New Life to Lifelines

I have cleaned the vinyl coating on the lifelines on my 42' (12.8m) Endeavor many times with different cleaning solutions and mediocre results. While surface dirt and stains were wiped away, they still appeared sun-damaged, yellowed and cracked. A friend soaked his boat’s lifelines in household bleach only to turn them purple. After trying other cleaning methods, he finally covered them with shroud covers (split plastic tubes). They looked better, but I found them to be unsafe when racing because they would spin in your hand when moving about the deck.

Replacement is pricey relative to the cost of painting the vinyl cover. Corrosion is the destructive enemy to stainless steel wire, especially on saltwater boats. When the vinyl cover cracks and splits, inspect the terminal fittings for corrosion. In this case, lifeline replacement is your only consideration. For vinyl covers that require a cosmetic uplift (faded or minor hairline cracks) painting may be a worthy option. [Ed: Plastic coatings are merely eyecandy. Better to replace these with plain stainless steel wire so you can monitor their condition.]

Step 1: Attach the lifelines from the bow pulpit to the companionway stanchion, skipping the other stanchions. This makes them easier to work with. Clean the vinyl cover with an Interlux 333 soaked rag wrapped around bronze wool. [Ed: don’t use steel wool breaks off in tiny shards that will rust and stain every area of the boat on which they settle.]

Step 2: Tape the swages and turnbuckles.

Step 3: Brush on Pettit EasyPoxy mixed with a little thinner. A small foam brush works best. Use sufficient thinner to eliminate brush strokes and attain a smooth finish. Let dry. Lightly sand with 220-grit paper or bronze wool. Apply a second coat, let dry and restring the lifelines. When my crew arrived for our first spring race, they thought I had purchased new lifelines.