by Gabrielle DeSantis

When you take to the lake or river using a boat, it can be really tempting to dive in during the hottest parts of summer. However, for many, the problem with this scenario is trying to get back onto the boat. You are wet, the boat is likely slick, and sits well above the water. 

However, you can have the best of both the boating adventure you are on and a little swim fun without worry. A boat ladder is designed to help you get easily from the water to the boat. Still, you have to choose the best boat ladder for your wants and needs. 

The best boating ladders and the features that matter

There are some things that you should consider when choosing a boating ladder. For instance, you want them to have a weight capacity that can accommodate your family, but you want to make sure it’s easy to install, foldable, and has large enough steps and/or handlebars. Other considerations may include whether they are designed for your older boat, heavier boat, or personal limitations. 

No matter what your situation or boat is like, you have options for a reliable boat ladder. The most popular choices for most boat owners are listed below. 

1. RecPro Marine Pontoon Boat 4 Step Folding Boarding Ladder

According to Globo Surfer, the RecPro Marine Pontoon Boat 4 has a compact design that will allow you to store it easily when not in use but still has an impressive weight capacity of 300 pounds. It has four steps that allow you to get from the water to your boat’s interior easily. Additionally, we like knowing that it’s easy and safe to mount and backed by a 3-year warranty. The downside is that the compact design means that the steps are quite thin, which may make it difficult to use for some people. Therefore, it must be mounted against a tube for increased support.

2. RecPro Marine 4

According to The Marine Lab, this RecPro Marine 4 boat ladder is made with durable 316 stainless steel and tall handrails to make it safe and easy to use. Since RecPro manufactures it, it’s backed by a 3-year warranty to ensure you are happy with its performance. Where it stands out, though, is the outstanding 400-pound weight capacity.  

The steps on this ladder are 13.5 inches from side to side, giving you plenty of space to climb and an easy grip on the side rails. However, it’s heavier than most other ladders at 23 pounds, so this bulkier size could be a problem for some, especially if you anticipate moving it around often. 

3. YaeMarine 4-Step Stainless Boat Ladder

According to Boating Geeks, YaeMarine has a 4-step boating ladder that is made with stainless steel tubing. It can support up to 400 pounds with extra-wide steps so that climbing is easy. For increased safety, there are extra-tall handrails for you to hold when in use.

It has a telescopic ladder that makes storage easy. However, it does weigh 19.2 pounds. One thing that is important to note is that mounting hardware is not included with your ladder purchase. This is an inconvenience for some people who would prefer to have an easy setup option.  

4. Aquastairs Pontoon Mount

Aquastairs are designed for use with pontoon boats. Thanks to adjustable legs, they have a universal design that makes them a great replacement for other steps. If you don’t have a pontoon boat to put them on, you can add them to swim platforms and larger boats such as yachts, cabin cruisers, and those with a swim deck.

These steps are 16 inches wide and 8-3/4 inches deep, making them usable by most people. When mounted securely, these ladders can hold between 250 and 500 pounds, depending on the style that you choose and how you mount them. Additionally, due to their slanted design, these swim ladders do not require a handrail. This makes them ideal for most people regardless of health conditions or age.  

5. Rage Powersports 3-Step Portable Hook-on Boat Boarding Ladder

The Rage Powersports 3-step portable boat ladder available on Amazon is extremely easy to use. To install it, you hook it over the boat rail. Once set up, it can support up to 300 pounds. It folds flat for easy storage when you need to store it on the boat. There is ample traction on each step because of a honeycomb pattern on the steps. However, it does have thin steps, which may not be perfect for all people.

However, we love how lightweight it is. This is one of the ladder’s best features since it weighs only 3 pounds. We also appreciate that it’s UV resistant so that being out on the water will not damage its durability.

Related: The Sarvo 37 Might be the Most Beautiful Boat Ever – and It’s Faster’n Hell

The post 5 Best Boating Ladders of 2021 appeared first on MotorBiscuit.

by Gabrielle DeSantis

Those not keen on history might be surprised to know that Oldsmobile was once a luxury brand that competed against Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Jaguar. Like most fledgling automakers in those days, Oldsmobile earned its reputation for making luxury cars due to groundbreaking innovations. However, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, it’s important to understand that some, if not most, of the technology back then had been originally patented by inventors years before automakers incorporated it into their vehicles. One case is with automatic transmissions.

The Automatic Safety Transmission

One doesn’t have to be an inventor to be an innovator as long as you’re willing to invest time and money to help improve the inventor’s prototypes. The earliest generation of GM leadership did exactly that, sort of like the Microsoft of their day. Thus, Oldsmobile models were the first cars equipped with an automatic transmission called an “Automatic Safety Transmission” (AST). GM procured the patent from a Canadian named Alfred Horner Munro, who conceptualized it in 1923. It’s important to remember that automaker divisions functioned far less autonomously way back then.

Basically, those charged with running Oldsmobile back then were primarily responsible for day-to-day operations. GM still had significant control over technology acquisition, design, and research and development as the parent company. It’s not to say Cadillac and Oldsmobile had absolutely no involvement, just not to the level of decision-making done by their parent company. Plus, as it turned out, Munro’s fancy AST used air pressure, resulting in diminished power output and the inability to be driven in reverse. Only the 1937 and 1938 model year Oldsmobile models were equipped with AST as a result.

Innovations don’t have to be completely new or unique to change the world

In honor of today's 1pm CT @kerathink show on the history of American car culture with Dan Albert, a photo of my grandfather in a 1941 ad for Oldsmobile's "Hydra-Matic" engine. https://t.co/so7KtoVWcb pic.twitter.com/pHyVV97syD

— Krys Boyd (@krysboydthink) June 13, 2019

It became clear why GM seemingly scrapped the Automatic Safety Transmission after just two years. Just as it had done with Munro, GM lucked out in acquiring another, more promising automatic transmission from two Brazilian engineers named Fernando Lehly Lemos and José Braz Araripe in 1940. However, Lemos and Araripe provided a complete schematic and a physical prototype instead of merely another patent. Most importantly, it was the first automatic transmission using “hydraulic fluid,” allowing the vehicle’s engine to deliver much more power and speed. GM gave its new automatic transmission a fitting proprietary name: “Hydramatic.”

As a credit to Oldsmobile, it was the first automaker to mass-produce a liquid hydraulic automatic transmission. This would prove a game-changer once the United States entered World War II. Oldsmobile suspended vehicle manufacturing to assist the war effort, producing liquid hydraulic automatic transmissions for American tanks and other armored vehicles. The Nazis had the Panther, one of the largest military tanks, but the United States had speed and agility thanks to Oldsmobile.

The death of Oldsmobile by a thousand cuts (and betrayal)

The death of a brand – Oldsmobile – this is what happens when you say one thing and do another #greenfuture

— NBS (@theNBS) June 24, 2014

In an article published by MotorTrend, the author utterly killed both GM and Oldsmobile with razor-sharp cynicism: “There was no Rocket V-8 engine in the last Oldsmobile made, nor was there a “Cutlass” nameplate anywhere on the body. The last car from a brand that once defined middle-class aspiration was an Alero, a far from aspirational and totally forgettable compact. GM didn’t want to forget it, though, so the Dark Cherry Metallic four-door went to the GM Heritage Collection. Thinking better of it later, GM sold off the car in December 2017, and it fetched an entirely un-Alerolike $42K.”

It would be easy for anyone unaware of GM’s sorted history to look at Oldsmobile during its hospice days and blame it for its death. Auto analysts have cited the brand as having uninspired engineers and indistinguishable styling, thanks to a succession of incompetent leaders. It didn’t help that Oldsmobile went through managers like a fast-food joint located on the wrong side of town, with six of them in just 13 years. That averages out to a new manager every two years coming into an unwinnable situation, figuring it out, and deciding they would rather not have a sunk ship on their resume.

Toward the end, whoever was in charge of hiring stopped trying altogether, choosing an individual who had only a single management position listed on their resume, that of a brand manager for Alpo, the dog food company. Considering GM was sending Oldsmobile out to the dogs, that final hiring choice was either ironic or a cruel joke.

Carmakers can’t simply decide to kill a division, mark its death on a calendar, and pull the plug when the date arrives in the auto industry. Millions of people owned Oldsmobile back then, which meant that to kill it meant millions of people essentially owned a symbol of failure. That would ultimately result in those millions of people along with hundreds of dealerships turning on GM, not to mention a litany of class action lawsuits. In other words, if you want to kill an automotive division, it has to look like a suicide or natural causes. For example, blame Asia a few times in the media and hope no one was really paying attention. Or, as Investopedia claims, “unprofitability.”

RELATED: What Is the Difference Between Powertrain and Drivetrain?

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