Seems to me that there were/are a lot of catsailors who take serious risks by NOT using chicken lines. BAD on yer! Cost? Next to nothing but prevents most pitchpoles.
some boats don't lend themselves to chicken lines though.
hard to rig one on my boat because if you run even a line to the transom it isn't far enough back. If I am at the transom and am hooked to a chicken line tied there then when the bow dives I just get ground into the hull and I go over.
