100 Best--Chapter 14

Boat Specific Tools

And I don't mean specific to your boat. Just tools that are for boats.

The average boat would float a foot higher if the tools and spares were removed. What about boat-specific tools that you only grew to appreciate after a few years in the trenches? Here are a few of my favorites:

81. PelaOil Change Pump. I really should list this one twice, since most of the time I'm not using it for oil. In fact, I have two of these.

Pumping the bilge. Or rather all five of them. My F-24 has two sumps in each ama (outrigger) and a main sump, none or which have installed pumps or collect much water. The simplest solution has been a clean (don't change the oil with the same pump unless you want a fine for oil pollution) oil change pump. Just give it a few strokes, stick the hose in the sump, and a minute later you are done. No fiddling with hoses or power.  If Ive been good, I can knock out all of the sumps in one fill, if I've been lazy, I might dump it once or twice, which takes only moments... if you keep it separate.

Changing the oil. You'll never grope for the plug again. Not only does it save time, it saves mess and pollution potential. Depending on the motor, you may want to add a semi-rigid extension wot the wand made from aluminum or copper tubing so that you can get to the very bottom. They pump a little faster if the oil is warm, but either way it will only take a few minutes, and they oil is in a nice container to transport it to the recycle center.

82. Hose Pick. For certain, you want to get one of these before tackling a sanitation hose removal project. Really, any hoses that need to come off barbs. Combined with a pair of rubber faced gloves for grip, these can generally break any hose loose with minimal effort and without damaging the barb. Use a hacksaw an you might as well resign yourself to replacing the barb as well, for it will surely leak. New hose clamps, of course.


83. Refrigerator water container.  Actually, for me it is an antifreeze container. I've adapted all of my water systems (head, fresh, AC) with Ts and valves so that they can be filled without taking anything apart. The nozzle is just the right size for 1/2-inch ID hose to slide on (make certain it is not tapered and that it is a nice fit, though a clamp is probably needed). It has a valve. I set it above the system I want to winterize, open the valve on the container and switch the valves on the boat, and the system pump draws the antifreeze in. Winterizing is the easy work of an hour.

Comfort tip: tape 4-inch wide strips of foam exercise tile inside the leg loops of your harness. Much more comfortable if you are going to be up there for a while.

84. Mast Mate. Although there are many climbing systems, I like the simplicity of a ladder. It is faster, the working position is more comfortable and higher, and the cost per years is trivial; mine is 25 years old and looks like new.

85. Sail Maker's Palm. I'm really surprised at the number of boats that don't have one on-board. It's a sail boat!! Mostly, mine isn't used for sail repair. I use it for whipping lines, finishing splices or even sewwing splices, sewing projects from webbing or canvas, or repairing gear and clothing. Then there are the home uses, including repairing your favorite work coat or repairing the boarder on a rug. Invaluable. Hand sewing skill is basic seamanship as far as I'm concerned.


I really thought I would come up with a lot of boat specific tools, but in the end, most hings were multi-purpose. Perhaps I bought them with a boat project in mind, but they've since been used around the house too much to qualify. That is a good thing. In fact, all but the refrigerator bottles get used at home; I've used the MastMate for tree work.

Mid-Winter Sailing

There is something immoral with leaving the boat along for too long, something like not playing with your children, cat, or dog (notice they are all in the same sentence...). A boat needs exercise and cold weather is no excuse.

Just because some of the marinas are still frozen solid is no excuse.

We have perhaps the hardest freeze in 15 years or so, building enough ice in Deale to walk across the harbor. Ice breakers were dispatched to Smith Island, and The National Guard sent Chinook helicopters to Tangier Island. Although it has warmed, even yesterday  I doubt I would have gotten out.

Sure, it was 65F in Washington and 55F in Deale, but I doubt it got much above 45 F on the water. The water was reading 36F and the light south wind had been in close contact with that for hours.

Below about 50F a balaclava is a mandatory neck seal, and it seems to help keep the hat on. Ski goggles replace sun glasses at about 45 with the wind comes up. They actually add a lot of warmth. 

The primary project for today was finishing the jackline layout. I've been doing a lot of testing of snap hooks and carabiners in the wake of the Clipper CV 30 accident, and one thing that has come out of it is that the Wichard Proline tithers are a top pick. They are about 4-6 times as strong as Gibb-style hooks in many loading situations, are big enough to clip railings, and I really like the light webbing and elastic. There are other good carabiners, but these really deliver the complete package.

By running the jackline along the cabin edge, I can reach the bow, transom, amas, and entire cockpit using the 6-foot tether arm. You can clip with a 3-foot arm for additional security. There are a few places you can fall off, but the boat has low free board and you would have a good chance of muscling back aboard. However, it's better not to fall off. Racing history has shown that sailors very seldom fall off when traveling the deck; it is when they stop to work on something that they are at risk. So use your short tether when working.

This time of year, a PFD really isn't worth squat. You won't last long enough solo, and it could be close even with good crew (hope you don't have the chute up). Wear a tether. Wear a dry suit if it's blowing.

Run the jacklines over control lines and under sheets.

Why edure the cold? Because the Chesapeake is a different place in mid-winter. The power boat wakes vanish; even on a Sunday, I didn't see another boat. The only sounds are the water hissing by the hull and scoters down from Canada for the winter. It is the very definition of peaceful. So long as the wind is not up, it's not that cold.

A rough estimate suggests there were about 50,000 scoters on Herring Bay today.

Chest Harnesses--Is a Wider Belt Better?

rev. 8-9-2024

In the earliest days of rock climbing, a chest harness, not to different from sailing harnesses, was the thing. Actually, before about 1960, that harness would be made of rope, and hanging in it for more than a few minutes often resulted in permanent injury. Suffocation and broken ribs were also common, so the climber was careful not to fall. By the mid-1980, seat harness, much like those in use today had become standard , and climbers frlt much more free to take the occasion fall (ropes had improved a lot too). But in the time in between, from the 70s through early 80s, a waste tie-in was most common in the US. This is when I started climbing.

3- and 4-inch swami belts from about 1980.  I used the top one regularly for about 7 years.

At first it was just a rope, but soon a bowline on a coil became common, which is much more comfortable. about 6-8 wraps of line were taken around the waste and cinched off with a modified bowline tied around the coil. It wasn't that comfortable, it consumed about 25 feet of rope (pretty significant if both climbers did this), and was time consuming to get on and off the rope.

 

Climbers started wrapping webbing into a wide belt, but the width was hard to control and after shifting or falling, was often no wider than the webbing. Soon, climbing shops started producing fleece-lined swami belts 3-4 inches wide with accessory loops. You lashed this around your waist with 1-inch nylon webbing. It was more comfortable, and so long as you were young and had strong core muscles, tolerable in gentle falls and hanging for short periods. Better than a chest harness, anyway, although that seems improbable. I swear, based on many experiences, it is true.

Interestingly, they never got wider than 4 inches. It didn't seem to help must and got combersome. Soon after these were developed, shops started making leg loops to go with them, and thus the modern seat harness was born.

I tape large stiff foam pads inside the leg loops of my harness if I'm going up the mast for a long while. It really helps.

The ISO standard for sailing harness in 45 mm (1.75 inches), and most are this width. This is also the standard for rock climbing harness and automotive seat belts. However, most rock climbing harnesses have leg loops 2 inches wide and 3-inch belts. Racing seat belts are 3 inches, with 6 belts instead of 2.

While a full body harness is what you really need to take a huge fall, that's just not practical. But could a chest harness be improved by making the band wider? A very simple thing to do.

I should have started from scratch, but I'm down to a writer's meager income, so I reworked an old harness I had. Though it has some rust stains, it hasn't been in the sun much the webbing is far stronger than the code requires. By removing some hardware, resewing a few things, and adding a fleece lining (why not--it will feel good in the summer), I increased the width from 45mm to 70 mm, or 56% more area. Yup, it feels better when hanging, though it is still horrible, like any chest harness.

Stiffer webbing would help. No, it is not adjustable; it's just for me and I have another for winter wear. Loosing the buckles makes it lighter and more comfortable.

rev. 9-8-2024 I made this one just for me and have been using it for 6 years. It's non-adjustable, which makes it lighter. I have one for winter and one for summer. A Fastex buckle closes it but the tether clip goes through both rings. Very light, comfortable against the skin, nice and wide.

I will be testing 45 mm, 3-inch, and 4-inch straps for an up-coming article. However, I know there is a limit. Even being hoisted with a well padded LifeSling really stings after a few minutes, so don't expect miracles. But if it saves a few bruises or a broken rib, it's a big deal. I'm thinking 4 inches would be a sensible standard, but let's see what the tests say. As near as I can tell, the design of the straps and buckles makes no difference under load, only the width of the strap.

Update 9-8-2024. Yes, I did the testing. It's all about the strap width. Less than 2 inches is asking for a broken rib and 3-4 inches is much better. But nobody makes them wide. I guess they don't actually use them.

Preparing for Snow

When snow is forecast, the diligent southerner prepares. As a Yankee, I would use a a nice stout.  Higher standards.

When the Wind Blows From the North...

... it blows the water out of the Chesapeake Bay, resulting in tides as much as 6 feet below normal. The tide was still dropping when I took these images. Fortunately, the mud is a gentle cradle. Sometime I think the boat does better aground when it's howling--it no longer tugs at the lines.

And more cold to come.

Every boat in the marina is aground. The catamaran is my old Shoal Survivor, and the trimaran on the right is my current ride.

The inside of the slip is only a few inches deep.

The dock is now chest-high. No "stepping aboard"--you have to climb. The samples that are hanging under the dock are test coupons that should be in the water. You can see the water stain on the fender to the right.

Flying the Port ama sitting still.

The Clipper Round-the-World Race and the Failed Tether

Some of you are likely aware of the Clipper Race, where amateur sailors ranging from considerably experienced to land lubber pay for a slot on a race boat. There are two paid crew for 18 guests, so hand holding is limited. This is quite different from either the pure amateur or pure professional models, where the crew must earn a place on the boat.

During the last race, a 60-year old retired lawyer fell off the bow and drowned. He was tethered, but the carabiner on the tether failed. Forensic testing of identical clips confirm that because of the way the tether was pulled, instead of failing at over 4000 pounds as expected, it failed at about 300 pounds, a force easily generated in a modest stumble.

That is a staggeringly low failure strength. How could that happen? Unfortunately, if I told the full story, my editor would choke me, so I will just have to refer you to Practical Sailor. We've been deeply involved in investigation. There is an interesting post on Facebook right now (link below) and the full story will be out in a few weeks.

Practical Sailor Clipper Up-Date, Facebook

I will share this, however. My tethers don't look like that. I have a few spare hooks left over from testing but they won't be going on the boat. In fact, if you showed any rock climber this sharp-edged monstrosity and asked him to trust his life to it, he would tell you to get stuffed and pitch it deep in the woods. Honestly, it looks like a toy carabiner to me. The metal is too thin, the edges are sharp enough to cut rope and even steel climbing slings, the internal lock can jam on rope and webbing, and the nose snags everything in sight.

I use something a bit different. The carabiners are from rock climbing and via ferrata. They are better proven, more thoroughly tested, and subject to a tougher standard. The lanyard is 8 mm climbing rope and absorbs impact, keep the force on my chest comfortably low. I'm hoping the standards for marine tethers and carabiners can be changed to be more like these.

I'm thinking that the sailor might still be here. But make no mistake, off-shore sailing is dangerous, and if you fall over the rail, the ocean can beat you to death in short order. Keep your tethers short.