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Ladder down position indicator

tasformwood

tasformwood

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Can anyone advise me about an existing kit or do it yourself approach (with suggested arts & source) to placing a red LED light near my throttle and transmission lever that would indicate ladder down on my Bennington 2375 GCW?

I recently took my kids and some of their friends out on the lake. My kids are pretty diligent about putting the ladder up however I had to check visually each time to make sure that one of the other lesser trained kids had gotten the job done.

A simple red LED indicator placed by the throttle control (with a switch on the ladder housing) would be helpful to indicate when the ladder is still down.

Be well

Todd
 
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This has been discussed before, but I don't think anyone came up with a solution. A cheap easy solution might be a vinyl decal placed near your ignition switch that simply states "LADDER" to remind you to check it.

A redneck solution ...... Hook an extension to your safety lanyard, if someone drops the ladder, it pulls the safety ..... Wala, no start .. Lol!!!!
 
Lesser trained kids! Hahaha!
 
Would require some DIY but how about the mechanism used in cars (especially older cars) that work the dome light.  You would need the little "push button" from the door and would have to wire it up yourself.  Also, might want to waterproof the button.  Probably would only work if you have the folding type ladder.
 
^X2. A pressure switch will work on folding ladders. A magnetic reed switch could be used for all types of ladders but it's a normally open switch so it wouldn't work for a warning light (ladder down = no current path) but could be wired into the ignition circuit so if the ladder is down the engine won't start.

https://www.adafruit.com/products/375
 
I can tell from the captains chair whether mine is up or down. After a certain speed, the spray is different. You can see it when seated at the steering wheel. Pay attention to the spray, then do some runs with the ladder down and see if you can tell the difference. Sure, sometimes you have to stop and go put it up, but sometimes you don't....

Your passengers will be impressed when you tell them you could feel it was down by the boat acceleration, or handling, or whatever story you want to make up. Fish story fashion.
 
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That's on my mental checklist.. no people in water, check... ladder up, check,.... anchor up, check...motor down, check, nothing will blow away, check...etc.....
 
Did you find a solution yet? I just found out replacement cost for my ladder is $1,000.
 
Amazon. Under $200.
 
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