When we bought our Tripp-Lentsch 29 in 1966, one requirement (among many) I had was for a boarding ladder. My requirements were for something that folded into the smallest package possible. What I found was an aluminum boarding ladder that totally folded together into a package that was about 16 inches long and with four steps had a height of about 5" to 6". It hung from two attachment points that were through bolted to our teak toe rail. It was an American made item and I had one of my visiting sailing colleagues buy it in Hartford and bring it to Paris. It was very practical, but, I stowed it after we used it while swimming. In retrospect the fixed; transom mounted boarding ladder is the better solution. It is always instantlyavailable to someone in the water . Our solution, while taking up a minimum amount of storage space in a sail locker, first had to be retrieved from the sail locker and hooked to its fittings - which is kind of hard to do if you are single-handing and fall overboard. Then you need a ladder that can be grabbed; extended; and used. Connie