F21 jacklines

Boat Systems
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I typically sail my Freedom 21 solo, which is great most of the time since the boat is rigged to almost never have to go forward. But I do occasionally still have to go up there while underway and it’s pretty nerve wracking. It’s a small boat and I could easily see a large boat wake knocking me off my feet, and with the tiller lashed there’s no way I’d ever catch up to the boat if I fell over.

I don’t often sail anywhere I couldn’t eventually swim to shore, but I’m getting ready for a longer coastal cruise so I figured it’s a good time to figure out safety gear. Plus I like the boat and I’d hate to run her into some seawall because I fell overboard.

I’ve already got a tether and PLB from ocean racing on bigger boats, so all I really needed to do on my Freedom was rig up some jacklines. I don’t know how many people are installing jacklines on such a small boat but in case you ever want to pick up this project, here’s what I did:

The jacklines consist of two pieces of webbing, each with a large 6" loop in one end and a small 1" loop in the other. Each piece is 128" long. The large loops go over my topside deck and the small loops are joined by a spliced length of 5/32" Amsteel dyneema about 5 ft long. The dyneema lashes the ends to the forward deck cleat and is looped back and forth several times before getting tied off with several half-hitches.

With this set up I can reach over the traveler to clip my tether before leaving the cockpit to head forward. The jacklines are as far inboard as possible and they join well short of the bow so it’s unlikely I could be tossed around the pulpit.

They are nylon webbing as recommended by Practical Sailor: https://www.practical-sailor.com/safety-seamanship/jackline-materials-evaluation

I’ve got a heavy duty sewing machine at home, so I purchased the webbing and sewed loops myself. Sailrite has some 3,700-lb breaking strength 1" webbing for $0.40/ft, which is a great closeout deal (https://www.sailrite.com/Webbing-Extra-Heavy-Nylon-1-White-4700). Looks like they’re replacing it with an even stronger 6,000 lb webbing which might be worth considering. I used a V92 white polyester thread and followed Sailrite’s guide for a ‘boxed X’ stitch (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf6buu7PqT4&t=235s), which should be more than strong enough.

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Ian, thanks for the detail on this. Very helpful.

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We use a similar set up on our F35 (UK) cat ketch; easy to set up, easy to use, and the tape doesn’t roll underfoot as you go forward. Of course, the tapes are longer, but we still can clip on before leaving the cockpit.
I would caution against having the lines too taut, however, as sudden sideways stress is greater if the jackstay is tight. It’s also more difficult to move about. Better, perhaps, to shorten the tether from your harness and lengthen the dyneema line at the bow. As long as the jackstay is outside of all lines, it won’t get in the way. The lengths of tape and tether we use should prevent falling beyond reach of the stern and its handholds should one fall overboard.
We also clip on in the cockpit if the weather is at all rough and the other crew is below. To misquote Hillaire Belloc:–
“He died because he never knew,
These simple rules and few;
The boat is floating yet!”
We’ve never tried it out, yet, and intend not to in the future, either!
Gerald

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Hilliare Belloc - “for one thing I was no longer alone; a man is never alone with the wind- and boat made three”. His writing is awesome!

Jacklines are cool too