New Hiking Strap?

S

slalomskier

New Member
First, is it legal to have a double hiking strap, like on a star boat, in which the (star crew, but laser skipper) would put his/her feet inside, so they could turn and tack while always being engaged to a hiking strap. I tried it on my laser, and i found that i could tack and go right into a full hike withought even thinking of putting my feet under a strap. It allowed me to jump over to the other side in a full hike. Also, in roll tacks in light to medium air, it allowed me to do some quick flattening. Also, is it safe to always be hooked in, especialy if you capsize.
 
I wouldn't want to have to think about tangled feet/hiking strap when deathrolled. I don't have gills so getting head out of water is pretty important to me.
 
slalomskier said:
Also, is it safe to always be hooked in, especialy if you capsize.
Click to expand...

Absolutely not. Some people won't even put cleats on their boats for fear of not being able to release quickly enough, so feet hooked in sounds really bad.
 
slalomskier said:
Also, is it safe to always be hooked in, especialy if you capsize.
Click to expand...

Defenitely wouldn't be safe, sounds like crewing on a soling to me... But in all seriousness, I have been really close to drowning twice, add the being hooked in effect and I prolly woulda died.
 
I don't know, sounds like a good idea as long as you kept them loose enough to be able to slip out, or put some sort of release mechanism on them both.
 
I found that if i did capsize, they did come off. I dissabled the bunge cord so that if i am not hiking, the two sides seperate, and it is easy to come out. I think that for heavy winds and high chop, they may be a bad idea for saftey, but in 8-13 knots, they seemed fine. Then again, i weigh in at 230
 
i dont understand are we talking of having a harness with a hook on it to hold you in and how exactly is it set up.
 
This would not change the way you hike. It is just like having two straps sown together, to make an oval, and putting your feet in between. THis allows you to tack and immediately hike on the other side becasue you would already be in the strap.
 
Is it worth the effort,what's the benefit,can't really see the difference in having the single strap to two straps,i automatically hook my feet under anyhow and having missed the strap in umpteen years of sailing......
 
The beginning of the thread was a question.>>>

"First, is it legal to have a double hiking strap...?"

The answer:

No
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top