Canal boat access
Tilly lives on a canal boat, but her mobility has deteriorated to the extent that she can no longer get on and off the boat safely without some form of aid.
The Challenge
Tilly walks with a mobility aid and she increasingly struggles to get on and off her houseboat safely.
This particular situation presented a number of challenges. Space is obviously limited, and the reduced headroom and small hatch opening constrained the available options. Also, everything had to be contained within the boat, so that the hatch could be closed, and it was not permitted to fix anything to the mooring pontoon or block access along the pontoon in any way.
The solution
Several solutions were considered and rejected, including various configurations of platform lift and winch. Initially a stairlift was also rejected because, although it would get her up to stairs to the hatch, it would not get her over the gunwale and back down onto the pontoon.
The final solution is therefore a hybrid. A cut-down stairlift (sourced second-hand at minimal cost) takes Tilly up to gunwale level, taking her mobility aid with her. She then slides across onto a transfer board, swings her legs over and stands up onto the pontoon.
The benefit
Before this stairlift was installed Tilly was faced with the prospect of having to move off her beloved boat onto dry land, purely because of the difficulty of getting on and off the boat.
Tilly can now enter and leave her home much more safely. She has also found the stairlift useful to transfer shopping etc.
- Skills involved:
- Issues Addressed:
- Activities Helped:
- Location:
- Solution:
