Adding Second Lifelines

[Warren Kaplan]

My 5 year old granddaughter is already yelling "hard alee" and "come about" after a day on a catamaran in St. John, USVI, so on to my CD27 she will come this year!!

Alas my boat only has one set of lifelines and grandpa already has "the guilts"....and the shrinkwrap isn't even off the boat yet.

I plan to add a second set of lifelines this spring. Any advice in advance as to what equipment is the best to buy, installation ideas to avoid pitfalls (like drilling a stanchion and realizing I just screwed up) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Duncan]

I'd be more inclined to:
1) invest your time in teaching her to always hold on to something
2) find her a harness and a tether

I realize this is not the question you asked, but I think I'd rather have a well-trained kid, tethered in just like the real sailors.

I envy you the fun you're going to have, especially when she turns out to steer your 27 just as well as Grandpa does!

[tartansailor]

First off get a "V" block to hold the stanchion securely under your
drill press. Please do not even consider a hand drill.

Find rubber grommets that will protect your cable.
That will determine the drill size.
Dimple the hole location with a punch so that the bit does not wander.
Ideally get a carbide drill bit.
Now when drilling stainless, you need to have the drill speed
at maximum RPM, and the full strength of your arm bearing down.
IE, drill as fast as humanly possible.
Cutting oil helps.

Dick

[Cathy Monaghan]

A handy gizmo for drilling into pipe is a "Drill Steady" tool:



You can get one from Gemini Marine Canvas or Sail Rite. This tool is limited to 1/8" drill bit. You'll need a larger one for life-lines. You can easily make your own jig from wood.

Anyway, tartansailor's suggestions are right-on.

Cathy
CD32 Realization, #3
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay

[johnny of STORK]

I respectfully beg to differ on drilling stainless steel. The rule of thumb is: sharp drill, lots of fluid, lots of pressure, and the *slowest* speed at which you can control the drill. Otherwise, the steel will burnish and harden in the hole, and you'll ruin the bit again and again trying to break through. BTDT This from an old machinist on his CD 30 at the marina in Guaymas, MX, where there is wi-fi. The food here is great, and the temp is in the low 80s, BTW, just so you northern sailors know what you're missing.

Johnny

[Warren Kaplan]

Thanks for the info so far. I have a really first class drill press at home and I do believe I have some cobalt bits that I drilled my mast step with when I installed a Dwyer halyard organizing plate below the step many years ago.

I remember drilling stainless using those bits and I had an oil can handy that I used to drip oil on the drill hole as I was drilling. Served as a lubricant and a coolant. I do believe I drilled at the lower speeds. The key also was removing the bit from the hole often so that the fillings would come out and the work would cool a little.

Of course a mast step is solid through and through while a stanchion is hollow (aren't they???). I don't think the "technical problems" of drilling a thin, hollow stanchion are the same as drilling a solid mast step.

In any event, I have the tools and the facility to drill the work. I have to decide what fittings to get for attaching the lines to the bow and stern pulpits. The type of piece for a gate. And whether to use standard turnbuckles or some other fitting for tensioning or loosening the lines. Any advice about that?

[bottomscraper]

Schaefer has a stanchion ring that allows you to add a
lifeline without drilling. They run about $33 each ouch!
I believe they only fit 1" stanchions.



For less money you can buy replacement 2 hole stanchions from Garhauer!
http://garhauermarine.com/catalog_process.cfm?cid=44

I like open body turnbuckles and the best pelican hooks you
can afford. I'm a big fan of 1x19 (not 7x19) bare wire lifelines,
I will never go back to coated wire. With bare wire we were
able to go up one size for our upper lifelines using the existing holes.
We do have oversize Davis plastic "cable covers" over the
gate sections only to prevent kinking.

That "Drill Steady" looks like it began life as a ground clamp
used to attach ground wires to copper plumbing. They are
about $4 at your local home center or hardware store. They
won't have the fancy thumb screws but if you are only doing a
few...

[GLutzow]

We sailed in my Typhoon with my children from the time that they were 1 year old with no lifelines and no problems. It was mandatory that they all wore a VERY good life jacket and when they became old enough to understand we taught them boating safety. I have a mental image of my oldest, now 27 and in Medical School, at the age of two standing in the cockpit, legs spread holding on to the combing yelling "faster daddy,faster" as the rail was buried in the waves. She went on to race Lasers and competed in the Women's Single Handed Championships in Seattle. Be cautious, be safe, but don't be afraid for your children. They will be better people for it.

[tartansailor]

According to the name plate on my Powermatic drill press, for an assumed 1/4" drill bit, the revs should be 1580 rpm.

According to "MACHINERY'S HANDBOOK" 20th edition, on page 1846
the speed (plunge) rate should be .003" per revolution.

Doing the math, .003"/ rev X 1580 revs/min = 4.74"/min.

1' (SS pipe) divided by 4.74"/min = 0.21 min or 12.6 seconds to drill the 1" pipe. (But you are doing a hollow pipe!!!)

Now if you are going to use a different drill bit size, PM me and I would be happy to recalculate.

BTW,
Cutting oil is highly recommended, not regular lube oil.

Hope this helps.

Dick

[mattlydon]

Garhauer carries 2 lifeline stanchions for $28 each, Svendson's has some REALLY nice ones, double-walled, around $50, with a tapered version around $70 per.

One thing you'll have to consider is that better stanchions have sleeved holes - if you just drill through your existing stanchions, you'll have rough edges chewing on your lifeline.....

Matt

[Cathy Monaghan]

Hi Warren,

Another thing to think about is this. If you cut holes in the pipe in order to pass the lifeline through it, the edges of the new holes will be very sharp. So you'll really have to smooth and polish them up well. I think the manufacturer may weld a small tube horizontally in those holes -- don't know, have to look. You can also use plastic grommets/inserts, but they never stay put. Anyway, you don't want the stanchions cutting through your new wire.

Also, in addition to the stanchion ring mentioned by Rich, Schaefer also makes furling leads which would work.



Pulpit anchors would work as well -- C. S. Johnson makes'em.



Lifeline stanchion sleeve by Sea-Dog.



Don't buy this stuff directly from Schaefer Marine, C. S. Johnson or Sea-Dog, you can get them cheaper elsewhere.

You can get the pulpit anchors from GreenBoatStuff.com for $10.19 a piece and the Sea-Dog stanchion sleeves for $11.25 a piece.

Hope this helps.