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PostPosted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 11:06 pm 
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Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 9:21 pm
Posts: 2498
Location: Central Florida
YES, forgot to mention.

Never use your surf leash launching or landing!

Good catch Astro.

Kayaking Bob


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PostPosted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 11:23 pm 
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Location: Terrigal NSW, Australia
chrisj wrote:
You'd have to wonder if it is a good idea in a breaking surf.


Sorry....... That's Australian for "It's not a good idea."

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:47 am 
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Location: Florida panhandle
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I use the surfboard strap attached to a sailing harness. It's made to drag you right way up and still be able to use your arms and legs :shock:

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:09 am 
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Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:14 pm
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Location: South Florida
That looks great, Phil. What kind of a harness is that? Where did you get it?

It dawned on me that sailors have been tethering themselves to boats forever. Some PFDs have D-rings for tether attachment. Both the PFDs and tethers are for serious off-shore sailing. They are expensive like West Marine's PFD: http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/producte/10001/-1/10001/301136/377%20710%201218/0/Life%20Jackets/Primary%20Search/mode%20matchallpartial/0/Most%20Popular%7C1?N=377%20710%201218&Ne=0&Ntt=Life%20Jackets&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&page=CategoryDisplayLevel1&isLTokenURL=true&storeNum=8&subdeptNum=106&classNum=12387
and tether: http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/producte/10001/-1/10001/271526/377%20710%201231/0/Safety%20Harness/Primary%20Search/mode%20matchallpartial/0/0?N=377%20710%201231&Ne=0&Ntt=Safety%20Harness&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&page=CategoryDisplayLevel1&isLTokenURL=true&storeNum=8&subdeptNum=399&classNum=400
This tether is 6' long, which seems standard for sailing safety tethers.

West Marine does have an $80 harness.

I've got several PFD's so if I could get a reasonably priced harness and tether that would be great.

Keith

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:33 am 
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Location: Florida panhandle
Keith,
I got this years ago at West Marine while doing offshore sailing. I see they have gone to the expensive side now :shock:

The tethers for sailing are over kill in my opinion. They are made for falling off boats with much higher free board and need the higher shock loading. We are talking about just rolling off and being dragged with the boat while staying attached.

Another item would be a rock climbing harness for you that are around an REI store.

Having just looked through the catalogs I am shocked at the prices of these things now. I think I would get some webbing and D rings and sew one up for less than 25 bucks.

Boaters World or Bass Pro may have something cheaper and similar.

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:37 am 
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Location: South Florida
I've been thinking along the same line. Thanks.

Keith

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"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

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 4:35 pm 
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Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 5:17 pm
Posts: 203
Location: Ettalong Beach, Central Coast, Australia
I have a surfboard leash clipped to the cross brace behind the seat, and only attached to my wrist if conditions warrant it, and I am off shore. I don't use it in the bay. I would not attach it to my leg, because I figure I can get it off my wrist easier if I have to. If the AI turtled, you could see a situation where the leash could hold you underwater, and having to reach the leg might be really hard. The beauty of the surfboard leashes is they are designed to be attached quickly, and unattached quickly, with velcro straps.

I like the idea of the harness, but it rather looks like a PFD would cover that one completely? I always wear a PFD, so any harness would need to be below it, not up on the chest. Like the ones we used on cats. But they are expensive.

Geoff.


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PostPosted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:22 pm 
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My standard PFD would not work with a tether harness, but my inflatable PFD would.

Geoff--your point about an AI turtled causing problems is valid. It seems to me that the typical 6' (1.8 m) sailing safety tether is a bit short for the AI. If you tumble out of an AI, you will likely fall between the akas, so 2' of your tether may be tangled w/ the aka and maybe other things. A 9' or 10' tether might be better to get you free of the boat.

Do you think your velcroed surfboard leash will hold if you fall out of an AI? It seems your surfboard would not have nearly the weight/momentum of an AI under sail. I'm not a surfboarder so you will have to humor me. On a surfboard is the sail ever cleated? On the AI, your sail may be cleated so that if you tumble out, the boat may continue merrily on its course for some distance w/ you in tow. I think that may be a virtue of a chest harness tether--it would surf you along behind the boat (if you have a long enough tether.)

Again, as I point out at the beginning of this thread, I had a sequence of problems in 20-25 mph winds. First, on tack, my half paddle blade (shock corded to the side of the boat) was caught by the water and twisted back 180 deg. As I worked to save the paddle, I managed to release the aka brace. Now I am holding the paddle and the aka brace trying to prevent the ama collapsing against the hull. I was paying no attention to sailing the boat. After things were all back in order, the thought crossed my mind that I could have fallen out of the boat. What then? So, that is when I began to think about tethering and its consequences.

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"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

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Last edited by Chekika on Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:42 pm 
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Location: Florida panhandle
I use an inflatable PFD so the harness works. I don't wear it normally but have it in case I need to go overboard for repairs.
Back in my early days of sailing I was out solo on a Hobie 16 in winds just high enough to fly a hull. I was out on the wire just in front of the shroud. The main was cleated and I was enjoying the sunset when I came undone from the hiking wire. I had the sense to hang onto the tiller which bent around the shroud as I hit the water. Somehow I managed to get an arm around the rear stanchion as I let go the tiller and was dragged hanging on for several hundred yards until I could get myself pulled up over the back of the boat. I was almost a mile off shore with an offshore wind.
Taught me a lesson .....forgot what it was now :oops: Funny now but was a pucker factor while taking place.

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 8:09 pm 
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Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 5:17 pm
Posts: 203
Location: Ettalong Beach, Central Coast, Australia
Chekika wrote:
Do you think your velcroed surfboard leash will hold if you fall out of an AI? It seems your surfboard would not have nearly the weight/momentum of an AI under sail. I'm not a surfboarder so you will have to humor me. On a surfboard is the sail ever cleated? On the AI, your sail may be cleated so that if you tumble out, the boat may continue merrily on its course for some distance w/ you in tow. I think that may be a virtue of a chest harness tether--it would surf you along behind the boat (if you have a long enough tether.)


Actually there is no chance at all the velcro will separate, actually I have had a concern that I could pull out a shoulder, or break an arm.

Chekika wrote:
First, on tack, my half paddle blade (shock corded to the side of the boat) was caught by the water and twisted back 180 deg.


I have lost a paddle off the aka support, and I now use yet another surfboard leash to secure that, also with velcro. I tested it, by letting it fall out of the support, and was astounded what sort of force is generated by a vertical paddle well under the water. My AI stopped, the leash did not break, and the velcro stayed put.

Geoff.


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