Some of you will remember that our preferred jacklines were made by Hathaway, Reiser & Raymond (HR&R) in the USA. I say “were” because HR&R went out of business in 2016.
The good news is that John Savage, who was in charge of jackline production at HR&R, ended up with the equipment required and is continuing to make jacklines and tethers to order. Email John at moc.liamg@sliasegavasj or call him on +1-203-856-5164.
And for those who want to make their own, we used to recommend sourcing the webbing from a company in New York called Pam Narrow Fabrics (PNF). However, several of our readers have informed us that said company was difficult to do business with.
So here’s another source called Straps To Go, who seem a lot more up-to-date in their trading methods and who also sell by the foot, instead of requiring purchase of a whole roll as PNF did. A big thanks to member Daniel Coate for tracking them down.
Dear John,
Not so much a comment as a question. I have similar jacklines on my boat. What I noticed this last Summer is that when dry, they shrink. When wetted, they lengthen again. I am inclined to view this as evidence that they have degraded and replace them. (At this juncture they are six years old and have been exposed to the weather for about four years elapsed time. What is your view?
Best regards,
Grenville
Hi Grenville,
Yes, time for replacement. See this article for more on that: https://www.morganscloud.com/2016/11/27/jacklines-materials-fabrication-and-installation/
Hi John….I’ve been working thru my safety system for Iemanja. Thanks for the great guidance. I’ve sourced out Amick Associates in Carnegie PA for the webbing. Ordered 60’ for our project. Very good pricing and easy to deal with. Item number is 1” Yellow Polyester Webbing 9800#/IN.
Ernie on SV Iemanja
Hi Ernie,
Thanks for the added resource, the more the better.
This is great news, thank you! If I hadn’t already just made a full set, I’d definitely be calling on Mr. Savage. I hope he’s still doing this in a few years when it comes time to replace them.
We recently purchased webbing for DIY tethers/jacklines from:
CTD: Custom Tie Downs
Hubbard Oregon
https://customtiedowns.com/
Comprehensive stock of webbing, velcro, buckles, ratchet straps. sold by the roll or custom length. Can imprint webbing with boat name or custom graphics if MINO (money is no object)
Good website, prompt response on tech. questions pre-order, excellent order fulfillment and prices.
Hi Jim,
Thanks, good to have as many sources as possible.
John , your lashing looks pretty minimal. How many turns of the small stuff do you use and what size and type of line? Thanks.
Hi Terence,
Good question. In that case I think it’s 1/4″ Dacron double braid and about 3 turns. So, let’s see:break load = ~2000lb, so should be about 12000. Quite adequate. Those jacklines were originally experimental and came from John at HR&R with the Dacron already spliced on. Next time I will make it one piece around the mast and then use amsteel to lash, which is my normal approach.
Hi John,
Are you suggesting a single jackline, from a padeye on the starboard side, forward and then around the mast (with no mast loops/wraps), and then back to the padeye on the port side? And then using amsteel at both padeyes? Thanks!
Hi Anthony,
Using one line in that application was not my idea, see further up the thread, but yes, I think it’s a good one in this case. That said, it does depend on overall jackline length since if the distance from the pad eyes to the mast was say about 10 feet a 20 foot line might have enough stretch to result in dragging.
This question belongs generally in the ‘Safety’ category, rather than specific to jack lines. What do you carry in your ditch bag(s) and why? I read your extensive article and comments on medical kits for long range cruising- good. I think ditch bags shouldn’t be generic but tailored to the intended cruising plans and best approached from a risk analysis methodology (same for medical kits). I would appreciate your views as well as the members input on this. We’re taking the time while we’re land bound to rebuild our ditch bag, especially in these times. This COVID-19 pandemic was not an unseen hazard by emergency planners but certainly didn’t appear in my cruising risk assessment nor was my ditch bag prepared for it either. We’ve been with ill relatives for a few months and were not at sea when this hit. However, the experience of several of my friends who had to set sail with little or no notice and were faced with several days passage to get to a welcoming harbor is shaping how I think about ditch bags (even my land home ‘bug out bag’ is now looking like a slimmed down ditch bag). While we are likely to be coastal sailing until we’re vaccinated, COVID isn’t the only risk that might precipitate similar emergency passages. Look forward to your comments or perhaps an article?
Hi Herman,
Ditch bags would certainly be a good subject for an article, and way past anything I can do in a comment, however the editorial schedule is full to the brim right now, so sorry, there is no way I can take on another project of that magnitude for the foreseeable future.
Just to be clear, the ditch bag(s) are only part of the equation here. What’s the minimum duration of provisions, fuel, etc. to keep aboard? I think few of us plan to truly abandon ship unless she sinks. And if so, the ditch bags would be the minimum to get off board. In such a situation, having to set sail abruptly (assuming the weather risk is less than staying in place) what should be thoughtful preparations? For example, we normally try to keep our tanks at least half full. Maybe regularly topping off at the earliest opportunity is a wiser choice for us.