Stairs.

A few posts back I showed my first attempt at making it possible for the dog to climb up the ladder so she could get in and out of the boat herself. I added sliding extensions to the rungs so the dog would have more room to stand while she climbed. Unfortunately this attempt was unsuccessful and Penelope was still unable to climb out. 

Behold our new stairs. 

I couldn't help looking at all that space that was being wasted behind the old ladder and on a small sailboat you really can't afford to have any wasted space. 

Our solution was building these stairs up the side of the hull, to use up that wasted space, create storage under the steps and finally have a platform the dog could actually use.

It wasn't an easy build, of course nothing on the boat is. I managed to find a 4 x 8 ft piece of oak plywood from Home Depot that had a small chunk missing from one corner so I got it discounted and made the whole stairs out of it for $30. The thing weighed a ton and was a challenge for Mark to get down the docks. The project took three days to build and they turned out pretty well, much better than I had hoped.

They are sturdy and look so much better than the ugly ladder, plus that extra storage space under each step is awesome.

It was a risk building stairs sideways up the hull instead of actually in front of the door it is leading up to, but this was the best way to maximize space. Mark was worried it would be too awkward to walk up sideways, but the distance is so short, it's actually much easier than the old, rickety ladder was.

We added risers on hinges to hide the storage space underneath.

With winter coming and still so many leaks to fix, a staircase doesn't seem like a priority project to waste time on, but this is our home and in a world of fickle water heaters, hand washing dishes, laundromats, ducking to get into the bathroom, a 2.1 cubic foot fridge and yes, leaky hatches, in the world of inconveniences you sometimes just need one small thing that looks pretty and makes life a little bit easier.