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terry

Dennis Pogson wrote:
wrote:
I have been looking before to replace my life lines. In Canada, I
found at Canadian Tires, 9 strands Stainless wire labelled aircraft
quality. On the same rack was the same wire with vinyl covering
marked $1.49 per foot.

I was ready to buy but I did not have the tools for splicing the
(Pelican) end connectors that hooks on the bow and stern pulpits.

I have seen some sailors using SS U-bolts to secure the connections
to the pulpits and stanchions. Not nautically elegant but safe.

The practise in UK is to secure the SS lifelines with a SS shackle at the
pulpit and a cord lashing at the cockpit end. The cockpit end of the wire
terminates about 3 inches short of the stern pulpit with a SS eyebolt and is
lashed with as many turns of polyester (Dacron) cord as appropriate, bearing
in mind that it may be necessary to cut the lifelines with one stroke of a
sharp knife - usually about 6-8 turns is deemed satisfactory.

Dennis.

Question: I had previously thought that fastening one end of the
lifelines with some kind of non metallic rope LASHING (as is done with
all four lines, two each side of our 30+ year old Westerly Tiger) is to
avoid having a metallic 'shorted turn' around the boat that could
interfere with radio reception/direction finding etc. However the above
suggests it is for quick safe disconnection in an emergency? Or both?
Terry