I wouldn't install a "hard" ladder.  There's really not enough real estate.  How about a "soft" one like this guy used?

https://woodstockpmd.blogspot.com/

���Thanks Captainscully. That's a nice low impact ladder solution for sure. Not sure it'll pass muster with my wife for regular use during swimming though. I just loaded the PMD onto my trailer for transport tomorrow, really excited to get her on the water tomorrow or the next day!!

I neglected to add the link to the Davis Stirrup Swim Ladder.  There are other rope ladder options.  I think that would be the way to go for stowing when not in use.

I need to bring physics into the discussion here. A fully-equipped Passagemaker Dinghy weighs barely more than 100lbs. On the water, it doesn't feel like a floating dock, or a 900-pound Boston Whaler. It feels like a small, lightweight boat.

The moment you put an average adult's full weight on the first step of a transom swim ladder, the Passagemaker is going to do a backflip onto your head.

The best reboarding strategy is going to be over the side. Pull the rail down to the surface, swing a leg up, and roll your body over the rail. You'll bring in a good bit of water with you, which is not unusual for a boat this small and light.

A monohull is going to have to weigh 500-700lbs before it's stable enough to allow climbing a ladder.  

(The weight could be in the form of someone already on board the boat who weighs as much as you do. If they're sitting in the bow seat to offset your weight, you could probably climb a ladder over the stern.

Amen to what John just said.  My firsthand experience found it easy enough to do, sort of like "swimming in" over the side.  In fact, following a capsize, it really is pretty much just swimming in over the side, and you won't bring in much more water than is already there.  That's also from first hand experience...ahem.

If the boat isn't already half-full of water, you should be able to get aboard with the boat ending up something less than half-full of water.  The trick lies in getting the forearm and calf on your strong side inboard, head forward and with your strong hand grasping the center thwart, and then pulling down the rail with your other hand while briskly levering yourself in.  This will hopefully find you safely aboard and able to move inboard quickly to minimize the inflow of water.

Remember to get the oarlock out of the socket so you don't impale yourself on it.  I hope you've figured out how to fix these up with toggles so you can pull them out of the sockets without losing them.  A Type III life vest will save some wear and tear on your ribs.

Works in reverse for getting out of the boat, too.

Don't ask me how I know all this.... <;-)

.....Michael

I always appreciate when John weighs in, especially on a subject where safety is a concern.  I was able to get my 200 pounds back into my EP using Johns method, but once swamped, the rails were below the water and thus impossible to self-rescue.  I will also state that I haven't splashed my PMD yet, so I have no data points, I just wanted to post a gross over-simplification of the physics.

If your PMD weighs 100 pounds and you consider the center of gravity to be at about the midpoint of a 12' boat, then using the aft-transom/hull joint as the pivot point of a tipping boat, that's approximately 600 foot-pounds of torque (100 x 12/2).  That's a considerable amount of resistance for a 200 pound man to overcome if he's trying to board over the transom, especially since that lever arm is close to zero using a vertical rope boarding ladder.  There's also the suction of the hull in the water that helps.

Just something to think about.  I'm probably missing something huge that cancels my argument.

���Thanks to John and everyone else for the detailed responses! The physics discussion was fully backed up by on the water experience this week upon first use of my PMD... I tried a transom re-entry with no one on board and nearly flipped the boat. It did work but was far from ideal. Side boarding as John suggests works fine but is very wet. I've got more questions for the community on optimal setup for sailing with two adults that I'll start a new thread for though.

Thanks for the feedback!  Discussing the physics of a situation online is one thing.  Actually being in the water with a boat is quite another.  Great info!