Life Sling Covers Rot Quickly

[sabray]

Why are life sling covers made of trash. I bought a new cover 3 years ago and it's falling apart.. Sewing a new one now and pissed that this piece of gear is protected by garbage. This should not be with a piece of life saving gear. Their package sucks. Design is good material is unacceptable.I will contact the manufacturer on monday . Anyone else find this unacceptable

[MoonlightSailor]

Had mine less than 3 years and now having to plan to make new one out of canvas. Not happy with the quality of the product either!

[thinwater]

The PO of my boat stored the LS in a locker because of this problem. Pitiful (not the PO--that the material was so poor they were forced to do this).

If you are sewing a new cover, I would go with ties rather than Velcro, which doesn't withstand UV well.

[GeoPowers]

I saw a hard case for a lifesling just today and thought that would be nice to have. Looked like it was made by the manufacturer as it had the lifesling name stenciled on it.

Frank

[svHyLyte]

I have kept my LifeSling cover in good shape by periodically cleaning it and wiping it down with 303 UV Protectant. However, there will be a time when the cover needs be replaced. For $65 USD one can buy a Sunbrella Cover. See STANDOUT YACHT FITTINGS | Products | Complete Product List . Page all the way down for prices.

[s/v Beth]

I think the manufacturer knows that it is a problem, as I was able to buy the cover only- they sell them where you buy your LifeSling. Bottom line is a aftermarket hard one sound like a better option. I was not that impressed on the quality of the product anyway. Does anyone know of a upgrade?

[Pete7]

If by "life sling" you mean those horse shoe shaped things well we have an inflatable one in the garage off a previous boat. Goes off with the same mechanism as a life jacket but lives in a plastic tube affair. I could probably throw it quite some distance compared to a horse shoe one which incidently I think are a rubbish.

Pete

[Svsilvergirl]

Just got back from a two week shakedown cruise on our new to us boat , crossing the straights of Juan defuca we had some weather , and I looked back to the stern rail , and the life sling was hanging by one strap. Two of them had ripped completely thru the cover. Velcro was still attached to the rail. Wouldn't have done any one any good on this trip , because it was in the lazarette for the rest of the time . On a good note , this was our only problem , on a great trip in the San Juan islands. Our old 1974 44foot islander performed flawlessly.

[sabray]

Hard case seems like a good option, I had some scrap sun fella so I'm sewing a new one. This seems like a small gripe I just hat buying something that's garbage the other thing I noticed is the d rings that the lines attach to are steel seems like a good design and good technique for recovery. But the material they use end of gripe

[Sailor-Gene]

Just a note... I took my 2 year old life sling case into West Marine to buy a new one...
The nice salesperson did a warranty replacement!! Thank you WM!!

[rgscpat]

With ours, a problem was with the attachment of the straps to the shell of the case.

[Hudson Force]

We've only had a single occasion to use ours, but without throwing. We found it best to trail it's length aft as we circled behind our son for him to grab the line and following sling. It's important to lead the bitter end to a strong point outside the case. Our case decomposed years ago, but the sling and line has remained in good shape as it has always been covered. We had kept ours inside the protection of a "blown" fender with the top cut as a lid until we decided to have a sunbrella cover made

[zeltak09]

I'm looking to purchase a Lifesling 2 for my Jeanneau 33i that we sail in the Chesapeake. I've read many comments about poor about poor bag quality and only lasting only 3+ years

Makes me think I should look at the Lifesling 3 ($360) vs 2 ($200) as it comes with the Fiberglass case, seems that I'll be spending an additional $80 in a couple of years on a sunbrella bag if I go with the 2.

Thoughts and/or suggestion from anyone who owns one

[thinwater]

More like 10 years on the Chesapeake (less UV), and longer if you take it off in the winter.

But yes, the bag is the weakness. I would go for Sunbrella over hard. IF you have one sewn, use ties instead of Velcro, which never lasts more than a few years.

Years ago I replaced the Velcro top closure with a pull-pin, and the Velcro wraps with ties. Then paint the whole thing with latex inflatable paint.

The leading cause of death of LifeSlings is for the Velcro top closure to fail, the Lifesling is exposed to UV, and it becomes unsafe. You've got to keep the top closed, for safety sake.! Additionally, it must be stored the slings down and the rope covered.



Sail Delmarva: Renovating a LifeSling

Sail Delmarva: The Book Store

[UNCIVILIZED]

Be sure to give the whole unit a detailed inspection if the cover is DOA, especially the webbing integral to the collar, & the floating/tow line. As the polypro line which comes with them fairs about as well in sunlight as does your average vampire.


I know that when (before) it's time to replace the cordage on mine, it'll be with something more UV resistant, that floats. Like Samson's Ultra Lite. It's still brightly colored for ease of visibility, but a bit better at resisting the ravages of El Sol.