Dyneema Gates ( lifeline , life line , guard rail )

[KimB]

Thanks for all the good info re. Dyneema " guard rails/ life lines/ lifelines whatever you call them " but now we need your good advice / experience re. our gates and how to create safe / tidy / effective fittings to make them the best that they can be. Any and all shackles / whoopie slings / pelican hooks advice etc gratefully received. But most of all - post pictures please! Thanks x

 

[OCuea]

Thanks for all the good info re. Dyneema " guard rails/ life lines/ lifelines whatever you call them " but now we need your good advice / experience re. our gates and how to create safe / tidy / effective fittings to make them the best that they can be. Any and all shackles / whoopie slings / pelican hooks advice etc gratefully received. But most of all - post pictures please! Thanks x

I was going to mention soft shackles but I don’t think you would keep the tension that you need using them would you

 

[ridgy]

Who in their right mind has dyneema guardrails, what problem are you solving? 4mm 1x19 cheap as anything and end fittings likewise. Abrasion resistant and lasts years. None of those things are true of dyneema.

 

[thinwater]

I'm kind of a stainless fan, particularly for monohulls (where people actually lean on the guard rails), but I have used Dyneema on multihulls.

Whoopee slings are nice for adjustments (no turnbuckles or lashings), but remember that they cannot be adjusted under load. You will need a pelican hook or similar.

Anytime you have a gate (SS or Dyneema) you need to do two things:

• Reinforce the adjacent stanchions against a side load.
• Fix the wire/line so that it does not go loose all along the side when the gate is open.

In fact, Dyneema is a better gate material than SS in many cases because it is more flexible. In many or most cases, gates do NOT chafe because they do not extend through the stanchions.

In my cases, I luggage tagged one end to a SS ring and the other had some sort of locking hook, like a pelican hook. No problems. I typically fixed the lines to the stanchions with a lashing.

Because a whoopee sling weakens the line ~ 20% and because gates see more wear, go up a size. It will be easier to handle.

 

[William_H]

Ah thank you my education is now complete (not really) I now know what a whoopee sling is and might even try one. Whoopie sling - Wikipedia
ol'will

 

[wonkywinch]

 

[KimB]

I was going to mention soft shackles but I don’t think you would keep the tension that you need using them would you

Yes - it's keeping tension that's the problem as you say. Keep thinking - thanks from Kim.

 

[KimB]

Who in their right mind has dyneema guardrails, what problem are you solving? 4mm 1x19 cheap as anything and end fittings likewise. Abrasion resistant and lasts years. None of those things are true of dyneema.

People do!

 

[KimB]

Ah thank you my education is now complete (not really) I now know what a whoopee sling is and might even try one. Whoopie sling - Wikipedia
ol'will

 

[KimB]

Nice - Thank you!

 

[KimB]

Thank you, will investigate (pun intended!)

 

[geem]

Who in their right mind has dyneema guardrails, what problem are you solving? 4mm 1x19 cheap as anything and end fittings likewise. Abrasion resistant and lasts years. None of those things are true of dyneema.

Agreed. People are fixing a problem that doesn't exist. We have our guardwires rigged super tight. We don't have a gate because we want guardwires super tight. These are our primary safety devices for keeping people on the boat. We use 7x19 running rigging wire as it is more flexible and doesn't kink. The same wire has been installed for 12 years. It is in perfect condition.
My experience of dyneema sk75/78 is that it wears when you connect stuff such as another rope. The dyneema fluffs up. We have this rope on our running backstays on both masts. They are both due for change after about 6 years as they look quite worn.

 

[Sandy]

Who in their right mind has dyneema guardrails, what problem are you solving? 4mm 1x19 cheap as anything and end fittings likewise. Abrasion resistant and lasts years. None of those things are true of dyneema.

I have.

They are brilliant. Soft in the hand, stronger than steel and the ones I made up have a reflective thread in the outer layer allowing you to see where the guardrails are on a dark and stormy night, and on the way back from the pub, from the light of a torch.

I'd never go back to metal lines.

 

[Refueler]

I'm about to change one guardwire ... 1x19 .... its 'stranded' at midships from chafe in the stanchion. Its still safe as only two strands have parted - but I'm replacing soon.

Would I change from wire ? I would like to use Parafil - but its advised against for the Race Cert issued for the boat ... so wire it will be.

 

[geem]

7x19 running rigging wire seems to be less prone to stranding. We have no such issue on 12 year old guardwires. We plastic sleeve the wire where it passes through the stanchion holes

 

[Lightwave395]

Who in their right mind has dyneema guardrails, what problem are you solving? 4mm 1x19 cheap as anything and end fittings likewise. Abrasion resistant and lasts years. None of those things are true of dyneema.

Utter rubbish !

I've had 6mm dyneema guardrails for 3 years now, no wear, as strong if not stronger, kinder to peoples legs and hands and cheaper too if that matters
I have stainless thimbles lashed to pelican hooks at the pushpit end

 

[geem]

Utter rubbish !

I've had 6mm dyneema guardrails for 3 years now, no wear, as strong if not stronger, kinder to peoples legs and hands and cheaper too if that matters
I have stainless thimbles lashed to pelican hooks at the pushpit end

How many miles have you done in your boat in those 3 years? If they have sat there like a piece of furniture, they won't wear. I have seen dyneema lines running through stanchion that are worn. These are on high mileage boats.

 

[bergie]

How many miles have you done in your boat in those 3 years? If they have sat there like a piece of furniture, they won't wear. I have seen dyneema lines running through stanchion that are worn. These are on high mileage boats.

We have dyneema lifelines for the second season, so around 5k miles so far. They're still looking very good. We have leather sleeves for where they pass through the stanchions. And yes, pelican hooks for the gates.

 

[Sandy]

How many miles have you done in your boat in those 3 years? If they have sat there like a piece of furniture, they won't wear. I have seen dyneema lines running through stanchion that are worn. These are on high mileage boats.

Unless your boat is stored in a lightless, vacuum chamber things wear no matter how many miles you travel.

To check this please visit any 'boat graveyard' and see the wear and tare on hulls that have not moved in decades.

 

[Neeves]

Everything wears

When stainless, lifelines, wear they break strands and are nasty.

When Dyneema wears it goes all fuzzy. (I think) more quickly on a racing yacht.

In both cases you know when to change. I know which is more comfortable to work with, which is easiest to change and which is easiest to sail with. To me the difference in cost is irrelevant. But - we carried spare dyneema, easy to store, easy to cut, easy to splice and a myriad of applications, halyards, stays, anchor rode and lifelines

Jonathan