What is a good lifeline replacement?
- Thread starter NiceBeny
- Start date
for bare lifelines, I like the look of 7x19 stainless rather than 1x19... and its not the wire that is expensive, but the fittings are a bit pricey.
over the lifespan of the lifelines, the cost is actually fairly low.
over the lifespan of the lifelines, the cost is actually fairly low.
The PO of my First 38 "stripped" the cover off the lifelines and must have used something like weak acid to clean them, because there's no sign of rust. If they ever wear out, I'll change to 1/4" spectra, which I've done on other boats. You don't need fittings at some spots and the splicing is trivial. You'll need to tighten them after a few weeks of sunlight, but once they go through their initial stretch, they're as strong as steel.
I had to redo all lifelines on my then-new B323- except the gates adjacent to the cockpit. I stripped the old plastic off the gates, found 7x there. My new parts are 1 x 19, and while not as flexible as 7x, the thicker strands are holding up better. The 7x's finer strands are breaking, causing hockles. Soon, I'll be replacing those 7x's. Still have the covered OEM's, but don't want 7x again.
I replaced one side upper and lower with white 1/4" Dyneema because I wanted to add a forward gate and had to redo things anyway. The fittings were the expensive part and the splices the hard part, but I'm very happy with the result. Will be doing the other side this year.
I replaced all of my lifelines last year with Samson Amsteel-Blue Dyneema Rope. I went with 5/16" thinking it would be softer on the hands and easier to splice. I didn't use lashings but went with traditional turnbuckles and a new product from CsJohnson made specifically for synthetic rope. The splices were pretty easy but trying to get the length right after the splice was tied was difficult. You think you have the right length but as the tail of the splice is milked into the rope, the length shortens. Longer tail... shorter overall length. And then the new splice lengthens some when it is tensioned. But the nice thing is that if you screw up on the long side it is easy to redo the splice. Here is a pic of the Johnson hardware installed on the boat:
You might also like reading this article by Practical Sailor: http://www.practical-sailor.com/iss...st-evaluates-synthetic-lifelines_10875-1.html
You might also like reading this article by Practical Sailor: http://www.practical-sailor.com/iss...st-evaluates-synthetic-lifelines_10875-1.html
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And there are several more articles in the mill, both on-boat and lab chafe testing. It turns out there are some pretty substantial differences in materials.
The greatest safety factor is to properly prepare the holes for fiber lines. Bare ss, in particular, has been associated with burs and cutting of smaller fiber lines (always by hanging rail meat on undersize line). Sand and polish.
I haven't done this yet, but when I replace mine, I will use Dyneema. The Newport-Bermuda race committee has approved Dyneema for lifelines on boats racing across the Gulf Stream, so that is good enough for me coastal cruising. It is relatively easy to splice and is strong as steel. Everyone should have a supply of Dyneema on board for emergency shroud replacement, lifeline repair and even lifelines and tie-off points for tethers. And no I don't work for the company. It's just really good stuff.
Definitely that was the hard part! The first time my piece came up short, I figured I measured wrong, so I proceeded to do it exactly the same and came up short again! Then the fact that you lose some length to the thickening of the splice area dawned on me.
