Tethers

sailingdog · Feb 6, 2009

One thing to be careful of is that some of the "integrated harnesses" you find on PFDs, like those sold by Mustang, are not designed for short people. In the fine print, many will say what the minimum height is, and it is often 5' 8". The reason that these harnesses are not safe for shorter people is that they will ride too low and be sitting over the floating ribs and if you fall, they may cause serious internal injuries.

As for jacklines, the best ones I've seen were 1/4" spectra run through 1" polyester flat tubular webbing. Whatever you use for your jacklines should be readily distinguishable by touch as well as sight, so that you don't clip in to something else by accident.

caguy · Feb 6, 2009

As stated earlier you might want to try using the jack line to maintain your balance. Originally I ran my jack line down the center but had it taught. Every time I needed to get into the front hatch I had to disconnect the line. I loosened it enough so that it did not interfere with the hatch and discovered quite by accident that I could walk straddling the jack line while holding on to it. Because you are able to apply weight to your feet and with the triangle that the jack line forms it feels very stable. I use a short tether on hairy days and when solo, but with a 2-3 ft swell I and with a partner at the helm I just use the jack line. Even under calm conditions its the wake from those @#$$%$% stink boat that will get you. I think Novelman saw how well it works last weekend.

hutch5151 · Feb 6, 2009

Try this site "crcrescue.com" for flat webbing and 6-7 foot lanyards. All their stuff is rated for climbing and rescue. They also sell a universal harness that is excellent for ging up the mast.

I use their flat nylon webbing for jack lines and use their laynards with locking carbiner on one end and snap shackle on other end for tethers. You can do it all for less than 1/2 of what WM charges.

Warren Milberg · Feb 6, 2009

A few more thoughts on jacklines. Virtually every boat I've seen with jacklines had them connected to a cleat at the bow and cleat at the stern. If you are tethered to the jackline, and "have a problem" either at the bow or at the stern, I just don't see how the jackline will keep you on deck. For a single-hanler like me, I personally think that a series of strategically placed pad eyes, running the centerline of the boat, is a better system. I would use two very short tethers to get you from one to the next.

I also keep a loop of line on my swing-down swim ladder. I can reach the loop from the water and could pull the ladder down (and hopefully not on my head...) if I could get to the stern of the boat in an overboard situation. I have never fallen overboard, but I have had two very close calls in over 30 years of sailing. In both cases, the precipitating events developed in ways I had not anticipated (and were mostly due to my bad judgement after sailing too long). I feel certain that having been clipped to a jackline would have made the situation all the more dire had I, in fact, gone overboard. Be careful, by whatever means you think appropriate, as stuff happens out there.

Chris Burti · Feb 6, 2009

A pair of D-rings should be used at both ends of the jack lines to keep them together in the center of the boat while straddling the mast. If set to match the length of your short tether, they will allow you to reach all points with your hands but opperate as a stopper to keep you inside the lifelines in all conditions (except a 180 of course).

Stu Jackson · Feb 6, 2009

Snap shackles are dangerous

they have tendency to open by themselves! Use a carabiner, or better yet a Genius carabiner from WM - easy opening.

Al - s/v Persephone · Feb 6, 2009

Permanent SS Jack-lines

I'm a single-hander with an 05 Hunter 36, which I generally sail in coastal waters between Nantucket Sound and Penobscot Bay, generally in sub-Force 6 conditions (occasionally caught in Force 8). When anticipating heavy weather, I used to rig jack-lines from stern cleat to bow cleat on each side and used 6ft tethers, because "that's what everyone does."

I have every control line possible led back to the cockpit, but have had occasion to go forward to free over-wraps on my jib furling line drum, to deal with a downwind Harken jib-car that decided to disassemble itself (annoying), and with a lost pivot pin on my gooseneck while on a double-reefed beam reach (exciting).

Experience has shown me that (1) having or not having jack-lines rigged doesn't correlate well with needing or not needing them, and (2) I should stay away from the side decks.

Hunter's traveller arch gives me an overhead anchor point for one end of a 7x7 SS wire rope jackline that slants down to run over my companionway and terminate at my mast base. The occasional crew member can clip on before leaving the companionway to come on deck, and I can clip on while at the helm and easily step up on the coach roof - both using 4 foot tethers that keep us near the boat's centerline until it's necessary to go forward of the mast, yet able to reach things like jib-cars and the gooseneck.

I have 7x7 SS jack-lines on each side of the bow from the chainplates to the bow pulpit, and can hold onto one of my mast struts while unclipping from the center jack-line to clip onto the one on the weather side. That covers furler drum wraps and asymmetric spinnaker wrestling matches.

My set-up may not match your needs. However, thinking through (and actually going through simulations of the kind of go-forward tasks appropriate to your boat) before "doing what evryone does" with jacklines is an good exercise for any prudent skipper.

Fair winds,
Al

tweitz · Feb 7, 2009

I tried the website and could not find it. Could you recheck the URL?

hutch5151 said:
Try this site "crcrescue.com" for flat webbing and 6-7 foot lanyards. All their stuff is rated for climbing and rescue. They also sell a universal harness that is excellent for ging up the mast.

I use their flat nylon webbing for jack lines and use their laynards with locking carbiner on one end and snap shackle on other end for tethers. You can do it all for less than 1/2 of what WM charges.

caguy · Feb 7, 2009

Try here http://www.cmcrescue.com/ .

tweitz · Feb 7, 2009

Got it. Thanks.

caguy said:
Try here http://www.cmcrescue.com/ .