Re: [Paddlewise] boat tether / SRBs

From: <HTERVORT_at_aol.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Sep 1999 16:23:49 EDT
In a message dated 9/15/99 12:34:56 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
eharmon_at_cs.miami.edu writes:

<<Surely none of us uses non-locking biners!>>
and
<< and (e) a bit 
 > more likely to break in the event of the system being loaded beyond what 
my 
 > body might survive (acting as a weak-link).
  Interesting. That weakness has stopped me from considering using them to
 fasten anything, but you have a point. Another thing, however: in cold
 water (or with neoprene gloves on) are you going to be able to release it
 easily? e  >>

Good points, Elaine.

I'm certain SRBs *would* be hard to handle with gloves/cold hands, though 
addition of the quick-release straps others have described on this list might 
solve that problem.

But I also expect locking biners would prove to be as hard or even harder to 
release, as would many other types of clips.  I could even argue that 
stainless steel or aluminum biners are the *last* thing I would want to 
handle with bare hands in cold conditions.  Truth is, I can't talk from 
experience on this.

I've never used locking biners because of the difficulty of one-handed use 
and the supposition that they would seize in sand and saltwater conditions.  
All the commercially-available tow/swiftwater rescue systems I've seen use 
non-locking biners, but provide ways of stowing them in pockets or the like 
to prevent snagging, in spite of common swiftwater-rescue practice of 
specifying lockers.  

What are your experiences with locking biners in sea conditions?

Anyone else?

Still thinking and learning,

Harold.
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Received on Wed Sep 15 1999 - 13:25:16 PDT

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