Doesn't a safety net get in the way?!

[kellmic5]

Thinking about installing a safety net along the lifelines of a Saga 43. This will be for my dog at the moment and eventually my Niece. I'm hoping to hear from some of you that have safety nets. Do you feel confident they will keep your loved ones on deck? Do they add significant windage? How do you handle getting to cleats, ground tackle, etc... Any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Best,
Michael

"Fair winds and Following Seas"

[boatman61]

Rigged right they are a definite aid to keeping folk/pets from going between the guard wires.. over the top not at all..
As for docklines etc, prepare before going alongside by dropping the eye over the top of the guard wire, reach under the net, grab it and loop over the cleat, keep the coil inboard ready to throw. You can tidy up later once alongside.. Same with leaving..

[Celestialsailor]

welcome to the forum kelmic5.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Michael.

What Boatie said [#2].

[Siberian Sea]

Where I’m from in Alaska they collect and build ice during some times of the year. I know most of you shall not encounter much freezing spray however if you do these nets can build a substantial volume of weight is short order.

[dlane1181]

We have lived aboard our 48’ ketch for 8+ years, cruising part-time in the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay for the first 4 and full-time blue water cruising for the past 4. We installed high quality Sailrite netting when we made the transition.

The netting has definitely prevented our 15kg dog from sliding overboard underneath the middle lifeline on several occasions. And while I can’t say with 100% certainty that it’s prevented a person from actually going overboard, it’s definitely prevented my leg from sliding over the cap rail atop the gunwale on more than one occasion.

The netting can be a nuisance at times with things like docking, running extra lines or sheets, etc - any maneuver in which you’d like to freely pass anything between the upper lifeline and the gunwale - but it’s pluses for safety, security, and peace of mind, far outweigh the small nuisance factor.

[adjo]

We ocean sailed and lived aboard for nine years with two young children. From birth to ages 6 & 9.

Wearing lifelines or lifejackets all the time simply wasn't an option so of course we had netting all round. It was "shark netting" so extremely strong but large enough mesh to put your hand through which made handling lines fairly easy and minimised windage. Not big enough for the kids to get their heads through!

We didn't lose the children overboard but did have a panic one afternoon.

We were well offshore in perfect conditions and suddenly realised our daughter was missing - we thought she was playing below. After searching and unable to find her we were becoming frantic - we had searched 'everywhere' . The worst 10 minutes!

Then a sleepy head poked out of the spinnaker bag in the forepeak. She had found a comfy spot for a snooze.

[zstine]

We sailed with young kids and had netting on our boat for years (stuff from Defender lasted well over 5 years). When first switching from non-net to netting, it does get in the way a bit. But you quickly learn to work around it. Dock lines and most sailing lines will pass under the netting. Fenders, tied to the lifeline, have to be fed through the netting to tie a knot. But worth the safety, especially offshore. It has also kept a few tools, buckets, etc. on-board that would have gone over... That said, I have been tripped up by the netting once or twice by having an aggressive tread on shoes caught on it. Windage didn't seem much of an issue, though we installed the netting right when we bought the boat, so it is hard to compare. If you are not racing, I wouldn't stress over the few boat lengths a day it costs in distance.

[Cheechako]

You learn to work with it for mooring lines etc. Not a big deal.
It definitely keeps things like dogs and kids from sliding through the lifelines.
White gets pretty grey and ugly.
Best I did was Black Nylon, it's soft unlike some of the poly stuff out there, which is kinda square cross section with sharp edges...
If you dont have aluminum toe rail for attachment you have to work out how to attach the bottom so it wont let things slide right through. A large low stretch line between stancions or even SS wire would be good.

[kellmic5]

Thank you all for the intel and the warm welcomes! We will definitely be adding the safety nets as one of our first projects! Cheechako, I hadn't thought about them turning grey. I don't know if "we" would be happy with black but it will definitely be discussed now!

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by kellmic5

Thank you all for the intel and the warm welcomes! We will definitely be adding the safety nets as one of our first projects! Cheechako, I hadn't thought about them turning grey. I don't know if "we" would be happy with black but it will definitely be discussed now!

The black kinda disappears visually from all but short distance. It's better UV resistant too. Something to think about.

[kellmic5]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

The black kinda disappears visually from all but short distance. It's better UV resistant too. Something to think about.

Cheechako,

Would you mind sharing where you purchased yours? Do you recall roughly what it cost if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks!

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by kellmic5

Cheechako,

Would you mind sharing where you purchased yours? Do you recall roughly what it cost if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks!

I purchased at Fisheries Supply in Seattle. It was not expensive, but it's been years. I see it for $2 a foot or so now. I would search for robust stuff with thick strands.
The difficult part is figuring how much to buy. The wider you stretch it, the shorter it is!

24-inch Height Application:
Length of desired netting x 1.35 = Actual required length of netting to order
30-inch Height Application:
Length of desired netting x 1.60 = Actual required length of netting to order
32-inch Height Application:
Length of desired netting x 1.75 = Actual required length of netting to order

I'm having trouble finding Black Nylon in a quick search. But white shows up. Ours was knotted nylon.
Beware that polypropylene will degrade fast in the sun. Not sure if they sell that for other uses or not.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by kellmic5

Cheechako,



Would you mind sharing where you purchased yours? Do you recall roughly what it cost if you don't mind me asking?



Thanks!

Here’s all the black netting you could desire.

https://www.gourock.com/netting_types.html

I bought from them 15 years ago.

[justakiss]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

Here’s all the black netting you could desire.

https://www.gourock.com/netting_types.html

I bought from them 15 years ago.

Thank you so much! Our boat will have black stanchions and black dyneema lifelines, and I just couldn't bring myself to putting on white netting. I was even contemplating buying white and dyeing it black. This is definitely what I'm looking for!