# The Fishing Vessels (Life-Saving Appliances) Regulations 1988, Paragraph 4


Weak Link
4.1 Construction and Materials
A weak link used in the float free arrangements shall—
.1 be made from a material which is corrosion resistant and not affected by seawater, oil or detergent;
.2 when made of cordage have the ends either whipped or heat treated;
.3 when made from a flexible wire have each end looped around a thimble and secured with a locking ferrule.
4.2 Performance
A weak link shall be of sufficient strength to—
.1 pull the painter out of the liferaft container;
.2 operate the liferaft inflation system;
.3 break under a tensile force of between 1.8 and 2.6 kN.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1988/38/schedule/3/paragraph/4 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/fishing-vessels-life-saving-appliances-regulations-1988/schedule-3/paragraph-4
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.