Boarding ladder repair
Keith Colwell rebuilds a boarding ladder with recycled-plastic ‘wood’
How to fix a boarding ladder using recycled plastic ‘wood’
The bottom step broke without warning. It slipped off the two stainless steel tube legs in a jiffy and left us stranded in the water. Thankfully, when I sourced and fitted this ladder some ten years ago, I made sure it would go deep enough to allow us to get out easily. Now, with minimal contortionism, we were able to place a foot on the second step up and recover ourselves from the water – averting an embarrassing selfinflicted MOB incident for PBO’s sea safety ‘expert’! But it wasn’t easy.
Made by Lalizas, the swim ladder is still available today from several chandlers and retails at a budget price of under £70 – not far off what it cost me all that time ago. A ten-year life seems more than reasonable for a product at that price, so I wasn’t disappointed with my purchase. But it needed to be fixed.
Each step is a plastic moulding, which sits on short stainless steel self-tapping screws, fastened into each of the 25mm diameter tubing legs. This allows the tubes to rotate so the ladder can be stowed flat.
The bottom step failed because each side of the plastic step had split, allowing the plastic shrouds to slip over the screws.
Looking at the other rungs I could see these were also showing signs of splitting and therefore all the steps needed to be replaced.
Replacement steps are available from the manufacturer but I was concerned that, with time, they’d suffer the same fate. Time to look for an alternative. My initial thought was to find a local shipwright or carpenter to make the steps and I’d simply slot them on to the tubes. Teak was my first choice. Coated with International Woodskin, the steps would look sensational. But teak is expensive. I would need 2m and at around £45/m the wood alone would be more expensive than a new ladder – even before I’d sourced the extras such as stainless washers and supporting bolts.
I also considered oak. A local
supplier said he could plane up some suitable lengths for me but it would be over £100.
Perhaps hardwood garden decking would be more economical? Minimum lengths were usually 3.6m, again putting the price too high.
It was while looking at decking I came across some made from composite materials. Initially, these looked attractive, but these are often formed from a hollow extruded section, which worried me on two counts. Firstly, a 25mm hole might weaken its transverse strength creating a ‘bendy step’. Secondly, the step wouldn’t look good end on? Plus, the material wasn’t cheap and, since I could not find a local supplier, delivery charges and minimum lengths meant it too was ruled out.
Finally, I came across Reformed Plastics – a Bournemouth-based company not far from where I live. They supply plastic ‘wood’ made completely from recycled UK-sourced plastic waste that would otherwise end up in landfill. It’s used mainly for garden furniture, decking and fences and comes in a variety of colours and sizes.
They claim that in most instances it outperforms traditional material since it is stronger, more durable, impervious to water and maintenance free. It’s also 100% recyclable. Just like wood, it can be cut, drilled, screwed, nailed and bolted. There’s no grain so it won’t split or crack. A 3m black plank (other colours are available) measuring 100mm by 25mm costs only £13. Perfect – what’s more, I could feel good about helping to save the planet too!
My plan was to replace each step with a short length of the Reformed Plastics plank, drilled on the same centres as the originals to accept the stainless steel tubing, supported by M3 x 30 (3mm thread diameter x 30mm length) stainless steel bolts.