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June 27, 2009

Outdoorsman's inventions a step up

Designs boat trailer step

By John Cross

MANKATO — For all of his life, Ralph Ireland has been an enthusiastic outdoorsman.

And at age 88, that adds up to a whole lot of hunting and fishing.

As recently as 2007, he was still chasing pheasants behind a couple of Labs with his son, Frank.

And he still loves to fish from his boat.

But after four-score and eight years, he would be the first to admit that his running gear isn’t quite what it once was and that the unsure, slippery footing launching and winching a boat back onto the trailer present got to be more of a chore than it was in his more youthful days.

“Launching a boat at this age got to be so much trouble that I just figured that there has to be a better way,” he said.

Providing a stable trailer platform is nothing new. A quick look through any marine catalog will reveal all sorts of devices to be attached to a boat trailer. Most are nothing more than a flat piece of metal to be bolted to the trailer.

Ireland was unimpressed.

“I have a good mind for those sorts of things ... I figured I could think of something different,” he said.

He’s not bragging. An inveterate thinker, tinkerer and inventor, Ireland’s wheels always are turning.

Several years ago, he designed and marketed shearers for cutting corrugated metal. And then there was the tool he invented that would cut and bend re-rod.

You can still see examples of the boat anchor that he designed, with flukes that could be released with a tug of the anchor rope to allow for easy retrieval, still in use on area lakes.

Over the years, he has won several awards at the annual Inventor’s Congress at Redwood Falls.

After some tinkering and fine-tuning, Ireland came up with two solutions to the challenge of scrambling around slippery boat trailer members.

The first is the Slide Step, a platform that mounts perpendicular to the trailer tongue. Unique is the ability to slide it from centered either to the left of the right, providing a stable platform from either side.

The second is the Swing Step that mounts on the trailer tongue or a member and pivots to whatever angle a boater might need to launch or load his craft.

Judges at this year’s Inventors Congress in Rewood Falls were sufficiently impressed with the devices that he once again was awarded a medal for his efforts.

As is the case with many good ideas, he knows that coming up with an idea sometimes is the easiest part. There are the patents. “They can take forever,” he said.

And in this litigious society, it wouldn’t do to have someone breaking his neck on one of the steps. An engineering company had to test their strength. (They will support 300 pounds with an ample safety margin.)

But just getting the product to the marketplace can be the toughest challenge, however.

One doesn’t just walk into the local sporting goods chain store with an armful of product. Nowadays, there is the corporate gauntlet to run through. “And besides, they want to make at least 40 percent,” Ireland said.

Ireland is investigating the possibility of enlisting a marine products representative to carry the product to boat dealers.

In the meantime, Ireland’s steps are available on line at www.rjstep.com or by calling 507-388-5008.

By the way, as much as he still loves to wet a line, Ireland admits he hasn’t been out recently. “Too hot,” he said. “Besides, I haven’t had time. You really shouldn’t start something like this at my age.”

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