Smooth Sailing - Equipment Review - Keyhole Trapeze Harness System

A recent return to dinghy sailing after an extended break has finally given me the chance to test a fairly new innovation in the dinghy world. For as long as trapezes have been have been a part of small boat sailing the Trapeze hooks, built into the harnesses worn by the sailors, have posed a threat to both man and boat.

The threat to man has been a lot more serious than many may have realised. A little less that a year ago a Tornado sailor lost his life during a regatta in Europe when his trapeze hook got caught up in the rigging of his boat during a capsize. He was not the first to die in this manner and others have come perilously close with some miraculous escapes and tragic deaths having been documented.

Following a trapeze hook related near death experience of a close friend, Australian skiff guru Julian Bethwaite, best known as the designer of the 49er and 29er, set about working out a safer trapeze system. The end result is a system, which employs a bobble on the end of the wire and a plate with a keyhole on the trapeze, hence the name, Keyhole Trapeze System. Most importantly there are no hooks sticking out to snag on ropes or rigging or to prod holes in the boat or foils during a capsize. As with all Bethwaite products the system is well designed and has clearly been through a rigorous testing program prior to it's being released.

The buckle that attaches to the harness is made in two versions, an aluminium one and a carbon fibre one. The carbon version is manufactured in Pretoria by Brian Lion-Cachet at Carbonology and it was through Brian that I was lucky enough to get my hands on the system to try out. Brian is in fact making the carbon buckles for the international market and has already exported consignments to Australia, Switzerland and the UK.

The Carbonology buckle attached to a nappy style skiff harness.

The buckle itself is a work of art with the outer layer in a carbon Kevlar weave giving it a very exotic and high tech look. It is very strong and solid whilst also being considerably lighter than the stainless steel spreader bar, which was originally in my harness. My harness is of the made to fit nappy type, not ideal for this buckle which looks like it was designed with the intention of it attaching to a set of straps on the harness. No problem for me though with the old spreader bar removed and the new buckle easily attached by Clyde at Texwise Natal. The buckle comes with two bobbles attached to a heat shrink covered wire strop. When playing with around with the parts, as one does, I had been a little concerned that the fit of the bobble into the keyhole was a little tight. When finally on the water this proved to be a completely unnecessary concern. While the technique is slightly different slipping the bobble into the keyhole is as easy as slipping the hook into the loop in the old system. Since I had always favoured the narrow loops in the old system I may have had to make less of an adjustment of technique than others used to the bigger loops but nonetheless I don't think that this should really be an issue for anyone. The bobbles and their pre-made strops worked perfectly and are easy to attach to any trapeze system. In the last two or three weeks I have used the system on two different boats and had no bother at all in moving the bobbles and strops from boat to boat.

The strop and bobble half of the system.

As an all round good idea and a downright safer way of going sailing I would recommend this system to everyone sailing trapeze boats. It is relatively cheap and easy to change to and offers a huge safety advantage over the previous system. The system will work on all trapeze boats from dinghies to cats.

For addition reading on and pictures of this system you can read all the background to the design on the Bethwaite Design web site at http://www.bethwaite.com/bethwaite/accessories/keyholetrap.html.

More importantly though, to order yours now contact Brian Lion-Cachet on 083 631 5387 or at blion@iafrica.com.

The complete system, including carbon buckle and two bobble systems retails for R480-00 and is available now.

All ready to go, the system set-up on the 29er shortly before a potent afternoon blast on Durban Harbour!