Hi Tom,

The attached photo shows my homemade railings.  I built these myself back in 1988.  At the time, my 2 sons Daniel & Gary were 5 and 2 years old.  The optional lifelines available at the time were only 24 inches high, which I felt was too low.  They were more of a trip hazard than a safety feature.  My railings are 30 inches high.  In addition, in heavy weather, I rig 1/2" OD X 15' long double braid nylon jack lines down the port and starboard side decks.  The crew can clip the tether of the safety harness onto the jack line before leaving the cockpit and not have to reclip all the way to the bow or to the mast.  I used to sail a lot with my sons when they were little and the railings gave me peace of mind.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
1978  Sanford, MI
[cid:13675c1a-348e-4146-95c2-bd8f6cdf4527]

Foredeck Labeled.jpg

________________________________
From: Rhodes22-list <rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org> on behalf of Tom Hyatt via Rhodes22-list <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 9, 2024 10:09 AM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Side rails

I know this question has come up before but I would like to throw it out
there again.

How many Rhodes owners have some sort of side rail or line system to hold
onto when moving from the cockpit to the bow? Has that helped? Has it made
you feel more secure than just hanging onto the stays?

I've seen in some of Stan's writings where he has said that this would be
more of a danger than a help. A tripping hazard, I think he said.

I know that GB offers a rail system that they ( I think) installed onto the
later rebuilds that Stan did.

I'd be very interested to see what others have done on their own.

Tom Hyatt
S/V Eliza Jane 1978
Baltimore