Testing Protocol and Rating Criteria

All of the testing took place on a warm summer day in late August. Ten volunteer testers along with nine observers and support staff gathered at a YMCA Camp on the Rhode River in Edgewater, Md. The morning round of testing included the jonboat and the rigid inflatable boat (RIB), both tied up to larger support boats from which the observers could communicate with testers without interfering in the re-boarding tests. As support boats during the morning testing, we used a Shamrock and the Boston Whaler, which was used as a test boat later that day.

One male and one female tester on each boat tested each ladder at least once. Many of the ladders required additional adjustments and ended up being tested multiple times. Some ladders were completely unusable and were not tested at all on one boat but were a perfect fit for another.

For each test the ladders were rated on seven different criteria: set-up, retrieval, timing, ergonomics, capacity, fit for the boat type, and a comparison between the successes of men and women testers. The observer asked each tester to rate the ladder on a scale from 1 to 5 (5 being the best score) for each of the following questions:

• Was the use of the product obvious?
• Was the product easy to retrieve and deploy?
• Were the handholds and footholds conveniently placed?
• Will it support a wet, fully clothed adult with no problems?
• Overall was this a good product for this boat type?

Observers also gave ratings for each question based on their own observations. Each test was timed from when the tester reached into the boat to when they pulled their legs into the boat. Testers and observers then compared the experiences of the male and female testers.

Observers were careful to record everything testers said during boarding attempts.

Observers took notes on every aspect of the boarding procedure, from deployment to final boarding success.

Testers also measured the length of the ladders from the bottom rung to the waterline