Naked Lifelines and Fuel Leak

[ric3]

I have 2 issues that I am hoping to receive some input on. I purchased a 1991 Hunter Vison-32 a few months ago and have been (in between short sailing trips) working on the boat at least weekly, cleaning it up, fixing things and trying to figure out what is most important to tackle next while trying not to spend too much money (I know, an oxymoron thought). I belief my boat still has the original sail, lifelines and most other components, The vinyl on the lifelines is gone with naked 1/8" wire left, looking pretty dingy with some bends here and there.

1) Has anyone ever considered or used thick walled 3:1 shrink tubing to cover, protect, thicken and make their lifelines more visible? I have purchased it and am considering applying it tomorrow. Blue 3/8" tubing shrinks down to 1/8" and seems to work great, stiffening the wire considerably, and looks nice on a test piece of wire at home. There is, however, an adhesive in the tubing that would preclude easy removal. Any thoughts?

2) I have a leaking banjo bolt where I had to replace a leaking fuel line from the ?lift pump on a Yanmar 3gm30. I replaced the crush washer and keep testing/tightening after noting continued leaking. I'm using a torque wrench and crow"s foot attachment. Lowest torque is 20# which I don't believe I have reached yet. It makes me very nervous each time I tighten it after we see that it still leaks. Any advice, tips or tricks?
Thank you very much!
Rick

 

[Davidasailor26]

1) Has anyone ever considered or used thick walled 3:1 shrink tubing to cover, protect, thicken and make their lifelines more visible? I have purchased it and am considering applying it tomorrow. Blue 3/8" tubing shrinks down to 1/8" and seems to work great, stiffening the wire considerably, and looks nice on a test piece of wire at home. There is, however, an adhesive in the tubing that would preclude easy removal. Any thoughts?

I would not recommend coating the lifelines. Stainless needs exposure to air to form the protective layer that prevents further corrosion. If you cover the lines, especially with a tight adhesive lined tubing, you’ll be blocking that source of air and subjecting the stainless to crevice corrosion. The result might look better but that will only be hiding the corrosion that forms and preventing you from noticing more dangerous problems. Offshore racing rules require bare stainless lifelines for these reasons. If there are any broken strands in the existing wire I’d replace it; at 34 years it doesn’t owe you anything; but I definitely wouldn’t coat it.

 

[dLj]

I have 2 issues that I am hoping to receive some input on. I purchased a 1991 Hunter Vison-32 a few months ago and have been (in between short sailing trips) working on the boat at least weekly, cleaning it up, fixing things and trying to figure out what is most important to tackle next while trying not to spend too much money (I know, an oxymoron thought). I belief my boat still has the original sail, lifelines and most other components, The vinyl on the lifelines is gone with naked 1/8" wire left, looking pretty dingy with some bends here and there.

1) Has anyone ever considered or used thick walled 3:1 shrink tubing to cover, protect, thicken and make their lifelines more visible? I have purchased it and am considering applying it tomorrow. Blue 3/8" tubing shrinks down to 1/8" and seems to work great, stiffening the wire considerably, and looks nice on a test piece of wire at home. There is, however, an adhesive in the tubing that would preclude easy removal. Any thoughts?

2) I have a leaking banjo bolt where I had to replace a leaking fuel line from the ?lift pump on a Yanmar 3gm30. I replaced the crush washer and keep testing/tightening after noting continued leaking. I'm using a torque wrench and crow"s foot attachment. Lowest torque is 20# which I don't believe I have reached yet. It makes me very nervous each time I tighten it after we see that it still leaks. Any advice, tips or tricks?
Thank you very much!
Rick

As @Davidasailor26 said - Better to not cover your lifelines.

You said you changed - THE crush WASHER - shouldn't there be two? Isn't there one on top and on bottom of the banjo fitting? Did you change both?

dj

 

[ric3]

I changed both crush washers.

 

[frenzy13]

On my 3GM30f the crush washers on the fuel pump are thicker than the others in fuel line.

 

[Hayden Watson]

In the safety regs for racing in my area, coated lifelines are not allowed. This is because they degrade inside the coating and you will not be able to see the damage until they break. Bare SS wire is much safer.

 

[FastOlson]

Best (and safest) to consider your lifelines as a part of a boat's standing rig. Any wire/fitting that is over 25+ years in age needs replacing. And, yup, uncoated SS has been the recommended material for lifelines for 20 years; nothing newfangled about that idea.

 

[Timm R Oday25]

Some folks are using Dyneema for lifelines

 

[dLj]

Some folks are using Dyneema for lifelines

I tried them. They work but I didn't like how they loosen up all the time.

dj

 

[jssailem]

Hi Rick. It sounds like the boat buy discussed in December went through successfully.

trying to figure out what is most important to tackle next while trying not to spend too much money

We boat owners have all started our journeys with the same thought. There is a reason sailboats get women's names and are referred to with she/her pronouns. They are like misstresses. They demand spending money on them and updating their bling. Welcome to the wild side.

Regarding your lifelines, someone in the 70s thought covering cheap wire with plastic would be a terrific marketing idea, stringing it around a boat and calling it a lifeline. It looked cool, and the plastic was easier on the hands than raw wire. In time, and after a few accidents, where crew members grabbed the plastic-coated wire and fell into the water as the lifeline disintegrated without warning, we learned what a problem this is.

As several members have affirmed, one of the safest approaches is using bare stainless steel wire or Dyneema rope as your lifeline. Choose a diameter that feels decent in your hand. You save money buying small wire, but every time you try to use it, you'll wonder if it is going to rip through your hand. Test several sizes. About 1/4" (7mm) diameter is the beginning of a good hand feel. Find what feels good in your hand.

The first thing I did on my boat was to have new bare stainless steel lifelines made and installed on my then 45-year-old boat. Like your boat, the plastic-covered wires had served beyond their useful life. You and your crew will thank you for this upgrade.

The banjo leak is tricky. I am afraid you will need to check all of the fittings around the replaced fuel line. Just continuing to tightening the banjo bolt will not resolve the issue if it hasn't stopped.

Inspect all the threads for dirt or nicks. You might need to chase the threads where the banjo bolt fits. You may need to get a replacement bolt. Additionally, the hose that you attached may be the cause of the leak. These leak issues take persistence to resolve. Be meticulous about the process, and you will, in time, succeed in making the repair.

 

[jackhart]

Folks, I really appreciate this information on the lifelines! My 22 has the old covered lines. Looks like I'm looking for bare stainless steel!

 

[jssailem]

There is one other old school approach. You could build solid SS pipes all around. It is like having guard rails, but adds weight and cost to the project.

 

[stickinthemud57]

I, too, have read about the downsides of covering stainless steel cable. Not recommended.

I replaced my lifelines with Dyneema and am happy with the results - much easier on the hands and very easy to work with. Dyneema tends to contract in warmer weather, so a little bit of sagging in cooler weather is just going to happen. Tightening them is easy enough; I just do it on the first 100-degree day of the season and I am set for the year.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

I tried them. They work but I didn't like how they loosen up all the time.

dj

As in they stretch or your knots are coming undone?

 

[dLj]

As in they stretch or your knots are coming undone?

That's a good question. I doubt my knots were coming undone. Did they stretch? Was it temperature changes? Maybe some of both? I don't really know.

dj

 

[Hayden Watson]

As in they stretch or your knots are coming undone?

One interesting thing about Dyneema is that it will get longer as the temperature gets lower which is the opposite of most other materials. Not sure if that is what causes lifeline to sag.

 

[jssailem]

Rope issues include stretch, Creep, Elasticity, and viscoelastic extension. Dyneema also experiences these activities but to a much lesser degree.

From Marlow Ropes we have this:

• Initial loading will result in elastic extension. This is immediate upon loading and is immediately recoverable upon release of the load (elastic contraction)
• After the elastic extension of the initial loading, the rope will experience what is known as viscoelastic extension. This is further extension over time and is fairly limited. Unlike elastic stretch, viscoelastic stretch will only recover slowly over time once the load is released.
• Finally there is creep, which is permanent, non-recoverable and time dependent. Creep occurs at the yarn molecular level when the rope is under constant load.
• Once the load is released and elastic and viscoelastic extension recovered, the rope will ultimately have experienced an element of permanent extension. This is a factor of both creep and “bedding in”, which is when individual fibre components in the rope and / or splice settle into their preferred position when under load.

Here is a nice write-up of the peculiarities of working with Dyneema.

The mysteries of sizing Dyneema standing rigging

When planning Dyneema rigging the area we have found most confusing is deciding on the size of Dyneema we should fit. In our search we have found three sites particularly helpful. However, between …

sustainablesailing.net

The potential issue with knots revolves around the slippery nature of Dyneema fibers. Improper selection of a knot on Dyneema will yield the line slipping the knot and running free like a Run Away Bride.

 

[Davidasailor26]

The potential issue with knots revolves around the slippery nature of Dyneema fibers.

Yes, knots in dyneema are prone to slipping because the material is so slippery. Knots are also not particularly good for dyneema because they reduce its breaking strength by a large margin. The individual dyneema strands are so low stretch that the strands going around the outside of a knot take a disproportionate amount of the tension and fail before the inside threads can carry any load.

The much better option with dyneema is splicing, and if necessary using a thimble to ensure the eye is not too sharp of a turn. Dyneema is usually a 12 strand braid and really a pleasure to splice.