In Reply to: Re: Hey, I liked that swimstep...(-) posted by Wiamond A. Chan on August 27, 2007 at 06:10:10:

It was no big deal. We took off with the ladder down. The welds on the mount were the weakest link. No damage to the swim step and the props didn't hit the ladder so no damage to the props or outdrive. We didn't even lose the ladder as 1 of the 3 welds bent instead of breaking. What could have easily been a $3K-$4K mistake was only $100. All in all, I feel really lucky.

Remember the last time you locked your keys in the car? You probably did something out of your normal sequence like answering the phone or grabbing something out of the back seat during your normal exit ritual. Same here. I was doing something different and didn't do my normal inspection for dangling lines and down ladder before turning the key.

Ross-O