Sorry: I have no means to post pics any longer, and all my old pics are lost forever. Imagine if you will..... The simplest safety line setup (Keiths keep out lines), is just simple 1/8 or 3/16 polypropylene or nylon rope (walmart) and a couple 2" stainless clips (Home Depot). What I do is make a cinch knot on one end of the rope, wrap the rope around the front AKA hull brace (on the gunwale), and feed the end into the loop of the cinch knot pull it tight and you have a slip knot or hangmans noose,(seriously any knots you know will work fine). Now open the AMA and lock it. Now attach the clip to the lifting handle strap (should be plenty strong for the purpose, the older boats had a stainless padeye you could attach to in the center of the AMA, but that's gone on the newer boats). Now just run the rope to the clip and tie it to the clip. If your uncomfortable clipping to the carry strap, just wrap around the rear AKA bar where it enters the AMA (that works just fine also). It takes all of two minutes to do just one time, and you only need to do it once in the entire life of the boat. When I break down I just unclip the clip and throw the line into a mesh pocket, (my clips and lines are 7 years old now, never been replaced). Takes all of 30 seconds to clip on when setting up, and if I'm going out on a calm day with no risk, I don't even bother connecting the clips, or if I plan to fold in the AMA's that day (skinny rivers), I'll just leave the clips in the mesh pockets. You can also do exactly the same from the rear AKA brace only run the rope forward to the handle with a second clip attached to the back of the lift handle. I have this one also but it just stays stuffed in the mesh pocket 98% of the time, (seldom used, unless I'm far offshore in rough conditions, or out in conditions the boat shouldn't be in). To test the setup just disconnect the AKA brace and try to fold in the AKA, if it folds in more than halfway, then you need to tighten the rope a little, it's ok if it's springy (springy is better). Doing this helps 3 things, in the event of a boat wake or wave breaking the AKA nylon brace pin, or hitting a channel marker ( I do that all the time), the nylon pin still breaks, but the safety ropes prevent the AMA's from folding in (insta capsize, as Keith calls it). The other benefit is once in a while when you lock the AKA bars in they don't latch, and the AKA bars fall out (again insta capsize). The line prevents the aka bars from coming out, even if unclipped. The third problem solved is when you are sailing, the AMA that's up in the air rattles around and makes a lot of noise as the bungys stretch, and relax, and if one bungy breaks, the AMA falls off, the ropes hold the AMA tight on the posts so they don't rattle and bounce making a lot of noise (which drives me nuts).
I always joke about sailing by the brail method, and have hit a lot of stuff, sometimes at high speeds (especially channel markers at night (they hide them I swear)), and anchor bouys (you would think you could plainly see a big white ball). Typically the AMA hooks them, the AKA nylon pin breaks, the line stretches and obsorbs the energy stopping the boat, then the boat bounces back. Then theirs the occasional multi million dollar yacht (turn your lights off and back away quietly as possible). LOL if you hit something too hard and the line breaks, you deserve to go for a swim. Actually I've hit a lot of stuff and never snapped a line (stretchy line acts like a shock obsorber). My opinion this simple fix sure beats the alternative of switching the nylon sheer bolt with a stainless bolt, which will for sure elbow your $200 dollar AKA bar, or tear you hull, ending your sailing career for a couple weeks till you get parts, plus you have to do the walk of shame walking your broken boat back to launch, then home. Though I see nothing wrong with Keiths idea of a slightly stronger nylon shear bolt, (just not too strong), the problem being on the standard nylon bolt, the impact hits the threads of the bolt, so a dozen or so much smaller hits (like from boat wakes), also takes the shear bolt out. Of course you can go as fancy, or simple as you like, if you fish and fold in your AMA often, just don't clip that side that day. If the weather turns and I start getting in trouble, I'll scurry out on the tramp and clip the clip, (security blanket, hopefully helps you stay upright in white knuckled 30 mph winds and 5 ft waves with a broke rudder, (yea that's another potential issue)). FE Edit: yea if you have the newer tramps with the now stronger clips, you might get away with no safety straps (BTW the new clips fit on the older tramps), the old clips just snapped off like a zipper, then you end up capsizing anyway, then you have to replace all the clips again and again and again (the clips are around $13 bucks ea, I swear I've bought 30-40 of those darn clips,,, or if you ever try to sit on the dang tramp, yep they pop like a zipper). In 7 yrs I've never gone out not even once without my tramps on, I still have the safety lines because they do so much more, I've had quite a few people fall off my boat as the AKA's popped out, or the tramp straps broke, of the AMA's just flat fell off. Some of that stuff has been improved upon recently, but I lost faith in all of it a long time ago, and that faith will never come back, I prefer to spend the 30 seconds clipping the darn clips, (just sayin).
Last edited by fusioneng on Wed Aug 09, 2017 7:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
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