Stanchions w cable Vs fixed railing

[Kalinowski]

The PO installed 3 strands of cable in our lifeline set up. Much safer!

The Nauticat 43 in the slip next to me has a solid top rail (teak/SS) with a single SS wire beneath. Looks factory installed.

[Fine Tolerance]

I put a solid rail around the whole boat (44 ft steel) 20 years ago and would do it again if I were to change to a boat without them.

First, with young children, and at the time I had four, they all thought it great and made them feel safer. Second, when moving forward in bad weather, it gave something solid to grasp. In wild weather, with the boating thrown all over the place it is near impossible for the vast majority of sailors to hold onto a wire without sliding along it. With wet hands this can easily leave a groove in your hand. A solid rail does not do this. I note a previous poster states that they are easy to damage. We do use our boat and even in Greenland where it is more common to raft up to a fishing vessel in poor conditions than to tie to a floating marina ours have not been damaged. In response to another poster when we have been in the southern ocean with green water fully covering the deck from stem to stern they have never bent either. Once we were rammed side on by a 60ft tri just forward of the stern which bent that section, in fact flattened a section of tubing, and this is where a negative does come in. While stainless tube is pliable enough to bend back in shape, which is what we did, it is a bigger job, and never will look absolutely perfect, than if one only has wire. One can, of course, have the damaged section re welded with a new piece and it look like new if one wanted. Anyway, that's my experience.

As another previous poster noted, in racing rules coated wires have not been allowed for at least 20 years. The reason being that there is no way of telling what the condition of the wire is underneath thereby making them a hazard, not a safety device.

Our system is a solid rail on top with a wire below.

Finally it would be better to use stainless steel and not chrome.

[TheThunderbird]

I find a fixed rail invaluable for safety.

As to the look, It is even better than the usual cable railing, but on boats of considerable size only.

My diameter is 1"

I don't understand the crew consideration..... something good is good anytime, for anyone.

I used it, and it saved my back, and more so

[NahanniV]

Replaced mine a few years ago, and we like them.

Cheers,
JM.

[victalbies]

Guess from all the feedback I got will invest in a heavy duty rail on top and cable under it. Thanks guys

Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk

[billgewater]

Railing or wires?
Both have advantages and issues. SS railing looks good until a guest stands on it to dive overboard...and bends it or it is damaged against a pier (or if in England, a drunken peer?). Repairs can be very time consuming and expensive.
Tubing pushpits and pull pits etc sound sensible as the areas are often triangulated to allow greater strength at areas of “action”. E.g. anchor or headsail work. At the stern, the SS tubing is often used as part of seating, davits, cockpit shade or solar panel mounting etc.
However, I believe you should be paying much more attention to the mounting and sealing of the stanchion base. This is where all the leverage ultimately ends up and a miniscule leak can create really serious problems such as stress cracking or water ingress. I have seen a large visitor grab a stanchion and haul himself up onto a deck from a jetty. The stanchion bent, then pulled out of the deck. Charming.
Safety facilities to retrieve overboarders or allow entry from a jetty need to be worked out.
On my own tub, I use SS wire where possible. The wire is actually inside small diameter black poly garden sprinkler reticulation tubing. It is (unlike the marine white stuff) UV proof. It softens the hand feel on the wire. I can easily remove (pelican clips) sections when needed such as coming into a berth. Wires also have more give when leaned on or when headsail sheets bang against them. I have no stanchions at all because my rig has A shaped supports that raise the cap shrouds to the same level as a pin through the mast that in turn allows me to singlehandedly raise or lower my two masts (52 ft and 38 ft) The axis pin heights are about 90 cm above the deck.
The wires go from the FWD SS tubed pullpit to the main A frames then another section to the mizzen A frames and a final section to the aft SS tubed pushpit. I can also easily change the height (currently about 80 cm) above the deck and the number of these covered wires. I suggest you spend time looking at other boats. Lifelines that work are essential.
If rebuilding, I would give serious thought to SS bases and fibreglass or carbon fibre “flexible” stanchions and still use SS wires. Maybe even Dynex? Softer to handle. (Am checking the bank account.)

[StuM]

Originally Posted by magellanyachts

I was taught to never touch the lifelines. They are for last resort for saving life. Thus the name. I am seriously looking at replacing my wire lifelines with Dynax Dux. Stronger, nice look and feel better. Very much a question of personal preference.

+1.

If you need to hold on to something, it is much better if it is inboard of you.

[valhalla360]

I believe it is 90% a cost issue. Much cheaper to do flexible lines that are easily adjusted to the right length with a turnbuckle.

If you are bending a solid rail, you are probably replacing stanchions regularly. If you replace stanchions regularly, probably not a good idea. Knock on wood, but we've never bent a stanchion.

Plastic Coated: Mostly a cost issue. If you go with the same stength, the lines are too small to pull on with bare hands. If you upsize so the non-coated lines are the same diameter, it's more expensive. Not saying it's right just that it's the reason.

[Mithril Bham]

Originally Posted by StuM

+1.

If you need to hold on to something, it is much better if it is inboard of you.

Absolutely. Comment on children makes sense.