Carver Owners Forum

I'm sure this is an issue for all boaters when docking with a boat designed with a sun deck like a 3807. When you're docking with no assistance how do you get from the sun deck to the dock to secure lines? There could be a drop of 3 to 4 feet depending on the dock. We have the steps which attach on the side below the railing but you can't install from the boat deck. Has anyone designed a ladder attached to the gunnels which can be "flipped down" to allow a safe exit from the boat to the dock? We're both seniors and jumping from the deck or the swim platform to the dock is a accident looking to happen. Thanks.

Are you talking about something to be used during docking or after the boat is secured ?

There are some solutions for cleating the loop end of your dock lines with different poles designed to be used from the boat decks. That should take care of the leaping around to some extent. Listen I hear ya, that is the main reason we don't have a boat anymore, crew just not spry.....

As for after , just regular boarding, there are some nice drop ladders etc, I am sure someone will chime in with an example.

I had a 3607 and always tied up to the pilings instead of the dock cleats. We carried a folding footstool to put on the dock for re-boarding, but you still had to get down from the deck the first time to place it.

A couple times with a very low dock we exited and re-boarded from the dock to the swim platform, then climbed the ladder to the aft deck.

Most of our Carvers have been aft cabin boats, so I know how difficult it can be to get off the boat, to the dock to help with docking. The best solution we found is to install a staircase to the swim grid, and then it’s easy to step off of the swim grid to the dock. It doesn’t work for every boat, but it sure helped my wife get off the boat to tie a stern line to the dock. It was especially helpfully with our 4207 Carver.
I was lucky enough to work as a steel fabricator, and I made my own stairs to the swim grid. On our 36 Uniflite, I built a new wider swim grid so that there was room to go around the stairs to get to the dock.
I’ll see if I can find some pictures of the some of the stairs that I built for our boats.

Most of our Carvers have been aft cabin boats, so I know how difficult it can be to get off the boat, to the dock to help with docking. The best solution we found is to install a staircase to the swim grid, and then it’s easy to step off of the swim grid to the dock. It doesn’t work for every boat, but it sure helped my wife get off the boat to tie a stern line to the dock. It was especially helpfully with our 4207 Carver.
I was lucky enough to work as a steel fabricator, and I made my own stairs to the swim grid. On our 36 Uniflite, I built a new wider swim grid so that there was room to go around the stairs to get to the dock.
I’ll see if I can find some pictures of the some of the stairs that I built for our boats.

On my '92 3307 AC I use this ladder-fender from Defender:
https://defender.com/en_us/plastimo-mul ... &615=24469

I hang it permanently off the Stbd rail opening and can easily step down to a low dock, as well as climb back up quickly.

The wife and I are dealing with this same problem with our 4205 aft deck. We are also seniors. I have been working on ideas but every solution is a compromise. Hard to believe Carver did not integrate a safe convenient boarding system in the design of these boats. The best I have come up with is a stock folding ladder off Amazon and extensively modifying it by adding larger steps for safety and stand-offs to hold the ladder away from the hull. The standoff length can be adjusted thereby setting the down angle so it becomes more like a set of steps than a ladder. (Wife can not manage ladders) The top step is flush with the gunwale and the bottom step is about a foot out from the hull. This allowed each step to be offset from the next like a step ladder. There is a total of 5 steps. The whole step assembly double folds upward and sits on the gunwale. To retract or lower it I have a small rope permanently attached to the bottom step and as I pull it the step folds as it rises and sits on the gunwale folded.

The downside is it blocks off a large portion of the gunwale so if you want to get by it you have to either deploy it or step over it.

The other issue is it can not be "left" fully deployed. The bottom step is very close to the dock so if the boat rocks side to side the bottom step could hit the dock. Likewise, unless it is folded it sticks out past the rub rail and could get ripped off the boat during a less than stellar docking.

Hope this helps someone. If I can figure out how, I'll post some pics when I can. Despite the short comings, the wife is delighted. Happy wife.... you know the rest. Too often she was a prisoner on the boat

Regards all KC