Augustine

Augustine, Ariel #330 heading out to sea.

Augustine was manufactured in 1965, and restored in 2001 and 2002.

Augustine off the California Coast. The yellow lines hanging from the port rail are the jackline tail (forward), and the boarding ladder lanyard (aft). Photos and description of the jackline and boarding ladder systems are available on the "boarding ladder" thread of the technical forum on this site.

"Augustine" at sea: The boarding ladder is in foreground on top of the teak boarding step. The jacklines are not deployed in this photograph. The yellow line in the sea beneath boarding step is boarding ladder lanyard.

The pin rail connecting the forward and aft lower shrouds serves the customary function and also doubles as a functional "mast pulpit" to provide a sense of safety and sure footing when working at the mast base in rolling seas.

Cruising-style triple braid Dacron lifelines are securely attached to through bolted stainless steel padeyes mounted on the pin rails. The padeyes also secure the pin rails to the shrouds. The lifeline system utilizes the bow and stern pulpits, through deck mounted padeyes forward and through deck mounted eyebolts aft, but no stanchions are required.

The photo below was taken on an October day in 2003 off Santa Cruz, CA

This is the photo

Great pics Scott, thanks.

I think I will 'borrow' the pin rail idea, how have you attached it to the shroud lines? is it on some type of saddle clamp?

Thanks, here is the info on the pin rails that you requested.

The pin rails function not only as pin rails, but also as a "mast pulpit" to brace yourself against while working at the mast, and as an integral part of the lifeline system. The lifeline system was installed where none had previously existed. No stanchions were used. When I bought the boat there were no lifelines or stanchions. After looking at a few Ariel stanchion installations, I was hesitant to install stanchions on my boat.

The first goal of the project was to design and install a safe and secure lifeline system that could be made of either coated wire or Dacron line. Dacron 3 braided 1/4 inch line was used for this installation. The second goal was to provide a system that would be safe to use for support, and as an attachment point for a safety harness. The third goal was to accomplish goals 1 and 2 without installing stanchions or drilling additional holes through the deck.

The lifeline system is discussed in detail in the technical forum on this website, and on the photo page at my own Ariel website http://www.solopublications.com/sailarip.htm.

The forward upper lifeline system utilizes the pin rails, which are secured to the lower shrouds. The pin rails are made of four pieces of teak: Two side pieces and two end pieces. The sides are bolted together by stainless steel bolts. One of those bolts is an eyebolt at the location of the aft lower shroud. The upper lifeline runs through the eye of that bolt. The rear lower shroud is straddled by bolts that tie the two sides of the pin rail together.

A Pad eye is through bolted through both sides of the pin rail so that the two legs of the pad eye straddle the forward lower shroud and with the nuts in the inward and the pad eye outward. The upper lifeline runs through this pad eye. The pad eye has a stainless steel baking plate. Thus the lifeline is essentially bolted around the forward lower shroud with the teak pin rail serving as a teak spacer. The bolts running through the sides provide compression, which holds the sides together tightly and prevent the pin rail from slipping on the shrouds.

Each side of the teak pin rail has two angled grooves to permit the two shrouds to pass between the two teak sides without holding the teak sides apart. Thus, there is no space between the two sides. The teak end caps are simply screwed to the two sides. All screw holes have been filled with a wood toned semi Permanent wood filler, and the pin rail is finished with Semco Teak Sealer (Natural shade). This lasts about six months between treatments. Preparation for a new Teak sealer treatment involves washing the surface with an abrasive cloth. I seized the shrouds beneath the pin rails with waxed line to further ensure that the rails did not slide downward on the shrouds. The head of the bolts and the nuts are counter sunk, but left exposed to permit adjustment. In nearly two years I have not had to make an adjustment.

Please keep in mind that my entire rig (pin rails, lifelines and all) lowers each time I pass under the bridge on my way to the sea, which is every time I sail. There is some movement of the pin rails from time to time along the shrouds, but this has not been a problem and they are easily adjusted with polite tap of the hand and an adjustment to the seizing.

You can see the pad eye in the attached photo. The wood is about ready to re-seal. The triple-braided spinnaker halyard would be tied off to a pin in the pin rail if I had any pins. By the way: Anyone know where to buy some bronze or stainless steel pins for my pin rail?

The lower horizontal line in the photo above is the lower lifeline. This lower lifeline is a continuous line that runs from the a shackle on the upper shroud turnbuckle (shown in above photo -- said shackle is at the pivot point for my tabernacle rig and functions as the attachment point of the boom guys I use for my tabernacle) forward to a block on the bow pulpit, which is the forward terminus of the lower lifeline, and then through a through-bolted pad eye on the deck (which also functions as the forward attachment point for my jack line) and back up to the bow pulpit to a second block, which is the forward terminus of the upper lifeline. This same line after running thorough this second block becomes the upper lifeline. It runs aft through the pad eye in the pin rail shown in the photo above and then through the eyebolt (not in the above picture) further aft to a second eyebolt at deck level at the location of the boarding step near the forward part of the cockpit. This continuous line which is functioning as both upper and lower lifeline self adjusts through the blocks and pin rail mounted pad eye and eye, which function as fairleads when the rig is lowered for the tabernacle operation and then raised again. See the photo below for a view of the forward blocks and deck pad eyes.

Augustine prepares for the splashdown after eleven days in the yard, a spiffy looking reconditioned rudder and new green bootstripe.

A shot of the bottom from the stern, with the Nissan 6 in the well. The hull is freshly waxed gelocat after some gelcoat ding repair and a twice-over firstly with Starbright rubbing compound using a buffer, and secondly by hand with surfboard fiberglass polish purchased in bulk from a local fiberglass/surf board supply house.

It was a great day for Augustine and me, because we were back into the water by 4:00 PM, we took a quick turn out into the bay to test my rehabilitated knotlog, and mostly because we were treated to a visit by Ernie Rideout, who taught both my father and I to sail in a Pearson Ensign many years go, and who today remains an active member of the Ariel Association, and serves as the able helmsman on Pathfinder in her many racing victories.