Traveler car/track as tether?

dLj

.
Mar 23, 2017
4,268
Belliure 41 Back in the Chesapeake
Your calculations are not incorporating the fact your body can also be leaning - the space does not get smaller, it remains the same, it's simply the angle w.r.t. the horizontal that changes. So with handholds on a cabin top in that 1 foot space you are talking about, you can use both hands, one on the cabin top and one on the lifelines.

I guess so well known: I've never heard of it, have never seen it mentioned on any references I can put my finger on, and no one on my boat goes up the leeward side when the conditions are bad. "This is a well-known issue and it is one of the main reasons that contributes to crews being forced to move forward along the leeward side of the boat and getting washed off their feet with a broach."

My stanchions are all custom make. They are also very strong. They attach at the base in a L (upside down) - There is a plate that bolts through the deck, and a horizontal tube with plate that bolts horizontally through my toe rails at approximately 90 degrees from the base attachment. My toe rail might almost be called short bulwark as they are 4 or so inches high and about 3 inches thick.

The longer the stanchion is does not make it weaker. It makes the forces on it greater as it provides a longer lever arm. Therefore, to support the forces, you need to use stronger base material. Stronger material can be achieved two ways, larger diameter and thicker wall.

The stern pulpit problem you mention was due to the fact the stern pulpit was made from very thin walled material and structurally garbage.

Sorry, but taller does very much help. There has been plenty of documentation to that effect if one cares to actually look it up. The reference given above by Dave is a commercial standard based on safety - not on the racing requirements that are really a compromise between safety and racing desires - two competing interests. 30 inches is too low from a safety perspective. And the 24 inches allowed by off-shore racing is simply ridiculous...

As far as going under or through the lifelines, I covered that above with putting knotted netting from the top of the lifeline to the toe rail.

I'm well versed in the videos mentioned. Of course lifelines aren't going to keep you on in all cases. It's just one of several aspects of preparing a boat for off-shore sailing - and one not so often talked about. Sorry, but I've been in enough off-shore snotty weather to be really happy to have higher lifelines than 30 inches...

This whole conversation is directed to an individual who is planning on sailing from the North Pacific to the South Pacific and down to the tip of South America. Lots of ocean and potential serious weather. Didn't hear a word of being in a race...

dj