Boat Systems
Living Aboard a Boat
Safety Equipment
J is for Jacklines (and other safety equipment we wouldn’t be without)
Tuesday, April 12, 2016TheCambrians
During the month of April, we're
participating in the Blogging
From A to Z Challenge where every day (excluding Sundays) we'll be posting to
the blog . . . alphabetically. The overall theme we've chosen to tie all the
entries together is living aboard a boat and cruising – things
we've learned along the way: our thoughts, reflections, and tips for those just
starting out or who are interested in this lifestyle.
If you’re not a sailor, you’re probably asking yourself: What are jacklines, and why do I care? Well, you probably don’t. But if you own a boat, then you know that recreational vessels are required to carry a minimum of safety equipment aboard at all time. Jacklines aren’t actually on the U.S. Coast Guard’s list, but we carry them anyway. That leaves only one question: What are jacklines? They’re lines that are secured from a padeye or cleat and run from the bow of the boat to the stern. When under way, a crewmember can attach a tether, which is connected to a safety harness they’re wearing, and move about the deck during offshore conditions or heavy weather more safely. Ours are made out of high-strength yellow nylon webbing so they can’t be easily confused with other lines on the boat.
Here’s
a list of other safety equipment we wouldn’t be without (a lot of which came
with the boat when we bought her). In keeping with the A to Z theme, I’ve
listed them alphabetically:
- Air horns for signally other vessels in
reduced visibility
- AIS receiver
- Alarm for the propane gas system
- Backup GPS
- Backup chart plotter
- Bilge pumps (automatic and manual)
- Carbon monoxide detector
- Ditchbag
- Drogue
- EPIRB (emergency position indicating radio
beacon)
- Emergency nav lights
- Emergency steering gear
- Fire blanket (galley)
- Fire detectors
- Fire extinguishers
- Flares
- Hacksaw and blades (to cut the standing
rigging if dismasted)
- Hand holds for walking around the boat while
under way
- Harnesses (on PFDs)
- Jacklines
- Jonbuoy
- Liferaft (four man)
- Lifesling
- Medical kit
- Paper charts
- Power tools (angle grinder for cutting
standing rigging and one of our drills powers a high-volume pump)
- PFDs (personal floatation device/lifejackets)
- Radar
- Radar reflector
- Single side band radio (SSB)
- Spare anchor and rode
- Spares, spares and more spares
- Spotlight (3 million candle power)
- Storm anchor and rode
- Storm sails (tri and jib)
- Tethers
- VHF radios (2 mounted, 1 handheld, 1 in the
ditchbag)
- Windvane (back up for the autopilot – friends
of ours just hand-steered to the Marquises after losing "Geeves" after a few days out)
- Wooden bungs attached to the seacocks (to plug holes)
How
about you? What safety equipment do you carry aboard? Join the conversation
below or leave a comment on our Facebook page and, while you’re there, give us
a ‘Like’!
