allow for the person to use the rubber runners, and still be wide enough for the bump and run to happen during birthing and parking alongside tidal movement. The rubber ladder runs, that are between these two sections, were 60cm and bolted together making a very stiff and ridged product, that would withstand the force of the vessels.
Once the order was placed, we proceeded to design the full section layout and then started making the tooling and jigs that were required.
We made the first two sections, drilled the correct number of holes on each side, and assembled the ladders. We then carried on with the other sections (4 in total) to get the correct length required from the water level to the top of the quay, allowing for tidal movement.
Once the products were all assembled, the customer came to the factory to view them, and he was over the moon with the quality and couldn’t wait to get them installed. All the workers involved in the rubber ladder project at Aquaseal were very impressed with the end result, and they looked very good before they were shipped to the marina.
Our bespoke rubber ladders have now been installed and the marina is very impressed with the performance of them so far.
Key points in the design we had to take into consideration:
- How far away from the quay wall the person’s foot will be while climbing the ladders
- The sturdiness of the ladder runs (we added steel through the middle covered in rubber)
- The width and thickness of the rubber bumper sided
- Max length we can make in our machinery
- Fixing them to the quay wall
Overall, the project has been a big success and we are happy the client is satisfied with our work. Get in touch with our team here for the best rubber solutions.
The Final Product Ready to Be Transported to the Marina
The Final Product In the Marina
