Clipped in for Safety

[Kevin]

I realize there have been many strings concerning harnessing and clipping in for safety while sailing blue water or singlehanding. I am a lake sailor who singlehands much of the time. Any lake sailors want to share what they believe it the easiest, cost-effective way of clip in for safety? I really don't want to run jack lines and all the other stuff that I realize the blue water guys need but at the same time I realize going "naked" is really not a smart thing to do.

 

[S. Sauer]

Inflatible vest / SOSuspenders

At the very least you might consider wearing an inflatible vest or SOSuspenders, possibly the self inflating type in case you get cracked in the head and knocked overboard. I have my life vest on if I'm alone and go forward in winds over 12-15 Knots, but don't typically use the harness and tether unless I'm out singlehanding at night or we're in storm conditions, even with crew. My vest has a clip on strobe and whistle. Also, you should determine if your boat rounds up into the wind if you release the tiller or wheel. If you do go in the water, realize that you probably can't swim as fast as your boat might blow away from you in many conditions. You might think about being more cautious when there are fewer boaters around as well.

 

[Kevin]

Thanks!

Thanks for your thoughts. Yes, I agree, an auto inflate PDF is a very good idea.

 

[Joe]

Clipping on...

... my harness does not work unless I'm wearing it! Nor does it work unless I'm clipped on.I don't always wear a PFD but I always wear the harness when single-handing. My priority is staying attached to the boat, not swimming after it. I rarely rig the jacklines for daysailing, but there are enough attachment points on my Cat 27 to give me access to anywhere on deck. With a double tether you can move from point to point without becoming disconnected at all. When single-handing, no matter what the conditions, I try to always stay clipped on.... you just never know. A harness/inflatable PFD combination is is even better. Very cheap insurance, I say.

 

[David Foster]

Blue Water???

I've always thought of clipping on as preparation for the unexpected as the weather picks up.Maybe you lake doesn't get waves over the 3 feet that means we clip on, but a knockdown can happen anywhere from an unexpected gust.We use the harness with a built in PFD. We have a pad eve in the cockpit. We rig our bow and stern lines into jacklines while we are leaving the marina it takes a couple of minutes each. DavidLady Lillie