Snapped a cable on the swing ladder last week

Was clearing a clog near the pump intake and the portside cable just gave out with a bang, dropped the whole ladder 3 feet. Got it patched with spare wire and a turnbuckle but now I'm wondering if I should replace both cables or just the one.

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3 Comments

carter.laura4mo ago

Replace them both. That's the kind of thing where if one cable let go, the other one's been through the same wear and tear. It's like when you find a weak board on your deck - you don't just fix that one board, you check the whole thing because they all got rained on the same amount. A little patch job might hold for a while, but you'll be out there again fixing the other side before too long. Better to spend the time once and do it right than to keep chasing problems one at a time. That's just how things work in my experience, whether it's a ladder or a fence or anything else that takes a beating from the weather.

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robinson.hannah4mo ago

Six months later the other cable snapped while his kid was on it? That's insane. Those kinds of mistakes can really mess up your whole day, or worse. It's good he learned his lesson the hard way so he could warn other people, but man, you hate to hear that. Kids climbing on stuff is a different level of risk too. People need to get it through their heads that shortcuts on safety gear are not worth it.

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joseph_ellis854mo ago

Yeah Laura nailed it, replace both. Had the exact same thing happen on my dock ladder two years ago and tried just swapping the broken one, six months later the other cable snapped while my kid was on it.

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