Lifelines

[Celestialsailor]

"Nigel Calder recommends uncoated wire on top and coated for lowers, due to the rusting going on under the coating. This seems a little dangerous to me, but who am I to question his experience."

Why would this be dangerous? I used regular "used" rigging wire (7x19). Seemed to work fine and never a meat hook being 7x19

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Vasco

Are there any boats other than Amels that have "solid" lifelines?

My old man on both his last Motorsailor (27') and his current MOBO (33'), converted his lifelines to solid using stainless steel tube (actually he "just" wrote the cheques for it!).

Obviously not as cheap as replacing the wire, but it is a one time deal and you then know they are still good. They looked / look like original spec.

As already said, it makes the stanchions far more solid - plus I find it does give a greater feeling of security when moving around the decks or leaning over the lifelines and stretching for something (I know yer shouldn't - but yer do ) as well as giving a bit less for ropes and sheets to catch on / easier to a run over.

If I ever get that far down my existing list of things to do, I would certainly like to go down this route as well.

[Benny]

David - I'm sure the liferails are now much stronger on your dad's boat - wish I had them - but for most boats the weak point in the lifeline systems is the stanchion base attachment. Too many times they are of weak design or just fastsened with screws instead of proper bolting with backing plates.

It is a wise sailor who checks his bases and their fastening systems as well as the integrity of the line itself. I am in the process of changing my old plastic covered ones with 1/4 inch 1X19 ss wire and have through bolted all stanchions. Hopefully these changes will prevent an accidental lunge of a body against them from going overboard from a failed lifeline or stanchion.

[Brent Swain]

All my boats are designed with solid lifelines . They make the bases less relevant.
I once met a guy with a fibreglas boat who went to the scrapyard and found scrapped buses. He took his screwdriver to the SS handrails and took out all the tubing and connectors he needed, He spent one hour on his boat attaching them to the tops of his existing stanchions and within an hour he had solid lifelines all around.
Brent

[Alan Wheeler]

All my boats are designed with solid lifelines

Then none of them will pass NZ Cat1 certificate then.

[NoTies]

I think the category requirements for lifelines are rediculous. 600mm (2') is just the right height to overbalance someone over the side. Commercial requirements in NZ are 1000mm (3'4"?) which bring the height to above the centre of gravity of most people (much more sensible). I treat lifelines as a psychological barrier, defining the edge of the boat and do not rely on them to stop me going on the wrong side of the boat.

[dana-tenacity]

NZ cat 1 does not allow solid rails????

[NoTies]

Got the book on my lap and can't see anything that precludes solid rails.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by pwederell

I think the category requirements for lifelines are rediculous. 600mm (2') is just the right height to overbalance someone over the side. Commercial requirements in NZ are 1000mm (3'4"?) which bring the height to above the centre of gravity of most people (much more sensible). I treat lifelines as a psychological barrier, defining the edge of the boat and do not rely on them to stop me going on the wrong side of the boat.

What the social deviant (pwederell) said!

[dana-tenacity]

I think the cat 1 rules are ridiculous.

[Alan Wheeler]

NZ cat 1 does not allow solid rails????

Not the rail, the life line. This has to be SST cable and not allowed to be plastic coated. I am out at the boat today and will grab my rules book and read up on it....in case I am worng.

[Brent Swain]

NZ bureaucrats were never known to be the sharpest tools in the shed. Plutonium is less dense.
Such rules would violate the consitutional right to life liberty and security of the person, if they were in Canada.
Would I allow a bunch totally naive , desk warming bureacrats force me to risk my life to comply with their rules ? Not a chance .
Brent

[mikereed100]

I think the category requirements for lifelines are rediculous. 600mm (2') is just the right height to overbalance someone over the side.

Couldn't agree more. My Seabird Yawl had 2' lifelines and I ended up removing them as I figured it would be better to be upright rather than upside down if I went overboard. Shortly thereafter I was presented with an opportunity to put this to the test and siezed it. I was under sail, pulling my dinghy onto the cabin top when the boat rolled and over I went. My hands hooked the toerail as I went under and as the boat rolled back I was able to launch myself back on deck. It all happened so fast that the few dollars in the pockets of my Levi's remained dry. I'm not advocating going without lifelines but I think no lifelines are better than lifelines that are too low.

I have had both wire and rope lifelines on subsequent boats and disliked them both to roughly the same degree. My next boat will have stainless tubing.

I can't remember whether it was on this forum or Themultihull but someone had made their own lifeline bases out of fibreglass which were then glassed directly to the hull. Said it was very solid.

Mike