Inspect Your Boat’s Lifeline System

One hand for the ship and one hand for yourself” was the sage advice given new crew members by old salts during the golden age of sail. It’s still good guidance today. While modern safety gear such as personal locator beacons and life jacket strobes make it easier to find crew members overboard, it’s still the old-school stuff like harnesses and jacklines that keep them on board in the first place. Of this fundamental safety gear, none plays a more vital role than a vessel’s lifelines.

Lifelines are pretty much the Rodney Dangerfield of onboard safety gear – they “don’t get no respect.” Although their condition and upkeep can literally be a matter of life and death, they’re often burdened with numerous tasks unrelated to their primary function: clothesline, all-purpose tie-down point, impromptu grab holds when boarding or fending off when coming alongside. Boaters aware of the role lifelines play in keeping them on board while underway often fail to realize their value at the dock (where vigilance is often relaxed) or while the vessel is hauled, where failure can result in a long fall and a hard landing. Let’s look at how to keep them ready, willing, and able.

The system as a whole

Mention lifelines and most boat owners think of the wire running along the perimeter of a vessel’s deck, but that’s only half the story. In addition to lifeline wire and its associated hardware (e.g., pins, shackles, swages), it’s imperative to view the role played by other components of the system, such as stanchions, bow pulpits, and stern rails.

Stanchions ensure lifeline wires remain at the correct height, provide rigidity to the system, and help absorb the initial impact of a potential crew-overboard situation. Bow pulpit and stern rails transmit the force of a hurling body to the opposite side of the boat, providing additional strength from the stanchions located there as well. Lifelines are commonly constructed of 300 series 7x7, 7x19, or 1x19 stainless-steel wire, although high-tech, low-stretch lines are also used with more frequency. (See “Rope Lifelines” on page 88 for more.)

While the components of the lifeline system work great together and provide a lot of strength, neither lifelines nor their components should be used as attachment points for harness tethers or jacklines. Jacklines should be securely attached to substantial deck hardware (such as bitts or cleats) or to attachment points specifically installed for them.

The first decision is whether to use vinyl-coated or bare wire. Coated wire is popular because it looks nice and is easier on sails and hands than bare wire (the coating adds thickness, making it more comfortable when grabbed). The problem is that when worn or damaged, this vinyl coating can trap water, which wicks beneath it and along the wire, causing accelerated corrosion. (Photo 1) As this corrosion often occurs out of sight and unknown (until failure occurs), vinyl-coated wire is generally not recommended. In fact, it’s prohibited by many offshore racing organizations.

Bare wire makes visual inspection easier. The overall diameter of bare wire is also smaller than the same size of coated wire, allowing you to increase wire size for additional safety when changing from coated to bare wire.

For boaters who prefer vinyl-coated wire, the general recommendation is that lifelines be replaced every five years, regardless of how good they look.

Inspect the plastic coating regularly for damage due to chafe or cracking from UV exposure or old age. Pay particular attention to the ends (Photos 2 & 3) – often the first place corrosion occurs as the coating must be cut back to install terminal fittings – and never tape over damaged spots, which can trap water, making matters worse.

Inspect the lifelines

Lifelines epitomize the “only as strong as its weakest link” metaphor, as failure of just one component can lead to an unauthorized swim call. When inspecting lifelines:

• Ensure all clevis pins are pinned (secured) and that all turnbuckle barrels are properly secured with turnbuckle nuts and pins if possible.
• Clean and polish fittings, swages, and other hardware, then inspect each with a magnifying glass for stress cracks and corrosion.
• Inspect vinyl-coated wire closely for damaged coating and signs of rust. If chafe, cracking, or wear of the coating is noted, replace it.
• To check uncoated wire for broken strands, take a handful of tissue paper, encircle the wire, and lightly drag the tissue paper its entire length in both directions. Broken stands or “fishhooks” will be indicated as they snag the paper – just be sure not to hold the paper too tightly, or they may get a little meat as well.
• Remove all lifelines annually and inspect for kinks, wear, damage, or corrosion, paying particular attention to the wire at end fittings and where it transitions through stanchions.
• If you use end lashings (a multipurpose lanyard of small-diameter, low-stretch line) rather than turnbuckles to attach and tension the lifelines to bow pulpit or stern rail, replace them annually. Lashings should be no more than 4 inches long (with lifelines fully tensioned) and as strong as the wire they attach. Line strength is reduced at each bend of the line between lifeline terminal eyes and pulpit attachment points, so when calculating lashing strength throw in a couple of extra turns for an additional safety margin. If installed so you can quickly lower the lifelines by cutting the lashing (such as when picking up a crew member who has fallen overboard), be sure to let everyone know prior to cutting the lines, or you may have a few more folks to fish out.
• Check all lifeline hardware (such as gates and turnbuckles) to ensure each are in good condition and adequately sized. Tape pelican hooks and similar gate hardware closed to prevent ­accidental opening.
• Verify the height of both upper and lower lifelines. The American Boat and Yacht Council recommends a minimal stanchion and top lifeline height of 24 inches, although heights of 36 to 42 inches are preferred. The recommended maximum height for lower lifelines is 9 inches above deck, a height designed to keep an adult from rolling underneath the lifelines (consider installing netting, too, if there are children or pets onboard). Rigging temporary chest-high lifelines of low-stretch line when heading offshore is also a good idea.
• Lifelines should be tight, but not to the point of bending stanchions or deforming pulpit and stern rails. As a literal rough rule of thumb, if you can (using the muscles of your arm only) deflect a lifeline more than two inches by pressing down with your thumb at midspan between two stanchions, it’s probably too loose and needs adjustment.

Stanchions

At first glance, the condition of any single stanchion may not seem significant (Photo 4), but as each provides strength to the entire system, all must be maintained in top condition. Put off replacing that bent stanchion now and it may fail completely the next time it’s heavily loaded, such as when a crew member falls against the lifelines in heavy weather.

Stanchion bases must be strongly constructed and thru-bolted to the deck with properly sized hardware and backing plates (Photo 5). In some cases, the stanchion and base is a one-piece unit, while in others the stainless-steel stanchion slides into a socket in the base and is held in place with a set or machine screw.

The best setup is where the stanchion is secured via a transverse bolt passing through both stanchion and base, with an additional set screw to tighten the stanchion in the socket itself. Thru-bolts (with lock nuts or lock washers) or machine screws are preferable to Allen screws. If Allen screws are used, there should be at least two, with both threaded through the base and set into dimples in the stanchion.

An easy safety upgrade is to replace the lower set screw with a machine screw. Drill a hole in the stanchion slightly larger than the screw (so that it threads through one side of the stanchion) and use a lock washer to secure it in place.

Inspect the stanchions

• Release the tension on lifeline wires and give each stanchion a good wiggle. If loose, determine if the cause is a sloppy stanchion-to-base fit (possibly due to a loose set screw) or flex in the deck itself. Slight play due to the former is acceptable; however, flexing due to a weak deck is a different story and must be addressed. Start by verifying the mounting hardware and backing plates for each stanchion base are of adequate size and strength. Backing plates should be two to three times larger than the stanchion base and constructed of 1/8-inch stainless or aluminum. Fiberglass backing plates should be at least 1/4-inch thick, while other composites, like StarBoard, should be a minimum of 1/2-inch.
• Gelcoat cracks around stanchion bases (often an indication of point loading or thin, poorly reinforced decks) should be inspected thoroughly, even if seemingly cosmetic in nature. Installation of larger backing plates or top plates can help reduce point loading by distributing stanchion base loads over a larger area.
• Inspect stanchions and their bases for bends, cracks, broken welds, looseness, and corrosion. Bent stanchions as well as fractures in the stanchion or its base are often the result of passengers or crew using stanchions to hoist themselves aboard, but they can also occur if water enters the base socket and freezes.
• Dissimilar metal components (a stainless-steel stanchion coupled with an aluminum base, for example) promotes corrosion and should be replaced.
• Tighten stanchion screws and all base mounting bolts/hardware regularly, replacing any that are stripped or damaged.

Bow pulpits and stern rails

Sailors have an uncanny knack for finding a gadget or doohickey to occupy most every bit of space on board. As a result, stern rails (whose primary job is anchoring the lifelines) are often burdened with solar panels, outboard engines, wind generators, davits, barbecues, man overboard poles and the like (Photo 6).

It’s almost impossible for designers to factor in the additional loads generated by these aftermarket add-ons, the strain of which can degrade the entire lifeline system. Maintaining arches, davits, equipment mounts, and other such constructions independent of the lifeline system is the best way to maintain structural integrity.

If stern pulpits are used as a mounting platform, additional supports may be needed. In some cases, the best solution may be to fabricate a new stern rail of larger-diameter tubing, with larger base supports or stiffening struts. If any part of your lifeline system seems inadequate or fails to meet generally recognized standards, don’t hesitate to upgrade – just make sure these retrofits are properly engineered and robust enough to get the job done.

Inspect the pulpit and stern rails

Many of the inspection points for stanchions apply to pulpits and stern rails as well:

• Check that each base is properly thru-bolted, verifying the presence and integrity of properly sized backing plates.
• Ensure all mounting hardware is in good condition, tight, and secured with marine-grade stainless-steel lock washers or Nyloc nuts.
• Unlike stanchions, bow pulpits and stern rails typically have welded bases rather than retaining hardware. This means you don’t have to worry about loose thru-bolts or set screws, however you’ll need to check all welds closely for hairline cracks and corrosion (Photo 7).
• Inspect all lifeline attachment points (e.g., welded eyes) for distortion, corrosion, cracked welds, and so on. As with lifeline hardware, don’t be afraid to clean and polish, then inspect the welds and hardware with a magnifying glass.

The lifeline system is one of your vessel’s most aptly named components. Life jackets, harnesses, and tethers provide an important first-line defense against falling overboard, but nothing matches the 24/7 security provided by a lifeline system – provided it’s well designed and properly maintained. The time to make sure your system is up to the task is before it’s needed.