New Tethers--Finally, a locking harness-end carabiner I can live with

rev. 3-13-2012, rev. 7-22-2024

I've always used locking carabiners on the jack line end; non-locking biners can lever off a fixed point or tight rope in any number of ways, and the jackline end gets dragged all over all sorts of edges and fittings. Ice climbers, wearing heavy winter gloves, take advantage of this very mechanism to clip gear in and out without fumbling with the gate. On our cat, we generally leave the tethers attached to the jackline anyway, so a screw-lock biner is safe, dependable, and snag-free. We use climbing biners rather than "marine" biners; their clunky stainless designs bang on the gel coat and their weight makes them more snag-prone, and to me, snags present a safety hazard. We keep them greased.

[On our F-24 the geometry is different and we switched to Kong biners on the jacklines and snap shackles on the tether end, though a Kong on the tether is also good. I considered removing the above text, but then decide that, in fact, it was right for the PDQ cat. Different boats, different long splices. Just make sure you consider all of the use factors.]

 

I'm not a fan of snap shackles on the harness end of  a tether. I've seen them break FAR below their rated strength and I've seen them open easily when not closed just right. Can you see or feel that they are fully closed , in the dark, with gloves on? Ask a climber--or a rigger or anyone with an ounce of common sense--to hang from one up the mast and they will look at you as though you have none. Use one in the mountains and no climber would join you again, convinced you are a complete safety menace and an idiot as well. Yet we're supposed to trust them in a storm, with the boat leaping about. No thanks.

Kong Tangos, Clog (right)  and Wichard Proline (left). The Wichard is a prototype that came out on the wake of the Clipper Race fatality.

I'm not a fan of the current crop of locking "marine" biners; the webbing loves to catch in the pesky grove at the gate, they don't slide over obstructions well when used on jacklines, and they're difficult to open when wet. I don't need glitchy hardware when things are going badly. The Kong biner does not have the grove (it's a key-lock style biner), is lighter and smother (not cut from plate) reducing snags, and has a much smoother gate action.

 

A Spinlock Race clip did this to a Dyneema jackline.  The nose and lock design is a serious snagging and rope damamge hazard.

 

 

 

Gibb hook snagged on webbing.

 

Wire gate biners are easy to use and unhooking at the harness end is very, very unlikely. The attachment isn't rigid isn't being dragged up and down the deck. But it could happen, and I think about that when working down the sugar scoops, landing a fish or fooling with the tender while underway, often single handed.

The Kong Trango seems to be the best of both worlds. Opening is effortless and instinctive; the same light squeeze that opens the gate releases the lock; as quick and dependable as any climbing carabiner. The gate opening is the widest of the bunch at 1.25 inches, enabling it to clip many railings and stanchions, and it's the strongest of the bunch. While it's heavier and bulkier than climbing biners, but it's aluminum and 1/2 the weight of the stainless alternatives. Some have expressed concern over corrosion, but Practical Sailor left one in saltwater until it grew a reef and it still worked, and I treat my safety gear a bit better than that. As usual, I will keep the pivots greased.

This style carabiner was invented for use in via ferrata systems, where climbers follow "iron ways" through the mountains. Frequent clipping and unclipping require a dependable locking carabiner suitable for one-handed use. Notice also that it is used with a 2-legged lanyard system, not unlike some sailing tethers, but with a shock absorbing section mandated by UIAA standards, because of the potential for high impact loading. I don't know.... It seems to me the marine deck harness, tether and jackline manufacturers are always following climbing innovation, a few steps behind.

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 Notes on lubricating biners:

• Waterproof grease is best on screw gates. very dependable.
• A good corrosion blocking spray should be applied to all pivots, and critically, to the spring inside the base of the gate. Be liberal there.
• Cor-Block and Bo-Shield did very well in Practical Sailor wire corrosion testing in a salt environment chamber/accelerated aging test. Many others, like WD-40, are basically useless. 

Rock climbers are generally advised not to lube biners. Lubricants attract grit when biners are thrown on the ground in dusty crag-side environment. Additionally and very importantly, there is a risk a climber will try to revive a bent carabiner with lubrication, which is an obvious risk; the biner may be weakened and there is a risk that the gate could hang open at a critical moment. These are good reasons, but they are less relevant in the marine environment. However, if a biner or other piece of climbing equipment does stick because it is bent or burred, discard it. Although I am a dedicated fix-it guy, I don't repair damaged biners.

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I have several other posts on jacklines, climbing gear for sailors, and the stresses involved. As a life-long sailor, rock climber, and engineer, it's a favorite topic.

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What about energy absorbing tethers, as  used rock climbing and construction? This study is the best I've found on survivable tether impact loads, and energy absorption.
IF the subject is well secured in a body harness it concludes g-forces over 10 Gs have significant injury potential and forces over 20 Gs are generally fatal. Since 20 Gs ~ 3500 pounds, it seems clear that the sailor will be dead before the harness breaks (cutting over sharp edges excluded) and probably seriously injured at 1,000 pounds, since he is only wearing a chest harness. Much depends on geometry, but the general conclusion is unarguable.

I found the discussion of variable arresting force depending on a persons weight (page 14-15) interesting. To me, this also suggests a sailing tether should have a lower arresting force, perhaps 600 pounds. A lesser total energy absorption capacity is needed, perhaps only 40% of the OSHA figure, so the required extension will not be excessive, perhaps 2 feet, based upon a comparison of industry figures and potential wave impact/falls on a boat (they are looking at a 12-foot fall, we are considering the wave force plus boat free board).

These are not just numbers on a table to me. I've taken thousands of roped falls rock climbing--most top-roping, but other sorts as well--and have a pretty well tuned gut feel for the issue. I have a strong feeling also, that non-climbers have no respect for how dangerous a fall on a chest harness, without shock absorption, really is.

Adjustable Lazy Jacks--Done the Lazy Way

rev. 4-29-2012

My PDQ came with a very functional set of non-adjustable lazy jacks. One block, 2 legs; perfectly adequate with a full batten main. Chafe has never been an issue; the main is original, reasonably blown-out from years of use, and yet not a stitch has frayed. But they can be annoying on the hoist, catching the top 2 battens. In lighter airs close attention will do, but in rough conditions it can be a little pesty.

Anyway, a $20.00, 2-hour project, including the time spend figuring and returning wrong parts to the store. Maybe I can save you a little time.

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The Harken system is adjustable and fancy, but not optimized to be retractable. Not much better than the PDQ system; the PDQ system could be adjusted by retying a knot on the boom, but in practice, once it's set, it's finished.

• I think Harken makes them just to sell blocks. Lazy jacks aren't under load and don't need blocks in the smaller sizes.
• The blocks chafe on sails and clank on the mast and boom. I've known folks to remove Harken systems.

The EZ-Jax System looks easy. I've seen them on boats and watch the demo at the Annapolis Boat Show. But they have some features I don't like:

• They pull down on the spreaders. I've seen spreaders pulled out of place.
• I would need to climb the mast to re-rig. Not a big deal, but not needed.
• I would need to replace more parts. Not a big deal, but not needed.
•  I would have to add a cleat on the mast (sheets love to snag on those) and a retaining hook or bungee cord (one more thing).
• Reaching the mast-mounted cleat while working a snag at the far end of the boom is annoying.

The Lazy Way

I drilled and tapped  4 holes, mounted 2 small cleats on the boom, and replaced 2 lines, all from the comfort of the hard-top.

• Mount a small cleat about 1-foot aft of the mast on each side of the boom. Further forward and the jacks may ping on the mast in higher winds. I hate lines pinging on the mast. Mounting them slightly aft gives the line a little angle as it crosses the mast and stops the flapping. Further aft and the the lazy jacks won't fit under the sail cover at the mast end. Be certain you are drilling into unused space and don't use self-tapping screws in a spar; they will snag on lines or wires at some point in the future.
• Replace the lower line (3/16-inch solid braid nylon was used on my boat) with one ~ 25 feet long. Tie it to the aft eye strap, up through the hanging block, and down through the forward eye strap. On a much larger boat replacing the forward eye with a cheek block might be better, but the eye strap is just fine on the PDQ. Tie 2 big stopper knots near the end of the line, to prevent un-threading when retracting.
• To deploy, pull the line semi-tight and cleat. Coil the excess, if it's going to be a while, and tuck it between the line and the boom, up against the cleat.
• To retract, uncleat the line, pull the lazy jacks forward and tuck under the forward ear of the cleat, and cleat the line over this. Pull tight.

I suppose you could even make the system single line, adjustable from one side. No one does, because in reality, the lines often need to be worked around wrinkles in the flaked sail, and that would be very difficult if the cleat was on the other side.


Are Retractable Jacks Better? 

The down sides?

• Something else to fool with when heading out. I find I don't always bother.
• They aren't as easy to retrieve from under a big pile of as they would lead you to believe. Doable.
• You need to redeploy them prior to reefing, if you like to keep things simple.

The upsides?

•  In a breeze, yes. In lighter air, maybe.  More important when single handed, less so with a crew that can keep the boat exactly into the wind; for this only the leeward side must be retracted. Hoisting is a breeze with the lazy jacks pulled forward.
• The sail cover fits a bit better with the lines out of the way. Of course, it fit well enough before, for me. Also, adding slits in the sail cover to accommodate fixed lazy jacks is easy.
• Speed. At least a 1/100th-knot improvement. Probably equivalent to sticking my hand out the window.

Do I recommend this project? If you like having more things to tweak and like small improvements, sure. If you single hand a lot, absolutely yes. If you like bare simplicity and can hoist OK with fixed lazy jacks, leave them be.

Shore Power Melt-Down

There I was, minding my own business, refitting the fuel filters a few weeks ago. I smelled something hot, something electrical.

I reached over and touched the plug-in and it was smoking hot. No visible signs--no smoke or glow. It was fully engaged and not corroded. It was not at full load--only about 14 amps on a 30 amp plug. In fact, I don't leave the boat plugged in--I used solar for charging and only plug-in when I'm there. And the end I move is the dock end (this is the boat end).

So, yes, it can happen in a heartbeat, and I'm glad I was there.

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(not my picture--I pitched the plug in my haste and horror--but I can't see anyone minding repetition of a safety reminder. The extent of damage was very similar.)

West Marine is Nuts...

rev. 7-22-2024

 

... but I'm guessing you already suspected as much. 

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This, for $89.00...

or this for $13.95. And the Petzel biner is anodized too. Additionally, Wichard missed the UIAA safety memo advising that auto-lock biners not be used in dusty sea coast areas. Must have been busy raising the price.

West Marine must get some really stupid--pardon me, non-climbers and folks with way too much money--customers, at least from time to time. These are nearly identical in design, meet the same same specifications, and use the same materials of construction. In actuality, the Wichard biner ($89.00) is just a common climbing biner with a silly price.

No, I didn't buy it. I have a life-time supply of biners. I was looking for something else (shackle) which they didn't stock. They only stock the very high-end shackles; you have to special order the more reasonably priced ones....

I am so glad a nice hardware store with an emphasis on marine stuff opened in Deale. They don't have everything, but their fastener selection is fantastic, far better than WM. I got out for less than $5.00 (2 small plastic cleats for a lazy-jack modification), which I always feel good about. The hardware store had the rest.

Some notes about climbing carabiners on boats:

• Don't use screw lock carabiners if you can avoid it. Grit and salt jams the mechanism even if stainless. If they are aluminum the corrosion can be epic. The exception is dedicated equipment for climbing the mast, where climbing carabiners excel. Just avoid getting them wet with seawater, and if they do, rinse. A very light annual greasing wouldn't go amiss. Winch grease is a good choice, but a light spray lube would do.
• Wire gate carabiners resist corrosion many, many, many times better than conventional carabiners. Except for locking carabiners and teher carabiners (also locking) I only use wire gate carabiners.
  
• Do not use them as D-shackle or snap shackle substitutes up in the rigging. They will clip onto a shroud and you will be hating life.

I use wire gate carabiners for non-critical jobs where they make life easier, and it helps that they are cheap. If I drop one it's okay: I always have a string of spares on hand.

• Secure trolling tackle when fishing.
• Secure spare halyards, anchor shackles, and sheets when not in use. Easier to open and clip with one hand than anything else, at any price.
• Clip spare gear when up the mast. Sometimes to clip sling that secure me in position (swing), but not as a sole means of support (only locking carabiners).
• Secure temporary rodes and docklines. Not for overnight, just for a few minutes while sorting things out. Very handy.

There good reasons climbers always have a few on their belts. Many uses. Just remember they are not substitutes for marine types in most applications.

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I've got an article on climbing gear for sailing coming out at some point. Marine prices forced the issue:

• 1" climbing webbing. $0.30/ft vs $2.47/ft.
• Climbing harnesses, relabeled, both by Petzel. $87.00 vs $245.00.
• Slings. $7 vs $35, both Spectra.
   

I could never afford climbing, not priced the boat store way.

Editing Posts

I wish I could sit down and whip off pages of graceful prose or riveting stories. I can't. Writing is hard for me and I struggle with it. I maintain this blog for practice, as much as anything.

Because most of my posts are factual and engineering-oriented, I like them to be correct. Because most of my traffic is via forums and search engines, most of my traffic is reading and re-reading older posts. In a typical month only 20% of the traffic is directed at posts from that month, and generally 30-50% is directed at a short list of 10 posts that were written months to years before. For example, this week 10% of the traffic was to a single 2-year old post on sea anchors. Thus, I often go back and add new material to old posts, rather than start something new. While there are certainly errors and poorly written bits here and there, I try to correct anything that is pointed out to me as unclear or just wrong. Sometimes I correct the revision date, but sometimes I don't. I almost always revise posts a few times in the first few weeks, if it's a post of any substance.

I hope you use the "search" function occasionally, anytime you wonder about some dumb thing I said in the past. I may have smartened up and fixed it. If it was a rant, well, I may have piled on more!

Enjoy.

Hinges

I don't know why PDQ left hinges off the locker covers. They didn't cheap-out much. But they missed this one. Every time you need just one little thing, off comes the cushion, the lid must be leaned somewhere.... A big pain. With a hinge, lifting the lid just a bit to snag just one thing is reasonable.

Six months after I added them I noticed that the new Gemini Legacy is set up this way. Some thing they got right.

I added hinges to my under-berth lockers some time ago, and it was a big improvement. They get used a lot more.

I added these drop-in trays to the salon lockers. A big help--commonly used and small items don't disappear into dark corners.

And now I've added hinges to the salon lockers. A big help.

Notes:

• I didn't bother with the corner lockers (they won't open properly because of the backrests) or the cover over the charger.
• I didn't bother with stainless hinges. I did oil them lightly (Corr-Block) and I haven't seen any signs of rust. It's a dry cabin.

Cape Charles Harbor Renovations

Once a has-been town with a tired and small mixed use harbor, a major renovation is changing the face of Cape Charles. Additional slips built in the late summer / fall nearly doubled the recreational harbor capacity, and new bath house and harbormaster facilities are going up even as we speak. Vendor facilities are planned.

The Master Plan. The slips are compete and the building in progress.

 An improvement? I'll miss the shallows where we used to collect monstrous hermit crabs....

Some of these are 5 inches, tip-to-tip

... but this town deserves a revival. Once vital place with both rail and passenger ferry service to Norfolk, it strugled through many decades of business failures. While that sort of commercial and industrial activity is past--the bridge killed it for good--there is historical value in this town, the access to the southern Bay and Ocean is excellent, and small businesses are fighting to bring the main street back.

Passenger Ferry Docks

Nicer facilities for the trailer sailor, fisherman, renter, and transient for certain. I suppose I'll miss some of the commercial flavor. I worry that recreational use often moves working boats out, but I believe Cape Charles remains committed to mixed use. They are committed to maintaining a balance.

Delmarva Now Article

Master Plan Slide Show

Cape Charles is a key stop for many boats circumnavigating the Delmarva. These improvements will certainly be welcome.

Navigation

Can you tell where you are, the place, without GPS or map, without street sign or channel marker?

I travel a lot on business, mostly in the United States but occasionally Canada or the Caribbean. Most of us, those that have traveled to these places, if dropped in Irish Bayou (LA), Theodore (AL), Asheville (NC), Bayonne, or Charleston--without even looking around but allowed to overhear a few moments of conversation, would offer a fair guess. We'd do best if it was a dinner or pub--down town it's too common to meet nothing but transplants. "I's just playin' wit you" or "Hows you doin'" and we'd relax and answer in kind, according to our ability with the local idiom.

I think I could be dropped anywhere in the Chesapeake Bay, look at a few boats, glance at a marina, maybe talk to a sailor or two, and I could place myself within 20 or 30 miles, without navigational aids or asking geographical questions. Things are just different.

(Yup, I'm going to generalize. I'm allowed.)

The Northern Bay (Elk River to Rock Hall). Powerboat country. Lots of express cruisers, though they fly away the week after Labor Day. Poker runs start up here, where the water's smooth...ish. The parade of express cruisers and their sharp wakes can make life anywhere near the main channel north of the Sassafras down right unwelcoming.

Crab boats on the open Bay are a bit smaller than further south with less expensive roofs for carrying traps; the water being smaller I doubt they have to carry so many so far. The creeks are worked by any sort of skiff, mostly trot lines rather than pots. Crabbing is less anyway, as the water is basically fresh north of the Sassafras. They don't work oysters; they're all long gone this far north, even though Rock Hall was probably named for the mountains that used to come in for packing. Oysters were often called "rock" they hauled a lot of them in what became an unsustainable fishery. Sailboats are often smaller and generally not headed far, unless they're just passing through.  Most local sailors think a 25 mile day is something. The waters feel more like a large river or reservoir than something that is connected to salt water.  It isn't really salt, hardly at all.

There's is some cruising, but it's smaller and different. The western shore is dominated by the Aberdeen Proving Grounds (often on weekdays the Aberdeen safety patrol will chase you from their boundary waters, marked on the charts as a restricted area) and Baltimore (way too urban for may tastes, but perhaps that's a reflection of the time I've spent working in the dirty industrial waterfront that dominates the approach to the city. The Inner Harbor is nice; like staying in a nice downtown hotel.

Cruising is an overnight. Further south, we do that after work.

Middle Bay. Rock Hall,  the waters between Annapolis and St. Michaels in particular, down to Deale. Marina hopping country. Head boats taking rockfish anglers across the popular spots on the east side of the channel go out inthe dawn and return just after lunch. Cruising sailboats of all sizes, evening and weekend races, dingy sailing, and dockside dining are the rule of the day in season. A bustling atmosphere. Sure, folks cruise here, but most are hopping from club to club,  or to a cove well known to them and certainly described in all of the best cruising guides. In spite of the vast numbers of boats that swarm from these marinas on a nice weekends, it's simple to find a creek to yourself. Fine a creek not described in the guides, lacking marinas and without the internet or shore power.

Ego Alley (the Annapolis city dock) is in a league by itself. Like the Inner Harbor; smaller, more sailor-oriented, but just as down town. The local name explains.

The waterman's boats are getting bigger as you move south, as is the water.  Some dredge for clams, but most work crab pots. Pound nets become commonplace, an occasional hazard to navigation and certainly a hindrance to recreational fishing (they catch all the damn fish, scooping everything that comes by, day and night). Even shallow draft boats stay in 20 feet of water; the crab pots near shore are thick.

In the summer at least, it has an urban or at least horse country feel to it. Crowded and sometimes show-offish. In the winter, 70% of the boats haul out and the rest stay tied up. It feels like you're little bit further south; at least the crowds are gone. In the summer, you're always racing somebody, or at least heading the same direction.  Would-be racers and the folks that watch them think nothing of crossing within a boat length. A sharp watch in the genoa blind spot is obligatory, but it's amazing how many people don't feel so obligated; watch yourself on a nice weekend, just like city traffic. Folks run the red lights.

Weekend cruising. Sometimes 2 nights, if they're retired.

Southern Bay. Deale to Cape Charles. Cruisers go farther down here, partly because they must and partly because they can. It's more adventurous country. It's common to meet to a cruiser that hasn't been to a marina in a week. If you've been out for 2 weeks, your in good company. Others still hop, to be true,  on the western side. I guess that's why like eastern side better.

The sailors are better cruisers.  They get more practice. They seem more self-reliant; they have to be. I'm not saying that they're better sailors-- racing is an Annapolis thing-- but there's a lot more to cruising than just sailing. The channels aren't marked so well down here, the shoals move around, and the guidebooks miss a lot.  I like it better that way.

Boats are more apt to have gear hanging off of the rail: if they're cruisers, bicycles, jerry cans, and tarps; if they're fishermen, piles of crab pots, oyster dredges, or even yawl boats for pushing a Skipjack. The menhaden boats are a givaway; in the haze, I often smell them before I see them.

Oysters aren't called "rock"; "they's arsters, that's what we druge in this wata." Not "hearabouts"; that would be farther south and farther inland. Fishermen, particularly in the small towns, get harder and harder to understand.  It isn't a southern dialect, it's a Bay dialect. I like it. Just slow down and listen. They don't respect fast so much; they respect steady.

It's rural. You may not see but one or two cruisers on a summer day, and you won't see any in the winter.

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Sherlock Holmes bragged he could identify the origins of any Londoner within a few blocks by minor quirks of their speech. They think I can identify a Chesapeake cruiser, or at least the collection of boats, within 30 miles, no problem. A quick glance of any marina is a giveaway to the trained eye.

Jammed Windlass

A winter storm had passed, a boon to Chesapeake Bay fossil hunters. The waves undercut the bank, cliffs slide, and new samples are exposed. After a pleasant sail, I planned to anchor offshore, dingy in, and walk the beach.

I hadn't used the anchor in a month or more, and the last place had fabulously stick mud on the bottom. I think the chain brought up most of it and left 1/3 of it under the windlass gypsy, cementing the gypsy to the base. The anchor wouldn't lower and the windlass was tripping its breaker.

I should have taken a photo when I began cleaning--quite a pile of shells, small stones, and cement-like mud were removed. The stones under the gypsy were the main problem.

I don't give up easily, so there is always a manual option. For those of you with Simpson-Lawrence Sprint series windlasses, or any similar model, note that the hause pipe can be revealed by removing just 2 screws on the front cover. The chain can then be brought in or out manually without difficulty. Well, not too much. Padding the front beam with a towel is a good idea.

As for freeing the windlass, a few taps with a light hammer and a simple flossing did the trick. Heavy waterproof grease was applied liberally, assuring that the next opening will be a bit easier.

(In retrospect, since I had to replace the windlass not long after, I think failed bearings contributed to the problem. The second time the windlass jams, replace it. Not that I'm anti-repair, mind you, but in my case corrosion insured the case would not open and the sounds convinced me that there would be a lot of parts to replace.)


"Well it just goes to show you, it's always something."

Rosanna Rosannadanna, SNL

How Not to Tie-up

With the coming of winter, most boats on the Chesapeake will not be sailing. They may be hauled-out, placed in long safe rows that almost never topple like domminos. Or the owners may winterize them in place, pouring glycol where needed, tarping the cockpit, taking the cushions home, and double checking the lines and all wear points; they'll put her to bed properly.

Others just walk away for 6 months or more, hoping for the best or not thinking at all. A short walk down my home pier found these fine examples within just 8 boats. Some will "move" on their own before spring unless I retie them... and I may. Self preservation is a part of my motivation. Some is altruism; I would hope someone would do the same for me, though I don't expect it. Is there liability? Not unless I do it wrong and leave a note.

 Springline over the anchor. This is tight at low tide. The water here will rise as much as 3 feet without a storm, just the tide and a south wind. Really, this anchor should be removed from the roller if the slip is this tight.

Port and starboard chocks are reversed. Better, he needs straight chocks and chafing gear too. He saws through several lines each year but won't fix the chocks. Someone replaced this line (a dock mate) a few weeks ago, so it's not bad yet.

A crying need for chafing gear.

A washcloth, probably old, for chafing gear. Fortunately, the edge is so smooth and it won't be tested.

A rather short tail  on this knot. A minimum tail length of 10-15 rope diameters is typically recomended. Under any real strain it will pull through. Rock climbers are taught to tie a back-up knot, typically a double over hand, tying the tail  around the standing par; impossible to do if the tail is not long enough. There is a similar rational for always breaking matches when hiking in the woods; you have to wait until the match is cool before you break it or you will burn your fingers.

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What can you find on your home dock? Check your neighbors, before you find them sliding through the marina on a windy day. Hope they will do the same for you.