Sailboat Magazinevideo
🧐 You Tell Me! Solid Or Cable Lifelines!? Bulwarks Or Toerails?
13 August 2025 · 7 min · 733 views · La Paz
What this video covers
The owner of a cruising yacht in La Paz, Mexico, is replacing coated cable lifelines with solid stainless steel tubing from the gate aft to the aft pulpit.0:53 Coated cables hide internal corrosion, prompting the switch to solid tubing for increased reliability and safety.0:55 The boat features robust, through-bolted aluminium stanchion bases secured with four bolts into the bulwarks, which will be retained and rebuilt by a local welder.1:56 The project emphasises the philosophy that lifelines must be dependable, rather than merely decorative.3:11 Additionally, the owner compares bulwarks to aluminium toerails, noting that while bulwarks provide a superior foot brace for safety, they require scuppers for deck drainage and often feature high-maintenance wooden cap rails.5:03 Aluminium toerails offer lower maintenance and integrated tie-down points but lack the physical barrier height of a bulwark.6:13 The owner concludes that the safety benefits of bulwarks outweigh the convenience of aluminium toerails for ocean voyaging.6:15
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