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The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.
Hello, I've read through what I could find on the forums, but am still left with questions. I am faced with replacing my lifelines in the next year or so, and like the thought of using dyneema or something else synthetic. Where i struggle, is understanding the hardware needed. I see some setups that use a toggle connector at the end, others attached directly to the gates. Are interlocking eyes needed for either side of every stanchion?
So, anyone who has done it can you share some practical advice? I know it's boating, but not looking to spend $500+ on hardware, so any thrifty tips welcome.
Boat is a 1977 SR SK.
Offshore Account, 1977 Hull #243. SR, SK
Edited by - offshoreaccount on 04/16/2017 19:48:53
A friend used dyneema. He used SS eye bolts and snap shackles at the gates. He used a piece of SS tube at the stanchions for the line to go through. His stanchions did not have a tube through the area for the line. I replaced my life lines with new ones (vinyl covered cable) four years ago and they are already stained and looking bad.
1988 WK/SR w/inboard diesel Joe Pool Lake Hobie 18 Lake Worth
Life is not a dress rehearsal. You will not get another chance.
I was just out on the boat yesterday and we were talking about replacing the lifelines. Using Dyneema came up but i think at $300 I'm just going to replace with the standard vinyl wrapped ones. Tried and true. We're not racing our boat and doing that swap might invite issues that were not previously there like chafing and so on.
If you do come up with a good system for this swap. Definitely let us know. I'm sure people will be interested.
This company has some products for spliced lifelines:
i will replace mine with non coated wire probably next year. The recommendation to replace fiber lines every three to five years seems a bit much on a cruiser or day-sailor.
With respect to abrasion at the stanchions, from what I've read it is typically not a substantial issue. I've seen solutions ranging from tubing shoved around the dyneema, some type of pipe (which in my opinion just creates the opportunity at each end of the pipe), heatshrink, and nothing. I'd be inclined to try the "nothing" option first and see how it lasts, but I saw reports on other forums of people using them for a few seasons without noticeable wear. The gates that thread through each end of the stanchion are like $30/piece, so at $180 just for some of the hardware, it's not really economical. For that reason I'd probably be more apt to attempt the bare stanchion route.
Thanks for the Johnson links. I've seen their hardware before, but it's a bit over priced.
Interestingly, the receiving eye on the stern doesn't fit the pelican gates from johnson. I'm not sure if the mini (just saw it for the first time a few days ago) would solve that. My solution when I "tightened" the stock one into the marina was to just use a SS quicklink through the eye.
Offshore Account, 1977 Hull #243. SR, SK
Edited by - offshoreaccount on 04/17/2017 14:15:25
Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ. The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.