Lee clothes

[PIGLETSDREAM]

Thinking that we should fit them to our fantastic Trapper, what sort of material should we use and would some old sail cloth work?

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

Old sail cloth would be fine....

 

[Kilter]

Make them higher than you first thought of; I was chucked over the top of the lee cloth once and unceremoniously dumped on the floor!

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

hee hee... as a guide, our must be about 18" high....

 

[PIGLETSDREAM]

Would spinnaker material do?

Sorry to hear of your flying lessons, another story with a pint eh!!

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

Probably a bit too light.....

 

[Kilter]

agree, too light. Needs to be fairly substantial stuff.

 

[Salty John]

Agree, too light.
Leave a gap of a foot or so at the head end so the occupant doesn't feel claustrophobic, can communicate and can, if necessary, puke.

 

[Evadne]

Agree, if the boat rolls badly it's got to be able to take the weight of the erstwhile off-watch slumberer, so if you wouldn't trust it to take your weight plus 100% then its too light. The same goes for the securing ropes .... and strong points to which they attach, obviously. The ability for the occupant to puke into the adjacent bunk is of dubious benefit, however. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[john_morris_uk]

I prefer the strong points for the lines that you tie the lee cloths up with not to be 'vertically' above the bunk, but positioned 'above the bunk' slightly so that the cloth is 'in' at a slight angle. Makes you feel very secure when you are in the bunk on the 'wrong' tack. Hope I have made myself clear?

 

[PIGLETSDREAM]

Neptune passage maker still going strong

 

[Evadne]

Yup, the ones on ours are set about 8" in from the bunk edge and the odd time I've used them they fel very secure. The cloths themselves are some sort of heavy sailcloth and, IIRC the ropes are actually strong bungees, which reduces the strain on the strongpoints considerably, and allows an easier exit without removing the lee cloth. So your bedding stays put.

 

[Salty John]

The person in the adjacent bunk, being on the downside, is too busy puking into the seat back locker to care!
Seriously, I had a very bad experience with lee cloths on, of all things, a Swan; the bottom edge was fastened at the outer edge of the bunk and the securing cords were very light and stretchy. This meant that the windward side occupants actually rolled off the bunk and into a kind of sack created by the lee cloth. There were double high bunks on each side so you had the occupant of the top bunk lying on top of the occupant of the lower bunk who had also rolled off the bunk into the stretched out lee cloth. We were hove-to for nearly a day and it was extremely uncomfortable. I ended up on the floor between the bunks rather than endure this tenuous hammock-like position.
On my boat the lee cloths were secured at the inner end of the bunk, ran under the bunk cushion, and then up about 18". This was a very secure arrangement.

 

[Hermit]

Old cockpit dodgers make very good lee cloths.

 

[ColinHuggins]

Oops, missd this question thinking it was a fashion issue - Lee (Cooper) jeans (clothes) or summat.
So you mean lee cloths!
Just look at any boat fitted with them: stout canvas/Dacron - and good fastenings with backing plates. Falling out could result in serious injury even if the incumbent is Brahms & Listz!