Lifelines, Geboa, Jib

[Scott Galloway]

I noticed on Sirocco and some other Ariels that double lifelines are employed, and that the upper lifeline is attached rather high on the bow pulpit. In others this is not the case. Many boats like my own lack lifelines.

I am in the process of planning the first lifelines that my boat, "Auguatine", hull #330 has ever enjoyed after repairing the decks, (filling lots of interesting cracks, and application of some epoxy), applying new gelcoat and new non skid and rebedding most of the deck hardware including the jib and genoa tracks.

I am curious as to the feelings of all related to lifeline height and used of your various sails.

[Scott Galloway]

Sorry about that... The title of my post should have read, "Lifelines, Genoa, Jib, and my Ariel's name is Augustine.

[Bill]

On our last boat, the lifelines had two bow connection points. One, on the bow pulpit, was used when coastal sailing. The other attachment point was on the deck and was used in protected waters. Why? Better headsail shape with the lifelines out of the way.

[noeta-112]

Noeta also has a connection choice for the lifelines.

Top rail of pulpit and padeyes on deck just inboard and below pulpit.

My lifeline is single line and I hope I never have to depend to heavily on it .... but for balance retention and some sense of security it has some merit.


Russ

[Mike Goodwin]

I have lifelines for the purpose of a place to rig fenders for docking , good spot to dry your socks too . For personel retention I use a harness and jackline .

[Scott Galloway]

Thanks for the responses. My boat has never had lifelines, and I am not about to poke a bunch of holes in my deck to mount them, particularly after repairing all of the toe rail cracks that I had to repair and applying new gelcoat to the shiny white sections of my decks.

However I am in the process of employing my own corruption of a cruising lifeline/jackline scheme featured in Dan Spurr's Boat Book and attributed to Frank Mulville's boat, "Iskra".

Frank Mulville's scheme featured a single line on each side of the boat connecting a pad eye at the bow to another pad eye at the stern, but seized in the middle to the upper shroud at a height of about 5 feet.

My corruption of this design takes advantage of an existing set of pad eyes at the bow of my boat, ties those pad eyes to two points on the bow pulpit and then back to the shrouds, where the bottom line passes through a shackle attached to the tabernacle pivot point on the upper shroud.

The higher line passes through a U-bolt and eyebolt, which are both through bolted at either end of a new teak pin rail that I manufactured and installed on the lower spreaders at a height of about 35 inches off the deck. The U bolt has a stainless steel backing plate and straddles the forward lower shroud.

The lower and upper lifeline/jack line continues back to a through-deck eye bolt that is connected below deck by a stainless steel backing plate of approximately fifteen inches in length, the other end of which is also through bolted back up through the deck to a second eyebolt. The stainless steel plate employs a one-inch teak compression plate.

On top of the deck, the two eye bolts are mounted through teak boarding step, such that the forward run of the two lifeline/jacklines ends at the forward edge of the step, and a second run of an upper and lower line begins at the aft eye bolt and runs to two attachment points on the stern pulpit (pushpit).

When my assembly is completed, I will have lifelines that are secured to through-deck pad eyes and securely attached through-deck eyebolts, as well as to the pulpits, which are through bolted with plywood backing plates, and in the case of the stern rail with stainless steel backing plates. The lines, as designed, provide a lot of protection forward of the aft large cabin port light, and in the aft half of the cockpit. Of course, the lines drop to the deck near the front of the cockpit where they are connected to the eye bolts at the front and rear of the boarding step, and so there is no lifeline protection at the fifteen inch wide step, and little lifeline protection either forward or aft as the lines begin to rise slowly from he deck to their forward and aft attachment points. However as jack lines, protection is still provided as long as one remains clipped in.

Still, a secure set of high and low lifelines that protect the foredeck, and the aft half of the cockpit and can double as jack lines are, in my opinion, better than a single, low, stanchion-mounted lifeline that runs all the way from the stern rail to the bow pulpit, although my life was once saved by one of those when a wave nearly washed me off of the foredeck of my last boat while on an emergency trip to douse a shredding jib sail while single handing.

The lifeline/jack lines, as they will be installed on my boat, will require one unclipping at the shrouds. I have three (existing) pad eyes in or near the cockpit, and two at the bow, so I can still run conventional nylon webbing jack lines if I want to move forward without unclipping to reach the foredeck. Anyway there are a lot of options, and yet no pesky stanchions.

My remaining questions relate to the need to have an alternative location of my upper lifeline when sailing with a Genoa, and of course what materials and technology to use for the actual lines. I think coated wire would look best, but at the expense of eight turnbuckles and a host if other hardware. I am also considering low stretch, high UV resistant synthetic rope.

I hope to document all of this with photos if it turns out well. Another issue is that belaying pins for my new pin rail are pretty expensive these days. I want to find some brass ones, but they are very expensive. I favor the 1/2-inch stock that brass allows over the 3/4 inch wood stock. I will probably make my own from brass rod and some oak dowels turned on a wood lathe. Chuck Bingham has some scale drawings in his "Sailor's Sketchbook."

[S.Airing]

I replaced Sirocco`s life lines stanchions and bases 11 years ago.They are very solid,I would trust them with my life.They have over sized aluminum backing plates and are mounted in soilid glass,if you dont trust your life lines I would just take them off(false security).I have them attached to the bow pulpit at the perfect height for my roller fuller,my 165 is not a deck sweeper.Roller furled sails are cut different than hanked sails,the sails never touch the lines.The lower line was added to help keep the dog on board.

[S.Airing]

Siroccos life lines