It's a weird thing but so far in the UK, I haven't seen a single seat belt fitted or used.... in fact of the yachts I've seen most don't even have the mountings apart from Blokarts and X-sails and the belt is the lumpy thing you sit on. I've had to add brackets to mine to take a belt as there has never been any, ever. I think you can read that one of two ways as a statement about the British mentality

Cheers Col

colk2004 said...

It's a weird thing but so far in the UK, I haven't seen a single seat belt fitted or used.... in fact of the yachts I've seen most don't even have the mountings apart from Blokarts and X-sails and the belt is the lumpy thing you sit on. I've had to add brackets to mine to take a belt as there has never been any, ever. I think you can read that one of two ways as a statement about the British mentality

Cheers Col

the europeans dont use belts, its not just the poms.
there have been instances where yachts racing have gone into the surf with the pilot unconcious.
personally i reckon your mad not to have one.
but when i discussed it with frogy, he said the french didnt have belts only because they diddnt like being restricted by rules.
that night I fitted a belt to my promo, and being happily secured I picked up a few places in the racing.
it takes your mind off the capsize, especially in an open yacht. the sliding down the belt thing can happen, so try not to have a head on ,try to steer away. I would recommend having the belt snug not loose. I have noticed some blokarters have it loose so they can hike outboard.
many years ago I had the belt really loose, span out on a wet patch and shot out the back of the yacht, and my feet snagged the belt as the yacht span.
I still have the scars today, almost a square foot of skin off , down to the spine in one spot.4weeks lying on my stomach.
although I recall a friend being rather nice about changing the dressing every couple of days
I would also suggest that when designing your foot pedals,or even had steering make it so it will collapse under impact, perhpas an incompplete weldor a lighter gauge tube, or a few holes drilled in the arms to provide a fail point

I have recently fitted a Blokart seatbelt to my Class5. Best I have seen yet. All stainless steel. No plastic bits. Quick release mechanism. Perfect for the job. Most car seatbelts rust out after a short while and jam. Go see your local Blokart dealer and order one. It may save your ass one day.

One thing that is important with seat belts is that you a need to be able to open it when you are hanging in it, I used one a couple of years ago that would not open when I was suppended in it. If I had not managed to get the weight of it I think I would still be hanging there

I know that I have posted this before, but with many new people building yachts its a story that needs to be told....

While the thoughts are there on the subject of safety ...."Seatbelts".
Many years ago I saw a very nasty situation with a 2 seater yacht at Goolwa beach.
The yacht was a "Freeflight Manta" sailing along the beach with 2 people with a basic knowledge of landyachting .. and doing the right thing of wearing helmets and seatbelts.
The yacht flipped over just below the point the the water was coming up to,
Now the buckles of the seatbelts were between the 2 people so when the yacht was on the side the top person was suspended by the belt forcing their body weight down blocking the release of either of the buckles.
It was all a bit of a laugh for a while with others helping...it got VERY serious when a wave rolled in over the yacht trapping the bottom person under water for what must have seemed an eternity for them.
The lesson learnt VERY rapidly was make sure you can release the buckle by yourself while being suspended by that belt......
If they hadn't been sailing with many other people around im sure it would have been fatal.
I have seen some idiots that use sailing snap hooks or a climbing carabina as the buckle.
If a yacht is on its side you will need 3 people to lift a 80-90kg person to release a jambed buckle...

PLEASE REMEMBER THIS..... IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE


www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Land-Yacht-Sailing/Construction/Seat-Belts/

landyacht said...

my main concern with that type is that you can catch the sheetrope on the latch and it undoes without you knowing . it has happened twice to me and I only have about 3-4hrs sailing in one.
dont know if its happened to others

Aircraft setbelts are similar looking as far as the release part goes. I had them on my LLM, and had them 'rope release' at least once per trip... I've gone to automotive seatbelts now.

I dont think you could just step out on a salt lake, Well not if you want any skin left. I guess sailing on beaches would not have the same issues and I can understand the risk where water is concernered.

In my new mini I actually capsized!yet to capsize the green arrow.
basically I was heading upwind for another broad reach and sailed over a wetspot on the salt.
after only a quick 180 spin i came out onto dry salt , the tyres gripped and over she went .the yellow skidmark from my new paint job was nearly 10m long and the gps showed 74kph to 0kph. I wore right into the 3rd ply of 5 and the glass on the outside, so it was seatbelt moment for me.
definitely a horses for courses kind of issue

its not as easy as you think to sail into deep enough water to get into trouble.
Ive even sailed out till I float, then tack using the surf and front wheel as a rudder, then sailed back out.
given the choice on a beach Id use a belt.
inevitably I will forget my lessons, not do up the belt,and pay the price. once when sliding across the sail on exiting a mini without choice, I managed to make about 10 holes in the sail.

This is why I think belts are skin savers, look at the last few frames

landyacht said...

my main concern with that type is that you can catch the sheetrope on the latch and it undoes without you knowing . it has happened twice to me and I only have about 3-4hrs sailing in one.
dont know if its happened to others

Fair comment. Could do with a bit more tension on the spring. I have added a rubber band over the latch cut from a bicycle tube. Adds just enough extra tension to stop accidental opening but is still easy to open with two fingers.

Clemco said...

landyacht said...

my main concern with that type is that you can catch the sheetrope on the latch and it undoes without you knowing . it has happened twice to me and I only have about 3-4hrs sailing in one.
dont know if its happened to others

Fair comment. Could do with a bit more tension on the spring. I have added a rubber band over the latch cut from a bicycle tube. Adds just enough extra tension to stop accidental opening but is still easy to open with two fingers.

thats a great idea, but does suggest that it is a alternative to something better.
I always try to use car buckles tthat have a latch parallel to the belt as opposed to those that press in from the top . they seem to last longer, any problemsat all dispose of bucke and belt.that type do open when under tension, unlike the front latch type