....that's my consensus; others may have their own. ;-) Incidently, Craig....I just got an e-mail from the Great Lakes Cruising Club about a meeting in Sarnia. Part of the slate includes a talk by someone from 3M about their marine products. I won't be attending, unfortunately. And as for the ladder mounting, I vote for perpendicular to the boot stripe, aligned by eye by someone standing 30 or 40 feet back from the boat while the ladder is held by someone up in the cockpit so that the observer has a clear view. I vote that way because the bootstripe is existing and if the ladder isn't square to it then it will look crooked even if it were perpendicular to the water (which isn't going to hold still anyway depending on whether you bring your neighbor with you or if you are on the boat by yourself.) My 1.765349 cents anyway. :-) Tod