Safety Harness Purpose & Placement

[Rohan]

Originally Posted by Bulawayo

Rohan; a good concept until you try it out. We have tried using an old polyprop line (as it floats) with knots tied in it and a loop at the end. We tried, motoring at 5 knots, to see how this worked. My wife helmed and I jumped clear from the bows. The boat was gone and so was the line (75 meters - around 245ft) before I was orientated and able to swim towards where the line should have been. Its not easy to swim in a life jacket. We tried this several times and eventually I was able to catch the loop - only I could not hang onto it for more than a brief few moments as I was dragged along with water being forced into my face and the drag was incredible.

Thanks! I was curious how this would work. Will still try it out myself sometime though, lol.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Rohan

Crazy idea here...

Has anyone considered this idea as a back up: Run a bright orange/yellow tether about 100 feet long, and put it in the water attached to the stern, and drag it behind the boat.

That way, anyone who falls overboard, if they can swim, can grab the line after the boat goes past them. Then they can either pull themselves aboard, or be pulled aboard by someone else.

It would slow down the boat a bit, but it's an idea I have considered for long voyages. Now, someone tell me why no one does this already?

Some boats already drag towed water generators to help charge their batteries, this could simply be an extention of that.

It's been considered before. Any additional insurance is good, but the odds of being able to pull your self to the boat are real small, unless it's near flat calm.
I find jack lines that aren't free and easy to run encumbersome to the point where I just don't use them. Dodgers , dingys and other things on deck restrict their use.
So..... like all things boating, your particular situation is what counts. Most often my jacklines have been on cabin top, each side starting forward of the dodger.
The old adage "one hand for the ship and one for yourself " applies here. There have been times where using a tether and jackline have been so distracting I swear it adds risk. You are concentrating on the tether and jackline trying to move, instead of watching the oncoming seas, trip hazards etc.
Everything is a compromise. The most useful thing I had was a big SS loop/eye mounted in t he cockpit floor to tether to when on watch.

[Exile]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

The most useful thing I had was a big SS loop/eye mounted in t he cockpit floor to tether to when on watch.

This brings to mind what I think is a deficiency in the cockpit of my own boat. There are two padeyes on either side of the companionway which are well-placed for first entering the cockpit from below, but curiously not much to tether onto while behind the helm. I have the typical pedestal arrangement with a large wheel, so reaching the pedestal stanchions gets the tethers in the way of the wheel's rotation. Tethering onto jacklines running outside the cockpit creates the problem of hitting the water in the event of a large boarding wave or broach. Running short jacklines inside the cockpit creates tripping hazards. I thought the best solution might be welding padeye loops onto the top of a couple of the large bolts which secure the pedestal to the cockpit sole, but it would be quite a job to extract those.

Anyone share this problem and have perhaps come up with solutions? Or maybe Cheechako has just told me.

[kas_1611]

Don't have much choice on my yacht, the safety lines have to go inside the shrouds as the shrouds lie right on the edge by the toe rails.

Gut instinct, and experience of working at height offshore, says keep the lanyards as short as possible to prevent you being washed over the side so have your safety lines as inboard as possible. If your shrouds are positioned such that you can go passed them on either side then it comes down to which is the easiest route.

You might want to invest in double hook lanyards so if you do need to unhook to go past the shrouds you only unhook one at a time thereby staying safely attached by at least one hook at all times.

Keiron

[barnakiel]

I am in the center team. And the leash not long at all. You want to stay with the boat and within the boat.

There have been so many accidents when people drowned or nearly so while being dragged alongside or behind that I can't see too much space for arguing otherwise.

Not to say I am deaf or anything. Just can't see any reasons for slack lines and long leashes off the top of my head.

b.

[Cheechako]

Not sure it really makes much difference, a 35 foot line is going to easily stretch out as far as the beam anyway. Still plenty of room to go over. maybe two shorter lines with a tether change near the mast would be better.

[Mirage35]

Thanks for all of the thoughtful feedback.

In retrospect, the experience I had with crew overboard was probably not a typical case - if there could possibly be such a thing. We had just finished lowering sail when he was knocked overboard by the boom, so with no way on and several crew on deck it was not too big an issue to bring him back on board.

Underway, solo or shorthanded, I can see that it would be a very different situation. I'm now leaning strongly to the "keep me on the boat" camp.

[captian ron]

My feeling is that a short teather would make access to something's impossible so it would be to to take it off for a minute and leave the sailor in jeopardy, while a longer teather would make it possible to work without restriction it would also mean he/she could actually go overboard. I'm in agreement with the OP about jack lines running outboard of the shrouds enabling you to slip all the way to the stern where a climbing aid could be in place to assist in getting back aboard. Also I feel the attachment point is vital so you aren't dragged with your face into the water, it wouldn't take much to get in real trouble and unable to get back on the boat with a 5 or 6 knot rush of water in your face.
I'd love to hear others opinions on this.

[Snore]

You may want to reread the entire thread. Myself and other commented on this.

In summary with a jackline down the middle you can use the 6' tether no problem. You can also use the 3 if it is ugly, or when you are forward of the mast.

If you run two jack lines- one on each side- the tether must be as long as the boats beam.


..

[rgesner]

Originally Posted by Bulawayo

<snip> and also bought devices like balcans (we have several of those) <snip>

"balcans"? What is that?

[Bulawayo]

Originally Posted by rgesner

"balcans"? What is that?

Best described by.......Balcan Emergency Life Line - BELL - The Balcan Emergency Life Line - Balcan

What is particularly useful is that you can reuse endless times, you can test and check them as many times as you wish. It is good to practice - they still have limitations, though. Most usefully they can be hurled a lot further than by standard throwing.

[rgesner]

Originally Posted by Bulawayo

Best described by.......Balcan Emergency Life Line - BELL - The Balcan Emergency Life Line - Balcan

What is particularly useful is that you can reuse endless times, you can test and check them as many times as you wish. It is good to practice - they still have limitations, though. Most usefully they can be hurled a lot further than by standard throwing.

Looks like a good device. Thanks. I just ordered 3 from https://lrse.com/B.E.L.L.-Throw-Line.html

Their price of $12 was so low, I first inquired and verified that it was the complete device, not just a replacement line. (They do however excessively charge nearly $8/unit for shipping). Even including the shipping, the cost is 1/2 of what I found elsewhere.

Anyone want a good throwbag ;-)

- Rusty

[thinwater]

Many possibilities, and I have my own thoughts, but...

The main thing is to install them and to used them in fair weather with some crew on board. Get used to them and work out how they can be used instinctively and without tangles. The answers will vary somewhat depending on the boat and the rigging. They need to be as thoughtfully designed as any permanent rigging.

Bad weather, night, or even at the dock are not the time to be sorting it out. Sailing in a fair breeze is.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Not sure it really makes much difference, a 35 foot line is going to easily stretch out as far as the beam anyway. Still plenty of room to go over. maybe two shorter lines with a tether change near the mast would be better.

This depends on the material. Dyneema works fine, but needs to be 8000-pound because of the more demanding angles.

[rgesner]

Nylon webbing doesn't roll underfoot, but stretches too much and can be hard to grab flat on the deck with cold or gloved hands.

Rope lines roll underfoot.

I'm thinking of sleeving a dynema line through tubular webbing for the best of both, but getting it threaded thru a long length of webbing may be difficult or tedious.

- Rusty