For most cruising sailors who spend days at anchor, a floating swim platform for a sailboat is worth carrying. It adds the low, steady place to swim from that a narrow transom and a fold-down ladder never quite provide, and it packs away again before the passage. The compact Premium Teak Platform 2.05 m is the size most monohull owners look at first; the longer sizes suit catamarans and larger ketches with more room to stow them.
Why sailors ask the question
Sailors count every locker and every kilo, and most floating platforms are photographed behind motor yachts with a garage full of toys. It is fair to wonder whether something designed for that world makes sense on a 40-footer with a swim ladder on the transom. The answer depends less on the boat than on how you use it. If you sail most days and anchor only overnight, a platform will spend much of its life in its bag. If you like to drop the hook in a good bay and stay put, it becomes the busiest place on board.
There is also the simple matter of getting back aboard. A ladder hanging off a monohull's stern is fine for a strong swimmer and awkward for everyone else, especially when the boat moves a little in the swell. A floating deck gives a halfway step: swim to it, sit on it, catch your breath, then go up the ladder from there.
The compact deck and the cockpit locker
The 2.05 m platform is square, 205 x 205 cm, with a non-slip teak-look surface on top of drop-stitch construction and 0.9 mm PVC. Inflated, it feels firm underfoot rather than bouncy, which matters when you are stepping onto it from a dinghy or a swim ladder. Deflated, it folds into a single bag. Before you buy, compare the packed size and weight on the product page with your cockpit locker or lazarette, and be honest about who will lift it out.
If you sail a catamaran or a larger ketch with deep lockers, the Premium Teak Platform 4.10 m is worth a look. At 410 x 205 cm it leaves room to lie in the sun while a paddle board or the dinghy sits along one edge. On a mid-sized monohull, though, the square deck is usually the better fit, both behind the stern and in the locker. The full range is on the platforms page.
Inflating it on a sailing yacht
This is where sailing yachts differ most from motor yachts. The Air Pump 500W is compact and light and made for smaller platforms, but like the larger pump it runs on standard 230 V (EU) power. On a sailing yacht that means shore power, a generator or an inverter big enough to run it, so check your electrics before the first trip rather than in the bay.
Unfold the platform on a clean part of the deck with nothing sharp underneath, make sure the valve is closed for inflation, connect the pump and fill it to the pressure stated in the product instructions. A pressure gauge takes the guesswork out of it. Our inflation and setup guide goes through the sequence in more detail. Then lower it over the side, ideally to leeward where the water is calmer.
A quiet bay and a long stay
Tie the platform only to strong fixing points such as the stern cleats, keep the lines clear of the propeller and the rudder, and leave the engine off while anyone is in the water. Use it in calm, sheltered water, and bring it in or secure it well when the wind starts to build. Sailors tend to read the weather better than most, which helps.
Once it is out, the platform changes the rhythm of a day at anchor. Morning swims start from water level instead of a ladder. Snorkellers have somewhere to sit and pull on their fins. Children have a defined place to play, always with an adult watching, and the cockpit stays dry because wet towels and swimmers gather on the deck instead. When it is time to move on, rinse it with fresh water, let it dry and pack it away before the anchor comes up.
