Homemade Jacklines

[savoir]

Sail Rite sell tubular polyester for only 40c foot compared to the yellow stuff which costs a little over $2 foot. If you used the Sail Rite product adding some spectra down the middle would be a good idea to increase BL. They rate the tube alone at 2700 lb which might not be high enough. 3/16" Amsteel Blue costs around $1/foot and 5/32" around 70c.

Not a bad money saver if you have a sewing machine.

[model 10]

Do it by hand, time is cheap

[savoir]

I'm kind of wondering whether my hand sewing would be strong enough. Fortunately, my local sailmaker does jobs like that for a beer.

[model 10]

So for my boat, $60 plus a beer, not bad!

[savoir]

You'll just hand sew yourself and then drink the beer.

[estarzinger]

[QUOTE=banjoship;1168764]

Originally Posted by estarzinger

How do you make up the ends, for attachment, and tensioning.?? I am trying to envisage a spectra spliced loop with a webbing cover?? I don't think any knot with spectra inside webbing would work.

The spectra cord is longer than the webbing by about 6" at each end, so the end of the cord is brought out and laid back on the webbing and then sewn thru itself and the webbing. Then on the forward end of the jacklines I have sewn loops (so the cord gets even more stitching) which I cow hitch to the center of my bow cleats. The aft ends I just cleat in the normal way. I have considered putting loops there and lashing them but that's more complex and I am not sure its any stronger.

There are a couple knots that will work in spectra cord. The double fisherman is perhaps the best. And in fact they reduce the strength less when the cord is inside the webbing (because the turns inside the knot are then less sharp), but they still do reduce the strength. Splicing is obviously the first choice, and machine stitching my second choice.

Originally Posted by hpeer

use pre-position tethers so I clip from one to another. That way I have no excuse for not having one on.
.

I think this is an excellent concept that I also follow. I have pre-positioned tethers at the headstay, innerstay, mast, primary winches and helm. They are made just long enough to allow me to work at that position but no longer and they are cow hitched to padeys, so there is no slack or extra length and they absolutely minimize the possibility of going over the side. And then you have something always there to clip to even if you don't have a portable tether with you. Hell you can even clip them to your belt if you are not wearing a harness.... not ideal but better than nothing.

Originally Posted by savoir

I'm kind of wondering whether my hand sewing would be strong enough. Fortunately, my local sailmaker does jobs like that for a beer.

Machine stitching is generally much better, because the stitches are all the same tension and load up evenly. With hand stitching, unless you are very careful, the stitches can be different tension so only some of them load up and thus the breaking strength is lower than it 'should be'.

But hand stitching can be ok, if you are careful to make the tension even and throw in some extra stitches as a safety factor.

[Tbrad]

Originally Posted by savoir

You'll just hand sew yourself and then drink the beer.

Beer for my HORSES whiskey for my MEN!

[SlugmasterP]

The webbing I used for the jack lines was polyester which the website said was high abrasion. There's very little stretch. Here's the link.

Polyester Webbing at Strapworks.com

Point well taken on the tethers. I'll probably keep the homemade jacklines and spring the cash for the tethers.