measuring lifelines ?

[Brian Duff]

How do you measure for lifelines ?

by this I mean what format do you measure and record teh lengths to build to ?

I am in the habit of always pinning my tape (0") at one end pulpit, and then recording the distance to each relevant fitting- so that you might see - turnbuckle 0" at bow pulpit, 24'8" to single gateeye and pelican at lifeline gate stanchion, to 29' 10" at stern pulpit with toggle. or whatever.

Whats your usual way ? - I have run into some confusion as we don't own a swage machine ( hate the things , but I think one is on its way to my shop any day now) so we order them from other suppliers, and sometimes they come wrong.

I wanted to come up with a standard I could argue with !

lol

[Ian McColgin]

Isn't just the measure pin center to pin center the standard?

[Brian Duff]

ahh, but with lifelines you have to deal with bearing points-not pin centers, and then there are the gate eyes, pelican hooks and the like, so a side might have 3 or 4 very important measures. I bring all this up as part of a dispute with a supplier.

He agrees that my way of measuring is the standard, and that it was their mistake, but am I really right ?

this industry would be so much easier (perhaps less rewarding, but easier) if there were published standards of how to do all this stuff. The RA is great, but we need a real nuts and bolts manual similar to Nigel Calders book, even more technical. I guess I'd better get writing (yeah!)

so I am here hunting more input

[Matthew Sebring]

I've always measured from center of pin at turnbuckle (or what-have-you) to the bearing surface of the gate eye and then for the gate itself from bearing surface of one gate eye to the bearing surface of the gate eye or bail on the other side. Then when I make make it up I can clamp those gate eyes down on my table and then make up the gate assembly between them. In terms of a standard way to do it, I doubt there is one.

[Brian Duff]

What I am trying to get at is, do you list the measurements accumulation or for each section individually?

No joke, there seems to be no standards in our industry whatsoever, except maybe ABYC, but they don't really concern rigging , do they ?

I wonder if the eurpeons have any more regulation or standards we could work to ?


man

[Matthew Sebring]

No, I don't do a cumulative measurement, just the individual sections. Then I do and overall measurement basically to double check that I measured the sections correctly (that everything adds up).