Hobie Cat Forums

Purchased a 6' sailing tether on Ebay for about $40 and tested it out on a run this past Sat. Here's a short video of my tether system in the works. Sorry about the low quality video. Not so good at editing.


Need to refine my jackline setup with a rated nylon strap. But so far so good with clipping on to the handle since the tether was long enough for most of my movement on the TI while fishing.

Aloha,

c2y

Mahalo John. I had wondered how you managed to find a pfd w a riggers belt, but now I understand. Good fighting setup.

The jack line makes a lot of sense too given the short leash and the big boat.

Good solution. Hope you never need it.

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"You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."
- Ayn Rand

It's important to stress that even when you are not under sail, the tether is a mandatory safety item for solo sailing. Losing contact with your boat is a bigger concern than being dragged to your death.

I had to lay over the stern to clear a fishing line from my rudder in choppy seas this weekend and could have been rolled off the deck at several points. Make sure your tether will allow you do repairs like this to any part of your boat or even someone elses. We have relied on tethers in passenger "rescue" scenarios too. Again, no sailing was involved.

As it happened, a friends AI became unmoored at a crowded beach yesterday and I had to swim like hell after it. In moderate winds, with the sail furled it nearly got away. With a bigger head start, or a pfd on me, or in swells it easily could have. It served as a friendly reminder. .

Any type of lifeline ia better than none, and even the best one is useless if not worn.

I hate sound preachy about this, but it's important. Get a leash. Strap it to your leg or your wrist or even your neck. That's better than not having one, even when one doesn't seem needed

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"You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."
- Ayn Rand

Thanks, John. I too do a lot of solo sailing with my TI. Therefore, I too am placing my order for a safety tether. Already own a very comfortable manual inflatable PFD with ORC harness. So clipping myself onto the tether and boat will be a cinch.

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Marc K
2010 Hobie Tandem Island
Boynton Beach, FL

mkrawats,

I was thinking of buying one of those ORC harnesses from West Marine. They're a bit pricey but relative to the proven safety they provide. I went with a rigger's belt that I already had in storage and intergrated it into the PFD that I'm familar with while fishing. It's a bit tricky getting the carabiner clipped onto my TI's bulky handle. But it goes with a little persuasion. A rated rope or jackline strap seems to be a better option. I just need to purchase a small section and work on its attachment points.

Aloha,

c2y

Like many people I normally don't sail on the open ocean in by TI or my AI so if I fall out of my boat and it takes off without me I am not going to float around for days waiting for someone to find me. I think your statement is way over the top.

I am experieced in both white water kayaks and touring boats and was always told tethers are dangerous because you can get tangled up in them and drown. For safety I was always told not to go out in open water unless there is more than one boat in case of an accident.

I'm sorry I keep bringing this up but I really don't want some newbee reading your advice and not knowing there is another side to the story.

Matt, why doesn't Hobie sell people leashes? They make drive, paddle and fishing rod leashes. If it is so important to wear one I would think Hobie would make them and promote them.

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Jerry D.
St. Johns, Florida
2010 TI
2008 AI

I think there are too many potential hazards to wearing a leash for this to be something we would sell as an option.

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Matt Miller
Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Hobie Cat USA

I am told that single handed "A" cat guys wear a carbine hook and that they hook to their main sheet as a tether.

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Matt Miller
Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Hobie Cat USA

c2y, that's a nice setup mate. I especially like the snap shackle for quick release - we used these on our yacht, and they really can be released even under great loads.

I can understand Hobie not offering something like this, as there are two camps of thought on tethers. I can see the point of not using one in white-water rivers, but for offshore I'm with Nohuhu, and will be setting myself up with one.

Absolutely the best safety precaution is to sail with a buddy, but in my case that often won't be possible, so a tether is my second best option.

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Cheers, Max ● TI: the "Yella Terra" ● Website: www.MadYakker.com ● YouTube: madyakkermax

I'm also with you on this NOHUHU.
Sadly, Andrew McCauley lost his life after being separated from his kayak in his epic solo attempt to cross the Tasman Sea to NZ.
I tether with a surfboard leash around my wrist and anchored to the x-bar when solo and conditions are marginal. It is a brand new leash. I've also used the mainsheet as a leash clipped with a quick release carabiner to my PFD. When the water gets a bit warmer here I will try some MOB tests on the TI.

Hear/here is my final answer to these issues. Which ever you choose. PRACTICE YOUR EMERGENCY ACTION DRILLS, BOTH STATIC (in the back yard)AND LIVE/WET, (derigged, then fully rigged). Only then will you feel comfortable with your decision. The more you practice, the more you will modify,,, And be safer for it. No one solution will cover ALL situations, but pratice will allow you the clarity to calmly adapt during the time compression of an event. Remember, slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

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http://s909.photobucket.com/albums/ac294/gsammy925/

Yeah, it might be insane for class 4 rapids, but it's not "over the top" for the conditions I carefully described. Non-sailing conditions, in this case (though I think it holds true most of the time). I hope most readers will get that.

However, where I sail, choosing NOT to wear a tether simply because I can't find one with a Hobie logo on it is highly irrational.

So I'm going to wear one until I hear a better suggestion.

(You folks know I just kidding about the leash around the neck thing-right?)

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"You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."
- Ayn Rand

When solo, I sail the TI from the back seat. To reach the mainsail furling line from the backseat, I tie the gold furling line to the backseat's black mainsheet line via a simple sheet bend knot. This creates a loop. I could possibly attach my leash to this loop. If overboard, I would be attached to this loop and have convenient access to both the mainsheet and furling lines from the water. Then, I could possibly unsheet and furl the mainsail from the water, allowing for a more peaceful reentry onto the TI.

I will test this next time I sail with a friend.

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Marc K
2010 Hobie Tandem Island
Boynton Beach, FL

Well you totally missed my point. The point I was trying to make is that if they were as necessary as you seem to feel they are they would be commercially available just like a surfboard leash. And where I normally sail the Hobies I am not that far from shallow water so if my boat got away it would be very inconvenient but not dangerous. When I go out in places that my life would be in jeopardy if I fell overboard there is always at least one other boat around.

Also you should know that I own a sailing tether that I used when at sea in our last sailboat. I would tie jack lines so a person could get from one end of the boat to the other and if they fell the tether would prevent them from going overboard. They were not tied to prevent loosing the body when someone fell overboard and drowned.

And no I didn't know you were kidding about wearing one around your neck. After all according to you "Losing contact with your boat is a bigger concern than being dragged to your death." One of the problems with the type of tether you’re talking about is the possibility of getting it wrapped around your neck when you fall overboard. And you call me irrational.

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Jerry D.
St. Johns, Florida
2010 TI
2008 AI

I think we can tone it down a bit, fellows.

We all sail in different waters and conditions, and some of us sail solo whereas others frequently have partners. We can thank Matt for being frank: Hobie does not carry body tethers because it does not want the liability that infers. That does not make tethers wrong, but it is a choice. There are risks either way.

We’ve had this discussion before
viewtopic.php?f=71&t=27286
and, as usual, NOHUHU had some good ideas. I’m a sea kayaker, and I’ve done a fair amount of whitewater kayaking, so I definitely understand where you are coming from, Jerry.

This is a good and important discussion. In the end, it will be an individual choice. Currently, I don’t use a tether (I'm in the Rockies until mid-October), but there have been numerous times when I’ve been out on my AI and thought: “Geez, I could have fallen overboard!” It was not a comforting thought, and a tether may be in the future. Some people have generously offered to do some experimentation—the TI w/ a passenger will be the ideal boat for trial and error with tethers. NOHUHU has already performed one experiment—see the above link—and made recommendations.

Keith

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I sail: S FL, Key Largo, Everglades to Cape Romano, Ft Desoto, Cedar Key

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein