Recovery Ladder

The Recovery Ladder™ helps recover conscious, physically able overboard crew members, and can also aid in the recovery of hypothermic, disabled, or injured crew.

The Recovery Ladder is made from strong nylon webbing with added brightly colored polyester mesh "locator" panels. It hangs deep into the water from the side of your boat, has has rigid, easy to climb rungs, and offers two means of exit from the water —
• Able crew can simply climb up the integral ladder rungs.
• Injured, disabled, or hypothermic crew can be parbuckle (roll-up) lifted aboard using a halyard or block & tackle.

The ladder can be stowed with its attachment lines already attached and pre-adjusted, so when it is needed all you have to do is clip the ends to your attachment points. (See below for more details.)

The Recovery Ladder is easy to see, easy to rig, easy to stow, and easy to use as shown in the video above.

The Recovery Ladder can be used as the final step in a complete Man Overboard Recovery System, consisting of a location marker such as the Dan Buoy and a retrieval device such as the Reelsling, followed by using the Recovery Ladder for final re-boarding of your crew member. See Related Products, below.

• Bright, dayglow side panels are 7 feet across and easy for a swimmer to locate in low light or confusing circumstances
• Easy to stow until needed
• Can be "pre-rigged" for quick deployment
• Seven easy-to-climb rigid rungs are 14-1/2" wide
• Lowest step is 7-1/2 ft below the uppermost handhold
• Integral hoist attachment point at bottom for "roll-up" recovery of injured crew
• In heavy seas can be safer to use than a rigid recovery ladder as it cannot strike and injure a person in the water
• Not self-deploying; not suitable for single-handed sailors unless left in the deployed state
• Safe working load is 460 lb


Heavy on the technical side...

How to Set Up the Recovery Ladder
Before you need to use it in a rescue situation, you should set up the Recovery Ladder on a length of line tightly fastened between two stanchion bases, cleats, padeyes, or other strong points. Once you decide on the best method of attachment, we recommend you leave the rigging line attached to the ladder with the line adjusted for length and attachment method (knot, carabiner snap, etc.) so it will be ready to deploy at a moment's notice.

Hoisting Aboard With the Recovery Ladder
Although it is most convenient for the overboard crew to climb up the Recovery Ladder, sometimes, with an injured or hypothermic crew member, this is not possible.
With its integral strong point for attachment of a hoisting mechanism, the Recovery Ladder enables parbuckle (rolling) recovery of disabled crew who cannot climb the ladder rungs.
A halyard or block and tackle is fastened to the bottom apex of the recovery ladder. The crew floats into the doubled recovery ladder and the halyard is raised, "rolling" the crew member up to the level of the deck. This is demonstrated in the video link, above.

Prior to actually needing it, we recommend considering how you can employ a hoist for lifting your crew aboard.
On a sailboat, you can attach a halyard to the strong point on the Recovery Ladder, and use a winch or windlass for hauling.
On a powerboat, you can use a dinghy crane or hoist, or simply attach a block and tackle (for multi-part mechanical advantage) to a high point for hauling.

On any boat, in heavy seas, using the soft, flexible Recovery Ladder may be advantageous compared to using an existing swim platform or steps, as it avoids the possibility of the swimstep smashing down on the overboard crew. Even using a standard rigid boarding ladder rigged at side of vessel can present this problem if the boat rolls during recovery. The soft construction of the S.O.S. Marine Recovery Ladder makes recovery safer.