Lifeline Rehab

'Piao' still sports her original 1982 lifelines -- the old kind that are coated in plastic.  I didn't pay much mind to them the first year I had the boat; I was thrilled simply to have the boat.  But by the second year, as I began to take more care about making things "shipshape," those old lifelines had become an embarrassing eyesore.

The plastic coating was yellowed, cracked in many places, and showing worrisome signs of rust.

  Last spring I stopped in at the Rigging Loft (a workshop in nearby Fairhaven, MA) to ask about the cost of replacing the lifelines, but "sticker-shock" at the estimate sent me running humbly for home.   This winter, I came across an article in the January 2016 edition of SAIL magazine, featuring a DIY job: "New Life for Old Lifelines."

So, as part of my spring preparations, I got to work.  First, using a utility knife, I cut into the plastic coating.

Then, with the help of a pair of needle-nose pliers, I tediously stripped the old plastic coating off both lifelines.

This job took about an hour for each 20' lifeline, although I got a bit more efficient at cutting and stripping as the work progressed.

Then I coiled the lines, secured them with zip-ties, put them to soak overnight in a closed-lid plastic bin filled with a gallon of Osphro rust treatment.

The next morning, I scrubbed the lines and fittings with a wire brush before rinsing them thoroughly with fresh water.  I can't say they came out as shiny as those pictured in the magazine article, but they did look surprisingly good.

At very least, the lifelines won't be my main source of embarrassment this season, as I start cruising around.