ORIGINAL: sproulman
i lay ladder on ground and bolt all sections together.
i keep the ground section about 4 ft from tree.i pound 2 stakes at bottom ladder rail to keep it from sliding while lifting
then i pick up the platform section and which is 20 ft long from tree and i walk under it grabbing rungs as i slowly walk, 1 rung at time.
it slowly goes up in air then will head towards the tree.
you should have seen me try this when i did not bolt sections together,oh my, i would get it straight in air and 1 section would pop out
only problem is if you have laural on ground,so what i do is let it fall to tree from a good ground spot,THEN i slowly move it around tree where i want it..
takes me about 1 hr to put up a 20 ft stand by myself,other time is trying it out and adjusting it, that takes another hr getting it level
some of boat seats have swivel installed on them but most dont have handrails,that handrail on the stadium seat is neat, you are comfortable not worrying about falling over sides.also it folds down and you can put a plastic bag over it and rain/snow dont get you seat wet or cold and icy.
only thing i have to do ismount swivel to seat .
i think i am going to just use a tie down rachet strapstrap to hold it too platform so its easy to adjust in and out from tree and easier to carry out after season is over.
i agree, with your wood step idea and that seat with a boat swivel, what a nice setup.