TO ORDER: CLICK ON ONE OF THE PHOTOS TO THE RIGHT
Vintage accessories have generated lots of attention lately. As those of us who troll eBay late at night have found out, it can be a real challenge to find great vintage boat items. What if you could buy something brand new, but original in design? A re-issue, or continuation? Now there's a limited opportunity to own your very own new-original EEz-In boarding ladder.
The Garelick Manufacturing Company in St. Paul Park, MN, was founded in 1952 by Joe and Saul Garelick. Their original product was the EEz-In Ladder. The product took off, due in no small part to their advertising slogan: "Don't Squeeze In, EEz-In". Meanwhile, their design, engineering, and manufacturing capabilities flourished as they built both their own line of marine products, as well as custom manufacturing for most of today's boat manufacturers. Second-generation cousins Ken and Rick Garelick today run the family business their fathers started in their garage!
And that would be the end of an inspiring, American-dream business story.....except....the Garelick family have been friends of Freedom Boat Service since its founding. For the past five years, we've been collaborating to do a production run of the original ladder.
The new, original EEz-In ladder is now available in two sizes, 3 step (approximately 36" overall height, suitable for boats with gunwale-to-chine measurement 32" or less), and 4 step (approximately 48" overall height, suitable for boats with gunwale-to-chine measurement greater than 32"). The ladders come assembled except for the folding stand-offs, but each of the varnished mahogany steps are pre-drilled to accommodate the folding stand-offs, so each ladder can be fit individually to your specific boat. Just open the box, hang the ladder on the boat, and attach the folding stand-offs in the best position to fit your boat. The steps are varnished mahogany, just like the originals (well, maybe a lot better than the originals!), and all the aluminum tubing is anodized for long life (a lot better than the originals!). All hardware is stainless steel for long life, as well.
The production run has been hand-assembled by long-time Garelick craftsmen, some with as many as 34 years experience! The commitment to get these authentic, while incorporating modern processes to insure long life, has confirmed the Garelicks have tremendous pride in their family company, and still keep a firm hand on the wheel.
The best part of the whole project is that we've managed to keep the pricing reasonable: the 3-step is $175.20, and the 4-step is $195.20, both prices plus shipping. This is a one-time, strictly limited production run: when they're gone, they're gone!
Click on each of the photos to learn more about each model.
EEz-In is a registered trademark of Garelick Manufacturing Company, owned by Brunswick Corporation
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