| Call them what you will, jacklines, jackstays or safety | | | | local sailmaker and have him double sew the D-links |
| lines, but these deck lines are essential for any cruiser | | | | onto the ends of the webbing. |
| passagemaker. They are two lines running on your | | | | Back on board lay out the webbing flat again, secure |
| deck, bow to stern, port and starboard to which you | | | | the stern ends first with their quicklink shackle. Go |
| can clip your harness snap shackle when you exit the | | | | forward and find a suitable slot in the toe rail for the |
| cockpit. | | | | forward quick link shackle and pull the webbing snap |
| There are many arguments for and against as to | | | | tight before linking onto their respective quicklink |
| when a sailor should or should not 'clip on' when out of | | | | shackle. By having the webbing flat and snap tight on |
| the cockpit - I am not going to go into that now, suffice | | | | your deck you will never catch unsuspecting toes |
| to say that anytime you are in adverse weather and | | | | under it - but it is still easy enough to slip a finger under |
| especially at night and anytime during night watch, it is | | | | to secure your harness snap shackle. This is done |
| a golden rule to 'clip on' when leaving your cockpit. | | | | from inside the cockpit, so that when you exit you are |
| The best lines are made from nylon webbing 25mm | | | | already hooked on. |
| wide. Do not use plastic coated wire as this can easily | | | | Now you have a real neat set of jacklines which you |
| roll a foot when stepped on when going forward in a | | | | will be really pleased with(having made them yourself) |
| hurry. When cruising they are going to be in position 24 | | | | and which will serve you well on your voyage. All you |
| 7 and therefore constantly exposed to the suns' rays. | | | | need to do now is to rinse them occasionally with |
| Black is best as it discolours less quickly and is least | | | | fresh water and every two years have the stitching at |
| affected by UV action. | | | | the D-links renewed - the thread used for stitching will |
| 'Tere Moana' had a black aluminum toe rail with | | | | deteriorate more quickly than the webbing. For those |
| scupper holes the full length, so there were plenty of | | | | belt and braces types, you can make short nylon |
| attachment points near the bow and across the | | | | fabric sleeves to slip over the sewn turnbacks at the |
| transom to choose from. I wanted as straight a run as | | | | D-links. |
| I could get so I planned on attaching them as far | | | | If you have teak decking you may have to clean |
| forward as possible and run them right aft and attach | | | | accumulated dirt from under the webbing from time to |
| to the outside corner of the toe rail at her stern. | | | | time. You can do this when you rinse the webbing. |
| This is what you need: Black nylon webbing 25mm | | | | You can read more about jacklines/jackstays and |
| wide and cut to length, four D-shackles, four quick link | | | | how effective they are in a 'situation' at sea in my |
| shackles. | | | | ebook 'Voyage of the little Ship 'Tere Moana' and my |
| Lay the webbing out on the deck, outside everything. | | | | '101 Dollar Saving Tips for Sailors' downloadable from |
| This is so that when clipped on, your harness shackle | | | | my sailboat2adventure website. For images, you can |
| can travel freely the full length of the line unobstructed. | | | | see them on my blog on my website. |
| Measure how much webbing you need. Go to your | | | | |