I met a guy on the dry lake a while ago. He told me his friend broke some ribs in a violent crash. The guy hit something head on, and his body slid under the seatbelt (enormous beer guts might save you from this), and mashed his torso under the belt, busting the ribs.
My new friend said the guy made straps like this to keep him in place. They simply loop over the seatbelt at it's lowest point, then go around your leg, and back through the belt on top. They might also keep one's tackle from meeting the mast base or foot pedals (mini or CL-5) in the same kind of wreck.
I wouldn't recommend this for beach use; if ya flipped in the water, these things will take a bit longer to get out of
Make/use them as you see fit. I'm just passing the info along.......
It's a weird thing but so far in the UK, I haven't seen a single seat belt fitted or used.... in fact of the yachts I've seen most don't even have the mountings apart from Blokarts and X-sails and the belt is the lumpy thing you sit on. I've had to add brackets to mine to take a belt as there has never been any, ever. I think you can read that one of two ways as a statement about the British mentality
Cheers Col
Dang! John, Is he playing "The Nut Cracker Suit" or what?? I'd be wearing a Cricketers Box/Nut Guard/ Groin Protector were I sailing that unit.
Is that your Beast?? I was just looking at how the Seat Belt is mounted and though it would effective I think if you Drop your LLM on it's side you will more than likely pull the side of the seat in. I'd be looking at a way of bringing the belt through nearer the floor, probably directly above the mount if possible.
Ron
I suppose some of the difference is type of yacht as well. When I watch Mike Bawden and Martyn Macdonald come flying past me like I'm standing still I can only see the tops of their heads above the 'tub' in their Class5 OTT's the thing I'm building is like being sat on a very exposed plank! I've put on seat belt mounts, and got a commercial airliner lap belt off fleabay - especially after hearing some of the tales of dislocated shoulders, the tide coming in at Hoylake during races etc, etc. I'm also looking at some sort of webbing loop off the mast step backwards just to catch my legs if I tip as I don't fancy a leg suddenly getting caught and going into reverse at 40mph Steering was a bit of steel tube welded up completely but is now a slightly modified 'Pacific Magic' (as is everything I've had to make) version with ally tubes so can slide together - sort of a North Sea Ju-JU
Cheers Col
I have recently fitted a Blokart seatbelt to my Class5. Best I have seen yet. All stainless steel. No plastic bits. Quick release mechanism. Perfect for the job. Most car seatbelts rust out after a short while and jam. Go see your local Blokart dealer and order one. It may save your ass one day.
my main concern with that type is that you can catch the sheetrope on the latch and it undoes without you knowing . it has happened twice to me and I only have about 3-4hrs sailing in one.
dont know if its happened to others
One thing that is important with seat belts is that you a need to be able to open it when you are hanging in it, I used one a couple of years ago that would not open when I was suppended in it. If I had not managed to get the weight of it I think I would still be hanging there
Yeah! Guys,
I am using Auto Seat Belts and they are tending to bind up with sand 'n' muck. Been thinking of replacing the belt with Bailing Twine and a Reef knot.
Finding a belt for all occasions is a bit of a bother and I doubt the wisdom of a silicone spray or oils in such a unit.
Ron
I know that I have posted this before, but with many new people building yachts its a story that needs to be told....
While the thoughts are there on the subject of safety ...."Seatbelts".
Many years ago I saw a very nasty situation with a 2 seater yacht at Goolwa beach.
The yacht was a "Freeflight Manta" sailing along the beach with 2 people with a basic knowledge of landyachting .. and doing the right thing of wearing helmets and seatbelts.
The yacht flipped over just below the point the the water was coming up to,
Now the buckles of the seatbelts were between the 2 people so when the yacht was on the side the top person was suspended by the belt forcing their body weight down blocking the release of either of the buckles.
It was all a bit of a laugh for a while with others helping...it got VERY serious when a wave rolled in over the yacht trapping the bottom person under water for what must have seemed an eternity for them.
The lesson learnt VERY rapidly was make sure you can release the buckle by yourself while being suspended by that belt......
If they hadn't been sailing with many other people around im sure it would have been fatal.
I have seen some idiots that use sailing snap hooks or a climbing carabina as the buckle.
If a yacht is on its side you will need 3 people to lift a 80-90kg person to release a jambed buckle...
PLEASE REMEMBER THIS..... IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Land-Yacht-Sailing/Construction/Seat-Belts/
We dont use seat belts on minis here as most designs allow you to just step out as you go over ! No seat around the mast step or mast support to worry about , also yes we do have water too !
I dont think you could just step out on a salt lake, Well not if you want any skin left. I guess sailing on beaches would not have the same issues and I can understand the risk where water is concernered.
Stepping out would seem OK if you are just puttering about but on a Salt Lake or Tarmac at better than 50k would be very interesting indeed let alone 100K plus 
to say the least and I would think "A World of Pain" as well.
Ron
In my new mini I actually capsized!yet to capsize the green arrow.
basically I was heading upwind for another broad reach and sailed over a wetspot on the salt.
after only a quick 180 spin i came out onto dry salt , the tyres gripped and over she went .the yellow skidmark from my new paint job was nearly 10m long and the gps showed 74kph to 0kph. I wore right into the 3rd ply of 5 and the glass on the outside, so it was seatbelt moment for me.
definitely a horses for courses kind of issue
The seat belt seems very logical.
I was relaying this thread to a mate, (who insists that if i ever get my yacht moving he want's the second build), and he sugested that in situations close to water it might be worth some type of quick release on a grab rope that releases the seatbelt from the mounting. Seems like a good idea!
its not as easy as you think to sail into deep enough water to get into trouble.
Ive even sailed out till I float, then tack using the surf and front wheel as a rudder, then sailed back out.
given the choice on a beach Id use a belt.
inevitably I will forget my lessons, not do up the belt,and pay the price. once when sliding across the sail on exiting a mini without choice, I managed to make about 10 holes in the sail.
I agree, I think think I too would fit a seat belt if I was using a dry lake or Tarmac.
However while we have hundreds and hundreds of fantastic lake beds here in Ireand regretfully they are all full of water !
24/7 shopping rules out the tarmac too , so back to the beach, just as well we have plenty of them ! LoL!
Here is what happens without a seat belt on the beach -
Getting piched out and run over by another yacht wouldnt be fun either
Keeping everything inside the triangle seems the safest to me that means seatbelts
[and footwells ]
Yeah! Clem',
I was thinking something like that and what you have demonstrated would also suggest a fair amount of Rope Exclusion from the Buckle as well.
Ron
