wire lifelines versus tubed rails

[CassidyNZ]

As with most older production boats, ours had 450mm stanchions with two stainless wires all round. In order to keep the missus happy (higher rails) and to appease my insurers (didn’t like coated wires), I decided to install higher solid rails around the cockpit and aft deck.

Once we had these, it was a small and inexpensive job to just go all the way around. So we have 900mm high rails from the radar arch all the way to adjacent with the mast. From there a 500mm high rail runs to the pulpit. The intermediate line under the higher rails is still SS wire (uncoated).

At the transom and also alongside the cockpit both sides, part of the rail forms fold-down ladders to get to water (transom) and jetty level (sides). Nets are attached to fill all the gaps.

The whole lot still flexes quite a lot but is quite sturdy. We try to not place undue loads on the structure - if we need to get around the deck in challenging weather, we do it on hands and knees. Then it feels much safer again.

One of the better enhancements we’ve done in our ownership.

[Mike Banks]

Have sailed with both. I prefer rails.

[rla]

I've spent the last 5 years doing a lot of miles on a Fairey Bulldog. This was designed as an inshore Pilot boat and as such has inboard tube handrails. I am a complete convert and think they are the only safe rails for access along the deck.

[Coltrek]

Nice job!

[Xeb34]

To me it's all a matter of personal preference and the use of the boat. If I was summer cruising in calm warm water I would probably go for solid hand rails. As I tend to push my boat a bit harder than most cruisers I like the cables, especially as I have fallen the width of the deck with the boat well healed and landed on them more than once, the cables give a bit and cushion my fall, I cant say I would have come off so easily landing on solid rails. On the other hand I prefer the solid pushpit and pullpit rails when mooring as I can lean on them.
Another reason I prefer cables is the ease of removing them to retrieve a man overboard, mine are attached at the end with a cord which can easily be cut, pulling a split pin allows the stanchions to be lifted out.

[Pathfinder]

Link to Dyneema lifelines - very thorough - Colligo Dux Lifelines: https://www.colligomarine.com/collig...etic-lifelines

[drivn2ironman]

I used to have coated lifelines on my vessel, and just replaced all of them due to safety factor (rust showing). I replaced the mid rail with 3/16 stainless lines and the top rail was all replaced with 1" SS tubing. It was actually cheaper to replace with 1"SS tubing than 3/16th cables. Looks way better and holds more. A whole lot of cruisers are updating their vessels with Stainless Steel Tubing as their upper rails.

[Eder]

Originally Posted by Lost Horizons

Island Packet has a model with stainless tubing instead of a wire rope lifeline.

I replaced the lifelines with tube rails nicely welded & polished to my Island Packet 460. Not only is it very strong & functional, it looks even prettier...hard to believe I know.

[DHHerndon]

Some Island Packet boats come with tubed handrails.

[wingssail]

Lifelines are a safety item. Higher, solid railings seem to be safer to me.

Race boats have wire (or dyneema) instead of solid railings mostly for weight, although windage could be a factor I've never heard it mentioned. The specifications for lifelines are set for safety reasons by racing safety regulations but the regulations are a compromise. Many items which would add greater safety are not required because they are not deemed necessary. I guess some level of risk is accepted given the nature of the sport of sailboat racing: it's about speed.

I have SS stanchions and dyneema lifelines except for the portion aft where I hang solar panels. I'm for taking stuff off, not for adding a couple hundred pounds of stainless tubing above the sheer line. I might change to composite stanchions.

But this is a Cruiser's Forum, not a racer's forum. If you care about every last oz of weight you won't put SS railings on your boat, otherwise I think it's good for safety.

[paul2884]

With most "sailing" boats the topsides are relatively low and we tend to go out when the wind is blowing, motor boats tend to prefer flat calm conditions. if recovering a man over board the ability to cut the rope at the end of the bottom guard wire so you don’t need to lift the bulky and heavy MOB over the top of the guard wires seems very useful, this isn’t too much of an issue with a motor boat as the top sides are so high you would never get anyone up there anyway and in calm conditions you would just use the bathing platform/ladder.

The stanchions on a sailing boat tend to lean out and this can be an issue in locks and when up against another boat, with wires there tends to be a bit of give and worst case you break or bend a stanchion, with a solid system this might be an issue?

Also. I was always taught that a Lifeline was something to clip on to like a jack stay and the wires around the edge of a boat were only there as guard wires to provide some protection as a “last resort” not intended to be clipped on to or used as a hand hold when moving around the deck, there should be solid fixed hand holds well inboard, if the boat drops of the top of a big wave and you are holding on to a lifeline/guard wire right on the edge of the boat there is a chance your feet will leave the deck and not land back on it, if you are holding on to a grab rail 2’ inboard you will land back inboard.

[Fidsplice]

Racing rules of sailing, a somewhat international document, says lifelines MUST be wire (3.12 Pulpits, Stanchions, Lifelines). Therefore sail boat manufacturers, I guess, fit only wire in case the owner wants to go racing, including club racing.

The RRS is a problematic document. I sat on a committee for 3 years that tried to make sensible amendments with very limited success. Damn, come to think on it, did that reflect on the committee or the document? Nahh, just kidding. The document is a multinational committee driven object. Hugely difficult to argue change.
If you don’t want to race, use tubing. Much safer in my view. If you want to race, tape wire onto the tubing to fulfil the audit.

[barryglewis]

After first cruise in Risky Business Sydney to NZ, faced with single handed return,, (first since 1975) in Feb 2014 replaced stanchions and wire lifelines with new1inch tube 850mm high with 1inch tube on top. Attached to pulpit and solar arch support aft with Sant (or Saint) fittings. Bedded tubes in stanchion sockets with a non hardening sealant, only thing I would change. Had the advantage of aluminium boat, so stanchion sockets are strongly attached, welded to deck and toerail.
Made a huge difference (improvement ) to moving around the decks. Very happy with result. Now have about 5600 single handed miles out of about 40500 .

[OrangeCrush]

Originally Posted by barryglewis

Bedded tubes in stanchion sockets with a non hardening sealant, only thing I would change.

Do you mean bedding the stanchion tubes in the bases or the bedding the rails in a fitting at the top? What would you use instead of non-hardening sealant?

[skipgundlach]

Originally Posted by paul2884

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clip...

Also. I was always taught that a Lifeline was something to clip on to like a jack stay and the wires around the edge of a boat were only there as guard wires to provide some protection as a “last resort” not intended to be clipped on to or used as a hand hold when moving around the deck, there should be solid fixed hand holds well inboard, if the boat drops of the top of a big wave and you are holding on to a lifeline/guard wire right on the edge of the boat there is a chance your feet will leave the deck and not land back on it, if you are holding on to a grab rail 2’ inboard you will land back inboard.

Lifelines are for stanchion-mounted 'protection' and jacklines, along, usually, the deck, are for clipping into/onto

Some prefer wire, but we took ours off, because our strap jacklines would not roll under foot.

We also (apologies that this is maybe also shown way earlier in this thread) replaced our 24" stanchions and lifelines with 30" stanchions and all tubing, one of the most cost effective and safety enhancing things we did to our boat; the entire materials list (fittings all from Sea Dog) came to right at a boatbuck; I did the labor.

If you'd like to see it, with apologies for other projects being mixed into the series, go here:
Pictures: Flying Pig Early Refit + Projects/Early_Major_Alterations_Work/07-05to7-19-05 -

The railing pix start on the second page...