A lanyard is a short length of line used to secure a small item so it cannot be lost, or to make an adjustable fastening between two fittings. On a modern yacht the word covers everything from the cord on a rigging knife to the lashing that tensions a lifeline, and historically it named the rope rove through deadeyes to set up the shrouds. The beginner needs to know one thing: anything that can go over the side, will, unless it is on a lanyard. The experienced sailor adds that a lanyard is also a load-bearing component in its own right when it is used as a lashing, and that a modern Dyneema® lanyard can carry more than the shackle it replaces if it is made up properly.
Everyday Lanyards on Deck
Most lanyards are humble. A knife, a shackle key, a spanner for the outboard, the winch handle, a torch, the deck fill key, a pair of reading glasses – each earns a lanyard the first time you watch its predecessor sink. Good practice is to make the lanyard long enough to use the tool without unclipping it, and to attach it with a small snap shackle or a loop that goes over the wrist, not a fixed tie to the harness that could snag you. Whistles on lifejackets, the kill-cord on an outboard, and the dinghy’s drain bung are all lanyard applications where the lanyard is part of the safety equipment, not an afterthought.
Lanyards as Lashings
The second meaning is older and more structural. A lashing lanyard is a length of small line passed several times between two eyes or thimbles and then frapped or hitched off, creating a purchase that can be tensioned by hand and adjusted at will. Square-riggers set up their standing rigging this way, with tarred hemp lanyards rove through pairs of deadeyes. The principle has come back into fashion with modern fibre:
- Lifelines: the aft end of a wire or Dyneema lifeline is often tensioned with a lashing lanyard to the pushpit, replacing a pelican hook or turnbuckle and adding a point that can be cut away in an emergency.
- Soft shackles and loops: a Dyneema lanyard spliced into a loop takes the place of a metal shackle at a block or sail corner, saving weight and eliminating a hard fitting that could crack a laminated sail.
- Dinghy rigs: many dinghies tension their shrouds or vang with lashing lanyards in place of adjusters.
- Furling drums and tack fittings: a short lanyard between the drum and the tack ring lets the sailmaker set the correct foot height above the deck.
The Sailmaker’s Lanyards
Sailmakers use lanyards constantly. The clew of a reefed mainsail is often held down with a lanyard rather than a hook, the tack of a genoa is frequently set on a short lanyard to clear the pulpit, and the head of a furling sail may need a pennant – a lanyard by another name – so the halyard swivel sits at the right height to avoid halyard wrap. On a headsail, the luff tension of a hank-on sail can be fine-tuned with a lanyard at the tack. A well-made sail lanyard is spliced, not knotted, because a knot weakens line by up to half and creates a lump that chafes the sail; a splice keeps nearly full strength and lies flat. Where a lanyard bears on a sail, it should pass through a thimble or a webbing loop, never straight through a ring in the cloth.
Making a Good Lanyard
- Choose the line for the job. Polyester braid for tool lanyards, where a little stretch is fine. Dyneema for anything structural, because it does not stretch or creep noticeably at normal loads and is easy to splice.
- Finish it properly. Splice eyes where you can. Where you must knot, a double fisherman’s bend or a buntline hitch holds in slippery modern line where a bowline may not.
- Protect it from chafe. A lanyard that runs over an edge needs a cover or a thimble. Dyneema is very strong but not very abrasion-resistant against sharp metal.
Frequently Asked Questions about Lanyards
Should a lanyard be attached to me or to the boat?
Tools go on you, on a wrist loop or a clip you can release quickly. Your tether goes to the boat. Never tie a tool lanyard directly to your harness, where it could foul the tether or trap you under a boom.
How strong is a Dyneema lashing lanyard?
Each pass adds a leg, so a lashing with six passes of 4 mm Dyneema (roughly 1,500 kg breaking load per leg) has a nominal strength well over the fitting it is attached to. Knots and sharp bends reduce that considerably, so splice where possible and use thimbles.
A lanyard is the smallest piece of rope on the boat and the one most likely to save you a swim, a tool or a sail. Put one on anything that matters, make it up properly, and check it as you check everything else.