Boating New Zealand - May 2018

20 Boating New Zealand

T

he seventh annual Tristram Marine Expo (

• 20 May) is set to be the biggest yet, with
  displays including the company’s complete
  range of boats, Enduro Trailers, Yamaha
  outboards and Mercury/MerCruiser engines.
  The state-of-the-art production plant in Hamilton
  will be open for tours, giving the public the opportunity
  to gain insight into what’s ‘beneath the skin’ of each
  Tristram boat.
  “The in-house experience ofers boating enthusiasts
  a transparent view into our production line, our brand
  philosophies and our culture – an experience that’s
  dicult to ofer at a boat show,” says Tristram Marine’s
  Business Development Manager, Tristram Fink.
  For more information call 07-849-5225 or
  email [email protected].

TRISTRAM’S

7TH EXPO

BOATWORLDBOATWORLDBOATWORLDBOATWORLD

T

he reliability of a safety harnesses has come under

scrutiny following a man overboard fatality in

November last year, during the Clipper Round the

World Yacht Race.

The incident – where crew member, Simon Speirs fell

overboard from the yacht CV30 – is being investigated by the

UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch.

Spiers was participating in the third leg of the Race –

between Cape Town and Fremantle – and was attached to the

yacht by his safety harness tether. The hook at the end of the

tether was clipped to a jack-line, but deformed under load and

released, resulting in him falling overboard. He was recovered

unconscious but could not be resuscitated.

INITIAL FINDINGS

Speirs was using a three-point webbing tether. The hook at the

end of the tether became caught under a deck cleat (Figure 1),

resulting in a lateral loading that distorted the hook to (Figure

2), causing it to release.

The harness tether was certified under ISO

(Small craft – Deck safety harness and safety line – Safety

requirements and test methods), the international standard

applicable to this equipment.

The standard assumes the tether and its hooks will be

loaded longitudinally rather than laterally. When loaded

longitudinally, the tether can withstand a load of over 1 tonne.

But when loaded laterally it will deform at much less load.

It is important that tether hooks remain clear of obstructions

and are free to rotate to align the load longitudinally.

For more information visit http://www.gov.uk/maib.

SAFETY

HARNESS

GREMLIN

FIGURE 1

FIGURE 2