Tethers

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Bob S

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Sep 27, 2007
1,771
Beneteau 393 New Bedford, MA
When my boat see's water this spring it will be for the second season under my ownership. It seems like there are so many things to do to prepare for launch never mind all the upgrades you would like to do. My list includes a battery/electrical upgrade, dinghy davits and maybe a solar panel atop the davits. One thing the boat doesn't have is a lifeline. How many of you have a system onboard? I'm not sure the proper way to rig one for my Catalina 30. I saw and couldn't believe the price of a harness from West Marine (169.99 on sale). How do you rig your lifeline, where do you put it? What kind of line and Ø would you use? My lifejacket doesn't have a harness but I plan on buying one.

 

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Tim R.

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May 27, 2004
3,626
Caliber 40 Long Range Cruiser Portland, Maine
I use heavy duty webbing for jack lines because they have some stretch and sit flat on deck. They are attached to the bow cleat on either side, come down outside the shrouds and attach to the stern cleats on either side. I can reach them from the companionway to either attach or detach from them without being in the cockpit.

I made my own tethers with the same webbing with locking carabeaners on one end(attached to jack line) and a snap shackle on the other. I attach an easy to find(read underwater) lanyard(with wood beads) to the snap shackle release bolt. This is very important if your boat is going down.

All for the price of one WM tether and safer.
 

caguy

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Sep 22, 2006
4,004
Catalina, Luger C-27, Adventure 30 Marina del Rey
I have a tether that I attach to a running jackline 1'' web strap that runs down the center of the deck from the anchor roller to the mast base. I also continue that strap to the aft pulpit during really se9ere weather. If I am with someone knowledgeable I will go forward just using the jackline to keep my balance. It is loose enough that I can hold on to it and straddle it much like a water skier. I actually feel much more secure hanging on to that than the life lines or stays.
 
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Jun 8, 2004
853
Pearson 26W Marblehead
There are a number of ways to make Jack Lines I use 7/16 stay set X port and starboard
secured to pad eyes. Friends of mine use lifeline wire ect: I have always made my own safety harnesses. They are pretty simple to make if you know how to splice 3 strand.

Im sure there are several diagrams with instructions . look on the net. If you cant find it E mail me and I will give you the instructions. All your going to need is the proper amount of
of 3/8 3 strand nylon and a stainless steel J or carabiner hook for the tether. Costs all up should be less than $20 a harness. One more thing they are not adjustable and have to be made fit to size for each individual. When you measure for size be sure to have your foul weather jacket on so Its fits snug but the harness will be a little looser without the jacket
 

BobM

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Jun 10, 2004
3,269
S2 9.2A Winthrop, MA
I bought jack lines off ebay a few years ago (flat is recomended so they won't roll under your feet), but haven't been out in rough enough weather to deploy them. I bought a self-inflating Sospenders life vest that has the optional D-rings I could use for a harness. I typically wear the vest when solo sailing, but generally don't sail in weather where the life lines would be required. I haven't bought a tether yet. Never rigged the lines.
 
Dec 19, 2006
5,809
Hunter 36 Punta Gorda
Go to Defender.com
This past Oct I set my 36 Hunter up for off shore and ordered double jack line to run from the bow along both port and starboard to the stern.
They had jack lines on sale and got 45 ft line with snap hook,cut the extra strapping and had canvas shop make up loops on both ends for snap shackles,
way cheaper and snap shackles much better than WM fancy tethers.
Defender had harness for less than $50.00.
Nick
 
Jun 2, 2004
5,802
Hunter 37-cutter, '79 41 23' 30"N 82 33' 20"W--------Huron, OH
Second the above. Sospenders with a harness are a little heavier but not much more expensive than without the D-rings. Homemade tethers are attached to web jack lines. I have only a Sampson post in the middle of the bow. I run one webbing past the port side of mast to the starboard stern cleat. Then starboard side of mast to port cleat for the other. I'll be rigging those on the 17th before going out the Beaufort inlet and turning right for Florida, God willing.
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,759
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Jacklines

We use flat, strong nylon webbing, tied from the bow cleat to the aft cleat (bowline through the bow cleat, standard cleat tie on the aft) inside the lifelines, one side only. It's rare you need them on both sides, and I can scoot from one side to the other anywhere. We have inflatable PFDs with harnesses and a couple of different tethers, plus U bolts in the cockpit. Use them when necessary.
 
Dec 1, 1999
2,391
Hunter 28.5 Chesapeake Bay
As a mostly single-handler, I have mixed views about jacklines. While I use a saftey harness and inflatable vest whenever the weather kicks up, or I have to leave the cockpit, it always has seemed to me that jacklines are a death trap when sailing alone. If I hooked up to one and then went overboard, I think all the jacklines would do is prolong my death. So, when alone and in a blow, I rig my harness on a VERY short tether that would keep my aboard, not to a long, bendy jackline that would allow me to drag along the topsides or at the waterline if I went over. If I have to go forward, it's one hand for the boat, one hand for me, until I can then clip onto something forward that would also keep me aboard.

If sailing offshore with a crew, I would rig jacklines and use them in the belief that the crew could haul be back aboard. Alone, I doubt you'd make it.
 
Jan 4, 2006
262
Catalina 36 MKII Buford, Ga.
Jacklines

I also use the SOS Spenders with the D ring shackle and a fixed length tether. A couple years back I was on a 4 day offshore trip and the owner used 1/2 inch 3 strand line for his jacklines...to "save money". The line was dangerous underfoot and was "an accident waiting to happen" when you had to go forward. Do as the other's recommend and use the flat webbing for your jacklines. If you must save money, wait for a sale or shop around on line.
 
Jan 25, 2009
18
2 27 Casco Bay
I use flat webbing for jack lines, one on each side of the deck, running from the central mooring bit on the bow to stern cleats on the aft quarters. They lay inside the life lines and my tether is long enough I can reach everything on the mast and bow that I need to but short enough (this is key) so that if I fall overboard I won't be in the water. This will hopefully keep me alive and allow me to climb back on board.

My tether is homemade and attaches to an integral harness in my old WW kayaking vest. I'm not a big fan of self-inflating vests since they seem to not inflate in a lot of tests. The tether can be released under pressure if I ever need to be untied in a hurry and can't reach or undo the carabiner that clips it to the jack lines. It is also made of webbing and I put a shock cord inside so it is always straight to the jack lines, no sloppy big tether swinging around.
 
Sep 25, 2008
544
Bristol 43.3 Perth Amboy
How to set things up

I've heard the advice that the jacklines should be set so that you can't leave the boat when tethered to them. Not quite sure how to do this though. If your tether is 6 feet, position your jackline so that it is in the midline of the boat. Trouble would be up on the bow and stern where the beam is narrower. On my boat the jacklines run up both side decks. I attach to the one on the high side when going forward and would not be able to fall all the way into the water on the low side.

Be very careful with homemade tethers. Remember it is important to be able to release the attachment to your harness with one hand. Should you go over and need to release to keep from drowning, this is important. Also, if the boat is going down or staying upside down.

I have gotten some good deals on lightly used or like new tethers on ebay.

I also use the SOS Spenders with the D ring shackle and a fixed length tether. A couple years back I was on a 4 day offshore trip and the owner used 1/2 inch 3 strand line for his jacklines...to "save money". The line was dangerous underfoot and was "an accident waiting to happen" when you had to go forward. Do as the other's recommend and use the flat webbing for your jacklines. If you must save money, wait for a sale or shop around on line.
 
Dec 19, 2006
5,809
Hunter 36 Punta Gorda
Knife

When sailing off shore from NY to Florida we all had a good knife and other safety equipment on our SOS life vest.
Nick
 

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Jun 8, 2004
853
Pearson 26W Marblehead
more comments on harnesses tethers jack lines

I noted Warrens comments on not using a harness when singlehanding for fear of not being
able to get back on board and being dragged by the harness tether. I dont singlehand much any more Im getting old. When I do I pick my days carefully. I have a hinged ladder on the transom. It swings down. When I singlehand I attach a polypropylene line to the ladder and let it float behind the boat If I go over with a harness tethered to a jack line the Tether is long enough so I wind up in the water behind the boat where after the boat rounds up and stops moving foreward I can grab the polypropylene line pull the ladder down into the water and get up on it. Ive practiced this with crew on board and it worked ok with no assistance from the crew. Also I have two tethers on the harness The short one which I use in the cockpit is to short to go over board when connected to it . I only use the long one on the jack lines when I have to go foreward. And finally If you dont have a stern ladder,you can make or buy a roll up ladder and rig it with a drop a line over the transon that will release it. A friend of mine that still singlehands most of thge time has used one of these
roll ups successfully
 

Bob S

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Sep 27, 2007
1,771
Beneteau 393 New Bedford, MA
Thanks for the advise and ideas. I googled webbing and found this site.

http://www.ahh.biz/catagories/webbing.htm?gclid=CO-qqqjHxpgCFQG7GgodkWbS0w

question - How would you attach the webbing to the cleats. The idea is to keep the jack line as close to the centerline on the boat as possible so you won't fall overboard. Does this mean you would crisscross them from starboard bow to port stern cleats? Could a canvas shop sew loops in the ends. How strong would this be. If your using the bow and stern cleats on the same side won't the line be running just inside the stanchions?
I like the idea of making my own but how do I know it's strong enough?

I was looking at the 1"
heavy duty nylon 50' for $24. I like the orange or yellow for visability. It has a weighted tensile strength of 3800 lbs.

I hope I will never need this but thought it wise to have one onboard just in case. I assume you deploy it at the first sign of bad weather. It's not always set up on your boat.


 
Jan 27, 2008
3,045
ODay 35 Beaufort, NC
Don't waste your money on "marine" safety harnesses

Maintenance workers in factories have very strict rules from OSHA and you can get safety harnesses that they use that are far better, stronger, and less expensive 9because of volumes) than the marine stuff. These are made for people working on ceilings in factories to save them in a fall, they have loops for your legs as well as your upper body. They also sell tethers, so check our maintenance supply sources, I think you'll see what I mean. AO Safety is one brand, Miller is another but I'm sure there's a lot more.
 
Jan 25, 2009
18
2 27 Casco Bay
bsmith, don't criss-cross the jack line(s). Think of it this way: you want to be able to move forward and back along the deck, getting to everything you may need to get to (like the mast, forestay, etc.) on BOTH tacks without unclipping the tether once you leave the cockpit. Think of the weird move you would have to make if the jack line went from forward port to stern starboard and think of both tacks.

I put a waterknot in the end of my 1' webbing. This is a permanent knot that cannot be untied without a lot of effort. I fiddled with the length of loop for a while until I got it just right and then tightened it up. I slide it through the base of my cleat and then pull it back around both horns so it just barely makes it. I have one on each side of the boat and my tether is only about 4' long fully stretched. If I go over my 2' lifelines I shouldn't be too far down the freeboard and I can reach everything on deck.

This is my system, a starting point and some info. but you will have to figure what works for you and your boat.
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,665
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
One trick I learned is if you clip into the windward jack line when you fall to leeward, as you normally would (gravity), you are stopped short of the lifelines and still on deck.

People often take the leeward side to move towards the bow of the boat. For safety, learned from personal experience, I prefer to move forward on windward so if I do fall I have more to grab at before hitting the leeward rail/lifelines.. If I move forward on leeward and topple over I'm in the water. If I move forward on the windward side and stumble I am still on deck for the remainder of the beam at what ever position I am at and if clipped into windward I am stopped well before the leeward rail....
 
Oct 8, 2008
10
catalina 36 Whitehall
Dave :
I am glad you mentioned that about the tethers and harness's. I use to use one where I worked and actually have a couple of them at home now and use them for my harness. I would not be with out the style I have as it is more safer by far I feel, I have used these for over 30 yrs. We had to have them inspected each year.
Randy
 
Jan 27, 2008
3,045
ODay 35 Beaufort, NC
Marine supplies

I just get irritated with these so called marine supplies when the same thing from another industry is better and cheaper.
I also use flat webbing on each side for jacklines. The harnesses I made myself along with the tether. When at sea my big rule on the boat is you don't leave the stairs in the companionway without being clipped on. Mainsail makes a great point of going forward on the windward side, I'll add another reason, if you are on the lee side and the mainsheet fails you'll be overboard and unconcious. If your jib sheet lead block fails you might also get some damage or get knocked over. Even with the flat jackline you still have a round jib sheet on either side to roll under foot, be careful.
 
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