Lesson 6 · 12 min
Falls and wire rope
How lifeboat falls are inspected, when they must be renewed, why end-for-ending stopped in 2008, and which terminations flags no longer accept.
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The 2-minute primer
New to this? These 6 cards explain the lesson in plain words. Go through them first and the lesson will make sense.
Primer done.
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1/6Picture this
The phone cable that frays at the bend
A phone charging cable rarely breaks in the middle. It frays where it bends at the plug, again and again, and the damage often starts inside where you can’t see it.
Lifeboat wires wear the same way, most of all where they bend over the wheels at the top of the davit.
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2/6The big idea
Look closely, replace in time
The falls are the steel wire ropes the boat hangs from. Salt water rusts them, and bending breaks the small wires one by one.
So they are inspected regularly, with extra care where they pass over the wheels. They are renewed when worn, and in any case at least every five years. Their ends need proper fittings.
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3/6Words you'll meet
Six words, in plain English
- Falls
- the steel wire ropes that hold the lifeboat while it is lowered and hoisted.
- Sheave
- a grooved wheel at the top of the davit that the wire runs over.
- End for ending
- turning a wire round so a less worn part does the hard work. No longer required.
- Termination
- the fitting that fixes the end of a wire to the boat or the winch.
- Bulldog grip
- a simple clamp on a wire rope, which some flag countries no longer accept on load-bearing ends.
- Kink
- a sharp bend or permanent twist that damages the rope for good.
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4/6Why it matters
When a fall parts, the boat falls
The whole boat hangs on the falls. In one accident, a forward wire parted while the boat was being hoisted after a drill, and the boat fell.
Old training material still says falls are turned end for end every 30 months. That rule ended in 2008. Today the rule is inspect and renew.
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5/6In this lesson
What you’ll be able to do
- Know the two triggers for renewing falls.
- Work out when a set of falls is due.
- Spot the signs of a worn wire.
- Know which end fittings are accepted, and which are not.
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6/6Quick check
When must falls in good condition be renewed?
Right: falls are renewed when worn, or after five years at the latest, whichever comes first.
In plain words
The falls are the steel wire ropes that hold the lifeboat. They run from the winch drum, over the sheaves at the top of the davit, down to the hooks on the boat. When the boat is lowered, its whole weight hangs on them.
Wire rope wears out from inside and outside. Salt water rusts it. Bending over the sheaves again and again breaks the small wires one by one. The worst damage is often where the wire sits on a sheave or enters a fitting, which is hard to see.
So the rule is simple. Look at the falls regularly, with extra care where they pass over the sheaves. Replace them when they are worn, and in any case at least every five years. The ends of the falls must be fixed with proper fittings, never with simple clamps.
Key points
- Falls are inspected periodically, with special regard to the areas passing through sheaves (SOLAS III/20.4, MSC.216(82)).
- Falls are renewed when they have deteriorated, or at intervals of not more than 5 years, whichever is earlier (SOLAS III/20.4).
- Turning falls end for end every 30 months stopped being a SOLAS requirement on 1 July 2008 (MSC.216(82)).
- Falls must be rotation-resistant and corrosion-resistant steel wire rope (LSA Code 6.1.2.3).
- The annual examination checks wires and sheaves for kinks and corrosion, and the lubrication of wires, sheaves and moving parts (MSC.402(96) §6.2.9).
- Bulldog grips are not acceptable as primary load-bearing terminations (Marshall Islands MN 2-011-37; Liberia SAF-005).
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In the rest of this lesson
- The detail
- Deep dive
- Try it: Check when your falls are due
- Quiz: 5 questions
- Ask our engineers about this lesson
Familiarisation training from Al Safwan Academy. Finishing a course shows completion of online familiarisation training: it is not an STCW, flag-approved or manufacturer qualification, and these courses don't replace that training. The manufacturer's manual and your flag's rules always come first.