Rope ladder

Flexible ladders

• Rope ladders or Jacob's ladders are used where storage space is extremely limited, weight must be kept to a minimum, or in instances where the object to be climbed is too curved to use a rigid ladder. They may have rigid or flexible rungs. Climbing a rope ladder requires more skill than climbing a rigid ladder, because the ladder tends to swing like a pendulum. Jacob's ladders used on a ship are used mostly for emergencies or for temporary access to the side of a ship. Steel and aluminum wire ladders are sometimes used in vertical caving, having developed from rope ladders with wooden rungs. Flexible ladders are also sometimes used as swim ladders on boats.