In my experience of offshore yachting, I have only seen crew clip into jacklines, always set at deck level. Is it OK to clip into rail lines?

I think not! I make a point to not even touch the life lines while walking forward if I can. Life lines are there for one reason only. I had 20 years in the navy and if you happened to rest your hand on a life line you could expect a quick kick up the arse and a lecture!
Ideally click on to something central so that if you fall the harness stops you actually going over the side at all.

No. I watched a kite sheet that was run under a lifeline take out a foredecky that had stupidly clipped on to the lifeline. Cost me a couple of bent stanchions..grrrr.

Wollemi said..
In my experience of offshore yachting, I have only seen crew clip into jacklines, always set at deck level. Is it OK to clip into rail lines?

Looks like he is only wearing a climbing harness and the carabiners are not proper boat harness gear.
Darwin at work!

Bizarre photo actually, not a real race boat (anchor winch and furler, toe rail) yet wearing a climbing harness.
sure the bowman wears a climbing harness for going up the rig or to pole end but that is not a safety thing.
Go over the side with a climbing harness you most likely to get dragged upside down and backwards.

lydia said..

Wollemi said..
In my experience of offshore yachting, I have only seen crew clip into jacklines, always set at deck level. Is it OK to clip into rail lines?

Looks like he is only wearing a climbing harness and the carabiners are not proper boat harness gear.
Darwin at work!

I found the image on a well-known professional climber / mountaineering cinematographer / photographer-artist fb page.

Kankama said..
Clipping onto life lines I silly. It takes a couple of minutes to rig jacklines before you head out. Ramona, what was the reason you weren't allowed to tough the lifelines? I sometimes do this when going forward on a mono.

cheers Phil

The lifelines on warships are there to stop people going over the side. If the gawkers don't lean on them they will stay in immaculate condition and actually work if needed.

Life lines are a contentious subject. They are LIFE lines, i.e. there to save your life, not to hang other things on.
I believe the correct way to set them up and the way I do it is to shackle the bow ends to the pulpit as in this pic,





then at the stern end secure them with pelican beaks as in pic below with a turn or two of duct tape over the sliding collar to prevent accidental release or with lashing line threaded through the eyes 3 or 4 times and tied off. This allows the life lines to be dropped quickly in the event of lifting a man back on board.

Before casting off all persons on board must be advised not to lean on the life lines as they may let go unexpectedly giving the offender a sudden dip in the ocean or at the very least invoke the wrath of the master upon themselves.




Note also the securement of the life buoy with slip knots on the lashings to allow rapid deployment. The mesh bag next to it contains a small drogue and bag of sea dye. Note also you can see the yellow dan bouy strobe light just below the life buoy.

Detailitus some might say but all designed to save life.




The life buoy on this side should have a 20m coil of floating line attached but I hadn't quite figured that one out at the time.