Pet boarding ramps

J

Just Limin'

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 7, 2011
Messages
154
Fluid Motion Model
C-26
Hull Identification Number
2517
Vessel Name
Just Limin'
Does anyone use a boarding ramp to get your four legged crew onboard? Homemade? Bought? Sources please..
 
I normally carry my two small Wire Hair Fox Terriers onboard, or let them jump in if there's no significant gap between dock and the cockpit step on our R25. I do ensure they each have a harness on just in case they make a mistake -- and one did at the Bremerton meet up in 2010 as the dock side was quite a bit higher than the cockpit step. The harness allowed me to grab him quickly and securely and hauled him up out of the water. Older `dogs' do need some help if blind or the legs are getting stiff... 😉
 
We took our cat to the marina for a week's cruise on the boat... She was on a leash... As we were pushing off she decided she did not want to go boating... I glanced at her just as she squatted down, bobbed her head to gauge the distance from the bulwarks to the dock and launched in a beautiful arc, a pure white cat with perfect form that would have had her landing on the dock and running off - if only she hadn't come to the end of the leash halfway there!
We quickly fished her out of the scummy harbor water and she was a pitiful looking sight and no longer even close to white... As soon as her paws hit the deck she bolted through the cabin door headed for the deepest, darkest corner of the boat - if only she hadn't come to the end of the leash again!
She spent the trip in the back of the cupboard under the sink and refused to come out for any reason... I had to make her a small litter box to put in there...

Our dog is small and getting along in years...We hand lift him on and off...
 
A "Cat On A Leash" (hey, that would make a great book title 😉 ) does take some patience and making sure they feel secure on the leash. Both of our boat cats have taken an unexpected dip (only once) due to running out of leash... they also both learned that jumping on or off the boat while leashed needs to have one of us accompanying them.

Our cats haven't needed any kind of a boarding ramp - they hop on or off on their own. If using the dinghy, the PFD goes on, and that seems to keep them from wanting to move around much.

Folks that we've seen with dogs have used the gangplank kind of ramp, with floats on the water end of it; carpeted helps, so they have something to dig into.

Best wishes,
Jim B (author, "Cat On A Leash"; a book about cruising/traveling with a furry family member)
 
Well, seeing how that thread went down the tubes (althought the cat on the leash was pretty funny) I asked Google. "Dog boarding ramp for boats" and found this ramp made by Pet Gear called Doggydocks. It has a video and it gives great ideas if you want to build or just buy it from the site. I am on a river behind Plum Island Ma and the current is to strong to let my girls use something like this but they are a great idea. Maybe I could you a cat leash so they don't drift away!
Good luck.
John
 
Not sure if this is what you may be asking about, but if getting your dog onboard from the water is your need, there is a product called Paws Aboard and I know it is sold by Overtons.
 
I'm more concerned about getting her..a big Goldendoodle (80 lbs.) from the pier to the boat and reverse. Thanks. The dog has become an emotional issue at our house as one of the many reasons from going to an old sailboat to a tug was so that we could take the dog. Well, actually, one of my wife's reasons....
 
My dog is getting too old to jump into my Jeep or truck any more, and he is too big to lift. I got that ramp and it works good for the Jeep and truck. I tried it for getting on and off the R21-EC and had problems. Walking from the dock to the boat was okay, but he had a problem going from the gunnel to the deck (and vice-versa). Depending upon the type of dock, you might be able to use the ramp from the dock to the swim platform, and then the dog could go thru the walk-thru transom. I think it would work best with floating docks.
 
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