"I do not paddle in high winds without my boat leash. I use two pieces of nylon webbing (one of which is bright red) connected together in the middle via a cam buckle. This provides a quick release. Pulling the end of the red strap releases the buckle." Dan Hagen How do you attatch the webbing to yourself? How long is the tether you use? How and where do you attatch the tether to what kind of boat? "Uhhh... (or duhhh..) what's a slip-ring? e" Elaine, A slip ring is (in my case) a stainless steel ring that has a slightly larger inside diameter than the two inch webbing that I use as a tow belt (worn around my waist and fitted to my pfd). The tow line is attatched to the slip ring, the slip ring is slid onto the tow belt, the tow belt is buckled arround my middle with a quick release buckle. When I release the quick release buckle the slip ring slides easily off the free end of the tow belt, releasing the towed object and freeing me from potential entanglement. Nick Lyle *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Nick Lyle wrote (regarding my boat leash): > How do you attach the webbing to yourself? How long is the tether you > use? How and where do you attach the tether to what kind of boat? I attach the tether to a web belt at the bottom of my "shorty" PFD, which is about in the middle of my torso. (This works with my torso shape; some might need a harness with a keeper strap passing under the crotch.) The other piece of the tether attaches to a 6mm line that passes through six pad eyes on the deck of my Caribou. The pad eyes are laid out in a parallel fashion, three on each side. The line begins with a stopper knot (at one of the pad eyes furthest from me), passes through the three pad eyes on one side, across the deck in front of me, and through the three pad eyes on the other side, ending in another stopper knot. I don't recall the exact composition of the line, but it has a braided nylon or polyester sheath and some sort of core material (as with climbing rope or rescue rope). The two pieces of webbing are attached in the middle with a cam buckle, which provides a quick release. You just need to pull the end of the strap that passes through the buckle to release it. The advantage of a cam buckle is that it can be released fairly easily when under tension, unlike the more common side-clamp buckle, which is extremely difficult to release when under tension. With my current setup the strap that one pulls to release the tether is red, but I am planning to replace it with yellow since yellow is easier to see when it is wet. As for length, I would estimate that it is about three and a half feet long. (I can't measure it right now since I am at my vacation home. If you want an exact measurement e-mail me tomorrow and I will measure it for you.) Happy paddling! Dan Hagen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I have been thinking for some time about boat tethers. I have tied onto the boat at times when I found reason to get out and spend time in the water, but have never used one on a continual basis. One idea that appealed to me was that of attaching the grab loop of the spray skirt to a biner clipped onto the front painter, using a nylon strap which is wide enough to avoid tangling and a side-release buckle at the grab loop for a quick-release. The presumed advantages are: 1. It would not interfere with a forward-roll wet exit; 2. The strap could be easily folded and stored on the front deck, where it would be easy to manage; 3. In the water, the pull would turn the swimmer toward the boat; 4. In the event of a strong pull from the boat, the skirt would spread the force over a large portion of your body; 5. As the boat drifts downwind / downwave, the biner would slide along the painter to the bow of the boat, turning the swimmer's back to the waves and the bow into them, decreasing drift and pull against the swimmer and allowing the swimmer to tow the boat with a strong backstroke; 6. Its presence would discourage placing the grabloop inside the skirt when the going gets tense. I would appreciate all your thoughts on this. Thanks Harold *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Harold (HTERVORT_at_aol.com) wrote: > > ... > One idea that appealed to me was that of attaching the grab loop of the spray > skirt to a biner clipped onto the front painter, using a nylon strap which is > wide enough to avoid tangling and a side-release buckle at the grab loop for > a quick-release. The presumed advantages are: ...<snip>... This is an interesting idea. The potential drawbacks I see are: (1) The length of the tether. It would seem to me that using the bow painter as the tether increases the possibility of a nasty entanglement. That's a lot of line floating around with you in the water. (2) The use of a side-release buckle. These do not release well when under tension. (See my earlier comments on this.) On the other hand, as you noted your idea does have some advantages. Dan Hagen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 9/14/99 11:10:55 PM Pacific Daylight Time, dan_at_hagen.net writes: << This is an interesting idea. The potential drawbacks I see are: (1) The length of the tether. It would seem to me that using the bow painter as the tether increases the possibility of a nasty entanglement. That's a lot of line floating around with you in the water. (2) The use of a side-release buckle. These do not release well when under tension. (See my earlier comments on this.) On the other hand, as you noted your idea does have some advantages. >> Dan, Thanks for your comments. 1. Using the length of the painter could be a problem. But I didn't mean to imply hooking onto the end of the free painter. I was talking about clipping the biner onto the painter rope while the clip/biner on the (free) end of the painter is still clipped onto the boat near the cockpit. The separation between the body and the boat would then be limited by the length of the tether (maybe 4 ft?). Since the tether biner could slide along the length of the painter, you would have the freedom of moving anywhere from four feet aft of the aft painter attachment point to 4 ft beyond the bow. You *would* have the option of unhooking the painter hook/biner and attaching it directly to the tether biner, giving you another 7 to 8 ft of freedom beyond the bow, which would be handy if you wanted to swim-tow your boat. 2. True, but since the side-release buckle is in front of you, within easy reach, you could use one hand to release the tension as you released the buckle with the other. I know that SRBs have drawbacks, but I have started to use them in place of other hooks and biners because they are: (a) lightweight (don't sink the towline so quickly when released); (b) cheap; (c) unaffected by saltwater; (d) unlikely to hook onto deck fittings or other catchalls and entrap you as a biner can so easily do; 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). Happy Paddling, Harold *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Wed, 15 Sep 1999 HTERVORT_at_aol.com wrote: I know that SRBs have drawbacks, but I have started > to use them in place of other hooks and biners because they are: (a) > lightweight (don't sink the towline so quickly when released); (b) cheap; > (c) unaffected by saltwater; (d) unlikely to hook onto deck fittings or > other catchalls and entrap you as a biner can so easily do; Surely none of us uses non-locking biners! 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 Elaine Harmon - eilidh_at_dc.seflin.org - eharmon_at_cs.miami.edu *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Harold (HTERVORT_at_aol.com) wrote: > > 1. Using the length of the painter could be a problem. But I didn't mean to > imply hooking onto the end of the free painter. I was talking about clipping > the biner onto the painter rope while the clip/biner on the (free) end of the > painter is still clipped onto the boat near the cockpit. I'm sorry, I simply misunderstood your suggestion. This makes more sense. Regarding the use of side-release buckles you wrote: > 2. ... since the side-release buckle is in front of you, within easy > reach, you could use one hand to release the tension as you released the > buckle with the other. I know that SRBs have drawbacks, but I have started > to use them in place of other hooks and biners because they are: (a) > lightweight (don't sink the towline so quickly when released); (b) cheap; > (c) unaffected by saltwater; (d) unlikely to hook onto deck fittings or > other catchalls and entrap you as a biner can so easily do; 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). I certainly have never suggested using a 'biner. The plastic cam buckles that I use (also referred to as lever buckles) are also lightweight, cheap, and unaffected by saltwater. I do not believe that they are any stronger than a side-release buckle. But they are easier to release when under tension, particularly if you only have one hand free. Your approach of using one hand to release the tension requires two hands. Dan Hagen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 9/15/99 4:33:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time, dan_at_hagen.net writes: << I certainly have never suggested using a 'biner. The plastic cam buckles that I use (also referred to as lever buckles) are also lightweight, cheap, and unaffected by saltwater. >> Dan, Didn't mean to imply you advocate biners in this application. I was just running off at the keyboard. :^) I've also used plastic cam buckles in certain apps. Sometimes they slipped, sometimes they released too easily, and sometimes they were juuust right! Sure wish there were perfect answers to (my) perfectly absurd questions. :^) Thanks again, Harold *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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