Boat yard: SAFETY in jack stands

[SecondBase]

What safety tips have you come up with for working 10 or more feet up in the air above concrete or hard packed gravel in a boat yard?

One mentioned was tie off your ladder to the top.
Another is maintain 3 points of contact at all times.
Not rushing amount of boat yard jobs/days was mentioned.

What are other safe practices should we observe with the boat on the hard?

[dwedeking2]

Don't fall. It hurts.

[Zugbug99]

Its the landing that hurts as the old joke goes!

Really, think about wearing your harness if you go offshore, its sitting in your locker waiting to be used. Tie off and give yourself enough working room so that even if you fall off the boat, you will not hit the ground, only swing into the side of the boat.

Or just get a piece of line, and tie a Swiss seat. that and a carabiner and a line will hold.

I'll take a couple of fractured ribs over a hip or spine fracture anyday. Even if I suffer the embarrassment of not being able to pull myself up and screaming bloody for hours, I'll take that over serious fractures.

As we age our balance, eyesight and dexterity all start to deteriorate. Thinking smart, and taking time to be safe leaves you healthy, and ready to go sailing after the job is done!

[Pauls]

Adequate life lines are important, I'd call them mandatory. If you have the common, short stanchions designed to ensure you hit the water (or concrete) head first then I'd recommend you rig temporary higher lines. Depending on your boat, it may be possible to run lines from your bow pulpit (or jibstay) to the shrouds, and aft to the stern pulpit. If you can rig significantly higher temporary lifelines you will make working on deck a lot safer.

[hellosailor]

Rule Number One: Turn off the gravity, and padlock the control box.
Rule Number Two: Make sure someone else is there, who can figure out how to call 911.

[Blue Stocking]

Never let go of a handhold before gripping the next. At 72, spending a lot of repair time on client's boats in the yard, that is my mantra.

[JPA Cate]

I'm not sure whether or not you'd call this a safety tip, but we mostly don't carry stuff in our hands when we ascend or descend the ladder; we lower what we want/need outside in buckets or a sling, using the tails of genoa sheets and/or the running back stays.

The only time I fell off a ladder was when my knees were giving me a lot of trouble, plus i was tired. One foot slipped off a rung, and that was all she wrote. Fortunately for me, no harm done, except to my paltry dignity...and, no one saw it happen.

Ann

[maxingout]

We have one safety halyard that is about twenty feet longer than all the other halyards on Exit Only. When we are in a storm offshore, if anyone goes forward to work, we attach them to that halyard, and we give them enough slack that they can move freely around, and if they fall overboard, it will be easy to winch them back on board.

If I was afraid of falling off the boat in the boatyard, I would put on my safety harness and attach it to a halyard that would not let me hit the ground if I went over the side. I would have enough slack to move around, but not enough slack to hit the ground. You might break a rib from the harness, but you would not break a leg or your head. Wearing a safety helmet/bicycle helmet would be a good idea if you use the harness solution.

[Zach]

Scaffolds can make a big difference in the amount of time things take working on deck. It is a lot easier to work on things at waist height than it is to work on deck on your knees.

[Dave Lochner]

Originally Posted by Zach

Scaffolds can make a big difference in the amount of time things take working on deck. It is a lot easier to work on things at waist height than it is to work on deck on your knees.

Another vote for scaffolding. Depending on your particular situation you set up a simple scaffold using 2 step ladders with a strong plank between them.

I built a platform with 2x4s with ½" plywood. It is 8' long by about 16"wide. It is very stable. Doubles as a work bench when I'm working closer to the ground.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by Zach

Scaffolds can make a big difference in the amount of time things take working on deck. It is a lot easier to work on things at waist height than it is to work on deck on your knees.

^^^ Totally this. Saves your knees, saves your back, the work goes quicker and better. If you can do it from a scaffold or staging, do it from a scaffold or staging.

Some other tips about safety working on the hard:

1. Use a tall step ladder instead of a straight ladder. It's easier to get on and off of at the top. I also place a piece of tape on the proper step on the ladder to step on and off of to remind me which one. Consistency breeds competence.

2. Be mindful and deliberate whenever you use the ladder or move about on deck. Clear your head and focus on the fact that you're moving and need to pay attention and not be distracted by trying to remember where the tool is that you're looking for or whatever the purpose of your movement is.

3. Keep the deck clear of tools, cords, air hoses, and materials. They can become a dangerous minefield very quickly.

4. Don't rush. Don't take shortcuts.

[Greg Mason]

I was always fascinated with the way Cabo san Lucas deals with boats on the hard. They dig a hole for the keel, small block and voila, the boat is at eye level. No falls, no scaffolds, no roping up or down.

[barnakiel]

It is 100% OK to clip in if your natural ability to keep balance is low (like due to illness or age). Same equipment like when sailing in rough conditions.

In professional boatyards a scaffolding is run the perimeter of the boat so you cannot fall down to the gravel from the deck.

I can imagine extending the stanchions and or running a breast rope between the stays, but I have never seen this in practice.

Cheers,
b.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

I'm not sure whether or not you'd call this a safety tip, but we mostly don't carry stuff in our hands when we ascend or descend the ladder; we lower what we want/need outside in buckets or a sling, using the tails of genoa sheets and/or the running back stays.

The only time I fell off a ladder was when my knees were giving me a lot of trouble, plus i was tired. One foot slipped off a rung, and that was all she wrote. Fortunately for me, no harm done, except to my paltry dignity...and, no one saw it happen.

Ann

Ann, a great safety tip. Going up and down a ladder with one hand occupied is looking for disaster. More so with age, we don't bounce as well as time goes by.

[alansmith]

A lot of good advice already given. I have been working on my boat for the last 5 months. So, I want to add something a little different...

1. Minimize your trips up and down ladders by carefully planning what task you are committed to that day. So, for example....if you grinding paint off a toe rail with an angle grinder....obviously, you need the angle grinder, electrical cord, how many discs of abrasive and what grit, leather gloves, respirator, water bottle for thirst, chisel, hammer, scraper, etc.

2. Understand the nature of the job you are undertaking that day. Sometimes it is just difficult to get into the right position with our bodies with the correct tools. Make a strong commitment in your mind not to do the "stupid thing"...the "risky thing" to save time.

Yesterday I had finished angle grinding a very difficult area on the boat. So, I wanted to vacuum up the dust. I had the vacuum on the coach roof. But the hose wasn't long enough to reach down where I wanted it to. So, I moved the vacuum aft on the curved roof top. I held it with one hand as I swept the wand back and forth. I was standing on the deck. My boat sits on a trailer. So my feet were at least 6 feet off of the asphalt. I could've pulled the vacuum down to the cockpit but that would have involved a couple of minutes of time. Long story short...the vacuum shifted on me. As it began its descent over the side of the boat and surely dashed on the asphalt....I reflexed into an earlier life and somehow snagged the electrical cord with my left hand. It jerked my shoulder hard and I saw blood dripping from two of my fingers. "Alan, you are an idiot' ! Just because I was too tired to due the job in the way I knew it should have been performed.

3. When you are tired. Stop work and call it a day. The shizzle happens when you push too hard. A couple of weeks ago I was grinding fiberglass off of the deck. I was so tired I could barely move. I am 66. I started to clean up the mess and had put many of the tools away and moved them to the side walk. My eye caught an area that I had thought I had finished. I debated for a few seconds whether I should do it the next day or now. Knowing myself and the swiss cheese for a brain I have....I said do it now...you ain't gonna remember shizzle by tomorrow. It was a small spot in a difficult area. I got the respirator back on, the grinder attached to the cord, but my leather gloves were on the sidewalk. Okay, it is small spot and only 20 seconds to do it. Not worth climbing down. 8 seconds latter I had grooved a notch into my left index finger. It still hurts when I bump it. Flap discs on a grinder .....how stupid can you be without a leather glove?

Injuries aren't always about scaffolding, ladders, or height of lifelines...and yes they are very important. Planning of work, recognizing your threshold of mental acuity, loss of focus, tiredness, and even flexibility....all of these things can add to exposure to personal liability.

If you forgot even one of those things you are off the ladder and up again. It takes time to retrieve what you forgot. It takes energy to retrieve. It breaks focus.

So, those are my safety tips. Plan everything before ascending. It reduces exposure to injury. Stop when tired.