Newbie: safety list and spreadsheet

I'm a newbie. I was fortunate to have David Herrigel offer to inspect my boat, EOS. I started with the safety list in PDF at http://yra.org/wp-content/uploads/20...hanges2022.pdf I turned that into an Excel spreadsheet and filled in my answers. One tricky part is getting everything to print in a reasonable number of pages. This list is living in that I still had a number of TBDs at the time of inspection, some of which were questions that David answered. I am still updating this list as equipment gets checked, replaced, offshore requirements added and so on. David thought this attached spreadsheet might be useful to others.

I'll try and keep any thread updates tagged with the spreadsheet/SER item numbers.

wrt 3.2.1 Jacklines

David suggested using an etrier attached to a lifejacket, and someone asked me about them. The idea is to use an etrier to help get yourself on when you're off. Etriers are small climbing ladders made from webbing. I tried two: one from Petzl and one from Metolius. They cost $30-50. They are variously called "etriers" "aids" "aider" "steps". Search on Amazon for "PETZL – Stirrup Light of Artificial 5 Steps for Climbing, Polyester, Black" and for "Metolius Pocket Aider". These two fold into small pockets about 3" x 4". The Petzl pocket / bag is smaller but harder to get in/out of the pocket. The Petzl has L-shaped steps (grey webbing in the picture). The Metolius has U-shaped steps (blue webbing). Both are about same length, about 5 ft. Both have loops to attach a carabiner. The Petzl has their "string" which stops the loop sliding around on a carabiner. Not sure yet whether it is better /easier / more comfortable to use a lightweight climbing carabiner or something else to attach the pocket loop to my lifejacket / life belt / full-body harness straps.

Attachment 7417Attachment 7416

Hi Mike,

Here's what I tried on Surprise!:

https://www.sfbaysss.org/forum/showt...3019#post23019

These were standard etriers that came in a velcro pouch with a handle, so I could reach the handle from the water. I've forgotten the brand name. There are challenges with using these. Since the boat will probably be moving when you're trying to re-board, the etrier will just steam behind the boat on the water's surface, making it very difficult to get your foot into the first loop. I added fishing weights to the bottom of mine but these didn't help much. Even if the boat is stationary, when you try to get your foot in the bottom loop the etrier just pushes away under the hull. Bottom line is you really need something fixed against the hull, and of course the ability to reach that point without releasing your tether.

Bob J.

I built a boarding ladder out of PVC pipe with a piece of old halyard for the Hawkfarm.
Each leg clipped to the slotted toe rail and both the tread and the rise were covered with PVC of uniform length.
On the bottom tread I inserted a piece of metal pipe to hold it down inside the PVC tread.
There was a problem with toe room, and the solution was to tie a small fender horizontally that the legs hung over, giving a slight stand off from the hull.
I also tied a knotted rope to the opposite side of the boat, that gave me something to pull on before and after the life lines.

Whatever method of re-boarding you decide on, I strongly urge you try it while on a mooring at Angel Island. If it doesn't work well there, it may be much worse while moving in a seaway.

Does anyone have the master spreadsheet in .xls format (source format, not PDF) for the LongPac SER? David? Brian?

I made my own spreadsheet for SHF by copying and pasting from the PDF, posted previously, and it was invaluable to keep track of the myriad of details, many of which I would have missed without a spreadsheet (keeping track of expiration dates, product recalls, etc)

But... the spreadsheet PDF for LongPac will not copy properly. It just refuses... try it.

What I could/can do is use the YRA master in .xls format at
See page https://www.ussailing.org/competitio...l-regulations/
See link to
- Excel sheet for Monohull SER document (2022.0), incorporating Instructions, Categories, Appendix and History of Revisions

but there are many SSS-specific changes that will take me hours to incorporate by hand and I will surely make a mistake...

I get my copy from Jibeset.
Using the "download and print" tab works for me.

https://www.jibeset.net/pdpdown.php?...936/nbrd_0.pdf

Yes ... but you cant copy from that Jibeset PDF version, at least I can't, see below for an example. It just doesn't work, try it. You will get a garbage assortment of text picked up from different cells. With the SHF SER I created my own .xls spreadsheet from the Jibeset PDF and in that case copy/paste from the PDF did work. I then used my .xls spreadsheet to track everything related to every item. Couldn't have stayed sane without my own spreadsheet. I would really like to do the same for LongPac, so I really need the .xls not the PDF.

Attachment 7451

I got an MS-Word version but David pointed out that it's not a good idea to have any more than one version of a checklist. He's absolutely right. So use my spreadsheet above, first post, for the content I added not for the SER checklist itself. My first checklist was for SHF in any case, and there are quite a few differences between SHF SER and LongPac SER. What I could do without causing confusion over multiple lists is just list the SER differences between SHF and LongPac here on this thread when I have finished figuring out the differences. That list of differences between SHF and LongPac was what I was really after anyway.

wrt tethers ... I have a question:

1. I get that I never, ever want to fall off, but I get the idea of having a line or flat jackline outside the stanchions.
2. If I fall over (or climb to pretend), I find that 100% of the time my tether and/or carabiner is stuck, jammed or caught on something and really restricts my options. And 100% of the time I can't get to the carabiner end of the tether to release it. So I have to release the snap hook. That doesn't do me a lot of good.
3. My favorite tether, and I have tried a few, is the Kong double tether (one long, one short). I like the design of their one-hand release carabiners. But here's my question:
4. Aren't I better off with TWO single length tethers than a double tether? So, for example, I have two snap hooks? I am connected with one tether #1. My #2 tether is connected to my harness loops at the ready and I can use #2 with #1 for 2-point clips just like the double. I fall over. I unclip tether #2 carabiner from my harness and then clip tether #2 carabiner to my outboard jack/line. I release tether #1 at the snap hook (realizing a failure mode is releasing the wrong one; I guess I could always have #2 fixed and make sure I am using #1 all the time). Aren't I better off? I have not found a discussion on this.

I've practised doing what you describe - going off the boat (I went off the low side), clipping into an outboard jackline running length of hull, cutting away tether stuck on the boat. It's no fun to release the one thing you know is keeping you attached to the hull, and then the boat sails by and you hope the second tether will work.

I found hitting the water confusing, it took a bit to figure out what was holding me to the boat and what was available to work with. Orientation was a problem - up vs down, etc. as you crash around next to the boat while being dragged along.

I went for the idea of cutting away the 'bad' tether with a knife. I do not like quick release shackles holding me to anything, they can fail and release. I used a webbing cutter (not a broad exposed knife) to slice through the loaded tether and then it was pretty simple to drop the cutter (attached to my harness with a bit of 1/8" bungee, so I didn't lose it) and try to push myself away from the boat as the hull sailed by. Pretty good bang at the end when the tether hit the aft end of the jack line.

Upshot: if you don't mind snap shackles, they will be faster to release than finding, extracting, and using a webbing cutter. If you do NOT like snap shackles, don't use them at all.

- rob/beetle

Most all ocean races here require a quick release at the harness end of the tether. I certainly don't like the idea of a release when Singlehanding.