lifeline renew, swaging

[ohpoppy]

I wonder if there is anything recent on any forum..


My 28.5 Hunter needs lifelines. I discovered these days the coated kind are taboo so I wish to install 1/8" stainless uncoated. I will use think PVC piping over them as I did in previous years.


these are links to items I will use on ebay if possible. Notice there are threaded studs, 1/4" cable, turnbuckles and a tool that looks like a meduim size cable cutter. Will this tool satisfactorily crimp on these ends and turnbuckle? these options weren't available years ago so maybe now it will work.


tool... https://www.ebay.com/itm/122980217488?ul_noapp=true


stud end... https://www.ebay.com/itm/Set-Stainle...r=521338891941


turnbuckle... https://www.ebay.com/itm/Swage-Close...l/252958888098




and
T-316 Grade 7 x 7 Stainless Steel Cable Wire Rope 1/8"

and does anyone know where I can find this fitting or even what its called?

see attached photo

[Pete7]

For the number of times you might use them, why not just ask your local rigger to make up a set of life lines, slightly over length and supply sta-loks for the other end. Then it becomes a simple 15 minute job to fit without any special tools.

I did mine last year because like you they had white plastic coat on them and were 30 years old.


Pete

[Spot]

I had mine on the 21' done by West Marine. I took pictures of both ends as installed on the boat, marked the threads on the turnbuckles, and got a final measurement for each side once the old lines were off the boat and dialed back to their original lengths. The price was good and the service was great, including a long phone call educating me on the proper names of the fittings and whatever options I could do at the time. I want to say the swaged end is an 'aircraft eye' and the other is an 'open turnbuckle/toggle'.

[Sailmonkey]

I’ve had these on the boat for the last 10 years.....I’m quite pleased with them.

https://www.suncorstainless.com/quic...te-closed-body

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, ohpoppy.

"Hayn" Marine Lifeline Hardware ☞ Lifeline Hardware by Hayn Marine
Including:
Lifeline Turnbuckle ☞ Forged Bronze Lifeline Turnbuckles by Hayn Marine
Lifeline Adjusters ☞ Pelican Hooks, Gate Eyes, and Adjusters by Hayn Marine

[thinwater]

Ohpoppy:


Taboo is a good way to put it. There is no reason you can't use coated wire if you don't race. There is no other rule against it and it worked for 50 years. Why was it popular? Because it gave better grip and was safer in terms of cutting your hands. 1/8" bare wire looks like a knife to me. Racers have a problem with it because they hang off it incessantly. Think about all of this before deciding. It is really, primarily, a forum and internet taboo.


If you are trying to swage your own, it will be cheaper and safer to have them made. No DIY advantage here.


If you want DIY, go with oversized Amsteel. Carefully prepare the stanchion pass-throughs and add chafe guards, if you like. It is permissible for in-shore racing and more than satisfactory for cruising and day sailing (since you won't hang rail meat from it and you will install over-size line).


Good luck!

[mike d.]

Just did ours with coated again ! Replaced our original 40 yr olds because the swagged ends were cracking ! I know that it was late in getting it done, but still 49 yrs in the marine environment is nothing to sneeze at !

[sestina]

Use lashings at both ends rather than clevis pins and rigging screws. The advantages being:

Easy to cut should you need to get the lifelines out of the way i.e. man overboard.

The clevis pins, despite taping over, tend to chafe the headsail's foot. This doesn't happen with lashings.

Not having close fitting sleeving is all to do with crevice corrosion, something that can affect all boats, irrespective of how they are used.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by sestina

... Not having close fitting sleeving is all to do with crevice corrosion, something that can affect all boats, irrespective of how they are used.

Yes, certainly. I had 20-year old covered reacher bridle explode rather impressively. On the other hand, the tack had been attached with a clamp, over and through the cover, crimping the wire badly. The load was also well over a ton, judging from distortion of the shackles.


The corrosion you speak of nearly ALWAYS happens where the lines have been stressed repeatedly over a stanchion. Repeated flexing is a major factor. So while the effect is real, unless the lines are leaned on frequently, failures are quite rare. The cruisers cases are always in the cockpit, where folks have been leaning on them, just like racers. Perhaps I don't think about that, because I sail multihulls and we don't lean on lifelines. The telltale rust marks are also quite obvious.



I'm just sayin' that coated lines, replaced on a reasonable frequency, remain a viable option. Consider what holding onto 1/8" wet stainless, while over the side, perhaps, is like. Or even moving around the deck. The grip is worse and the odds of a serious cut or tendon injury is greater. A trade off to be made mindfully, not because of a taboo.



In my opinion we are still looking for the right answer for cruisers. Bare wire doesn't work unless everyone wears gloves, IMO.

[a64pilot]

I replaced my covered 30 yrs old lines with bare.
However the top line is oversized so that it’s the same diameter as the original plastic covered one was, it’s of course several times stronger, way stronger than needed, but if you fell against the 1/8” bare cable you knew it was going to hurt.
The bottom line I left 1/8” cause you don’t fall against it and the thicker cable is more expensive.

What I should have done was have Kato Marine make me solid SS tubing to replace the top lines, it’s what I did for the cockpit and I’m very happy with that.
Not cheap though.

[fish53]

I don't use wire, it makes no sense to rely on stainless wire for something as important as staying aboard. I use 5/16 New England Regatta single braid, splices easy, I can see if it's frayed or weakened in any way, it's kind to hands and it's cheap and easy to replace.

[evm1024]

I used 5/16" (or was it 1/4") V-100 for lifelines on the last boat. Tension with a lashing and you can get it as tight as you want.

I'm not ready to replace the covered stainless lines on my current boat yet. But that will come.

Amsteel sounds like a good choice.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by thinwater

Repeated flexing is a major factor. So while the effect is real, unless the lines are leaned on frequently, failures are quite rare. The cruisers cases are always in the cockpit, where folks have been leaning on them, just like racers.

I suspect climbing on and off from a pontoon does that for a cruising yacht, oh and tying fenders on to the life lines.

Pete