Why don't sailboats, like power boats, have 1" stainless steel tubes rather than flimsy lifelines? Weight? Tradition? Not as good of a clotheline? Why shouldn't I replace my top lifeline with a 1" stainless steel tube?
Stainless Tube vs. Lifeline
- Thread starter Ken Kindrick
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They both provide equivalent safety - Neither will keep you in the boat if you go flying. Why do you consider SS wire "flimsy"?
That flimsy lifeline is what keeps your mast in place. The cost of a 1" S.S. tube is probably 10 X the cost of the flimsy wire and weights a lot more too.
SS tubing replacement for lifelines
I was in a yard where a 40 foot sailboat replaced all his lifeline w/tubing. He also had it formed to hold his jerry cans. It was a beautiful installation, and was quite sturdy as well. It held up well while cruising.
But it cost him a bundle.
I was in a yard where a 40 foot sailboat replaced all his lifeline w/tubing. He also had it formed to hold his jerry cans. It was a beautiful installation, and was quite sturdy as well. It held up well while cruising.
But it cost him a bundle.
There are some manufacturers that use top rails and lots of stanchions. Nauticat comes to mind. I have also been on a couple of charter snorkel sailboats when on vacation that used them. Both examples of a different class of boat than the Hunters, but it is done.
Higher cost, harder to repair, extra windage, etc. It sure is nice to be able to grab onto the rail for stability or to be able to lean a little.
Ken: Be careful.
It is not clear that using tubing rather than wire will give a major increase in lifeline strength. That is because unless you increase the number of stanchions or use a beefier design or both, the stanchions will give long before the wire or tubing when you fall against them. This is because the stanchions are loaded in a bending mode and are therefore usually structurally much weaker than the wire or rails, which are loaded principally in tension. For that matter even if you use more stanchions or beefier ones their attachment to the deck may then become the weak link and pull out, with major damage to the deck.
Remember that a chain is no stronger than its weakest link, and unless you have done a stress analysis of the various parts of the lifelines/tubing you could well be fooling yourself into believing that you have gained strength when in fact that may not be the case, never mind the expense.
It is not clear that using tubing rather than wire will give a major increase in lifeline strength. That is because unless you increase the number of stanchions or use a beefier design or both, the stanchions will give long before the wire or tubing when you fall against them. This is because the stanchions are loaded in a bending mode and are therefore usually structurally much weaker than the wire or rails, which are loaded principally in tension. For that matter even if you use more stanchions or beefier ones their attachment to the deck may then become the weak link and pull out, with major damage to the deck.
Remember that a chain is no stronger than its weakest link, and unless you have done a stress analysis of the various parts of the lifelines/tubing you could well be fooling yourself into believing that you have gained strength when in fact that may not be the case, never mind the expense.
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