Does anyone have any experience with the available kits for lifeline installation? Input greatly appreciated.
Life line installation kits
- Thread starter Florida sail
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Not sure what you mean by "kit". Are you wanting to make your own including swaging on the ends? I recently purchased new lifelines. I had the company swage on the terminal ends(studs). I will use my existing pelican hook ends.
Suncor kit
My dad and step-mom replaced the lifelines on their Bristol 40 with the Suncor Kit 2 yrs ago. It was very simple. High quality mechanical fittings on 316 wire. Did it in less than an afternoon.
My dad and step-mom replaced the lifelines on their Bristol 40 with the Suncor Kit 2 yrs ago. It was very simple. High quality mechanical fittings on 316 wire. Did it in less than an afternoon.
Make your own using stay locks. However in many racing boats the SS lifelines are made up using thimbles and pressed fittings. That's what I use in my J-36. Use strong thin line to terminate them to your pulpits so that there is no more than 6 inches of line. Use 3-4 times around. I use spectra at the ends. Many boats use high tech lines that are stronger than steel.
Many of the lifeline order forms I have seen, suggest use threaded studs on at least one end that allow you to pass the line through the stanchions, a sweged on marine eye at the other end. The threaded end can accommodate a variety of connections, a pelican hook for example, that allows for tension adjustment.
I crewed on a race boat whose owner had highly tensioned bare wire lifelines. The supporting stanchions were super strongly braced and footed so the "rail meat" had no problem using them for support.
I crewed on a race boat whose owner had highly tensioned bare wire lifelines. The supporting stanchions were super strongly braced and footed so the "rail meat" had no problem using them for support.
I replaced mine with the Suncor kits a few years ago. Pretty easy to do (measure twice cut once) and a nice result.
It is less expensive to have Seco South make them for you! Then you also do not need to worry about the quality of the swedge.
I am wary of hand-swage lifeline fittings. For example Rigging Only refuse to sell them. You just do not get the security of a machine-swage fitting nor the near-guarantee (as much as anything can be guaranteed) that the connections are good enough. I used to do machine-swage for people at a boatyard where I worked and you never saw anything so secure in your life as a well-done machine swage. It's what most of our rigging is held up with.
I won't comment on Suncor or Sta-Lok or similar fittings; they are not 'hand swage' and can be done very reliably by following directions. A proper set of either would make good emergency-repair kits on board. I just would avoid the hand-operated crimping tool and the fittings used with it that a lot of people go to when they believe machine swage is impractical, less reliable or expensive. Of all things, with lifelines, I wouldn't try to cut corners.
I'm having all mine redone with 5/32" 1 x19 rigging cable having NO outer core of white vinyl, which is essentially ocean-racing spec these days. And the same guy who's doing my standing rigging is doing those, and for the same reason.
I won't comment on Suncor or Sta-Lok or similar fittings; they are not 'hand swage' and can be done very reliably by following directions. A proper set of either would make good emergency-repair kits on board. I just would avoid the hand-operated crimping tool and the fittings used with it that a lot of people go to when they believe machine swage is impractical, less reliable or expensive. Of all things, with lifelines, I wouldn't try to cut corners.
I'm having all mine redone with 5/32" 1 x19 rigging cable having NO outer core of white vinyl, which is essentially ocean-racing spec these days. And the same guy who's doing my standing rigging is doing those, and for the same reason.
The reason for bare wire in racing boats is compliance with the RRS. Racing rules of sailing 49.2 states that to hike out between the life lines they must be of wire. Vinyl can hide oxidation.
Seeing that you are just south west of St. Pete I'd recommend JSI Island Nautical. 2233 3rd Avenue South, St Petersburg, FL 33712 - Tel: 727-577-3220. I'd take my existing Life Lines off of the boat, hand carry them in and let JSI rehab. them. They can also supply life-line kits for the DYI-er
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