we used these on drops on the cross channel ferrys for yrs n yrs…seen many a smacked face and arm useing them …(was AB for yrs,including 5 yrs on european clearway)
bernie
bernie:
we used these on drops on the cross channel ferrys for yrs n yrs…seen many a smacked face and arm useing them …(was AB for yrs,including 5 yrs on european clearway)bernie
You want to see them new fangled things that Cobelfret use, they have an air operated wrench to tighten the chains now.
The next thing they will make you remove your shoes in the drivers room and wear slippers 
jj72:
horrible archaic poxy things - outlaw them soon as possible, it’s only the old ■■■■■ who want to keep them, along with their bib and brace overalls, flat caps and steam driven wagons
Fer gawd’s sake, old ■■■■■? Anything else you want to ban? Everything that has ever been connected with injury or death when not used appropriately by an intelligent being. 
I have always been aware of the dangers of sylvesters, I didn’t need to be an expert or learn from the older drivers - it was obvious from the start. So I always kept my face out of the way of its arc and, although did use a tube, included that in the equation as well. You know when you are overtensioning because you can’t do it safely whereas a ratchet disguises the overstrain by its nature.
I have never been injured by a sylvester because I used my head for its primary purpose, to think, in the same way I use it to avoid banging into things with that other piece of dangerous equipment - motor vehicles, and avoid distraction by lunatic passengers or Jeremy Vine.
Its called common sense. 
We still use both ratchet type & spring type dogs I have to say I prefer using the spring type as they are faster to use & if you have a lot of unloading/loading in a day can save you quite a lot of time.
We dont use a scaffold bar for leverage though, we have a tube made that just fits over the end of the dog tighlty so has far less chance of flying off, although you still need to treat these tensioners with Caution.