Harnesses: Information from Answers.com Mobile

Harnesses

Better not to go over the side in the first place
A harness is a webbed Dacron belt that fits closely around your chest and over your shoulders. It clips to a tether attached to the boat in such a way that if you fall overboard, you’ll be dragged with your head clear of the water.A better use for a harness is to prevent your going over the side in the first place. This could be managed with a short tether attached to a jackline or separate fittings on the fore-and-aft center-line of the boat, but there is usually gear and equipment that gets in the way.If you choose to use jacklines running along the port and starboard decks, close to the cabintop (as most people do), be sure to end them 5 or 6 feet forward of the transom. Then, if you fall in the water, you will be towed alongside, not clear astern—that makes it much easier to get back on board.Harnesses should be worn at the first sign of bad weather but usually are not; too often, the dangerous business of shortening sail in a sudden squall is accomplished without the security of a harness.In bad weather at sea, especially at night, clip your harness to a strong fitting in the cockpit before you emerge totally from the companionway; that way, a boarding sea cannot wash you overboard before you have found your bearings.Never clip your harness to the lifelines—they are not designed to take the sudden strain.

Top: Clipping a tether to a jack-line. The other end of the tether is clipped to the harness with a carabiner. Above: An inflatable life vest with built-in harness.

It’s important to be able to release your tether at the snap shackle on your chest; otherwise, you can become trapped underwater in the cockpit if the boat capsizes and stays inverted for any length of time. Test your snap shackles under tension to be sure you can open them; a short lanyard on the snap shackle’s release ring will help. A carabiner hook is not an acceptable means of attaching your tether to your harness because it cannot be released under tension.The chest strap of the harness should fit about 1 to 2 inches (25 to 50 mm) below the armpits. Women should choose harnesses carefully, and not wear those with chest straps below the bust. If you fall overboard, the harness pulls upward with a tremendous jerk as you reach the end of your tether.Some inflatable life preservers have integral harnesses, as do some foul-weather jackets, which is an excellent idea because it ensures that the harness is available at the approach of bad weather.See also Accidents on Board; Foul-Weather Gear; Jacklines.