Decided to make a new jib halyard. Old one frayed, have line and block and shackle, etc...went for it.

Here's how it turned out


Old one weighs 6.6oz, new one 2.7oz. The quarter pound will never amount to anything but 60% weight savings isn't bad at all. (actually the halyard shackle on the new one is the heaviest single part there; I bet its 2 of the 2.7 oz)

I spent the better part of 3 hours trying to bury the tail in the first brummel I made, and finally gave up and went to bed. The 2.75mm dyneema is just too small for any of the fids I have. It almost seemed like I could make it work with a large needle that I use to whip. This morning I remembered a post by mummp in which he said he just used some knitting needles. Looked up the post to make sure I wasn't crazy, then drove to Michael's and bought 8 different needles, 4 actually crochet needles, 4 knitting for around $12. I tried once with the line from last night, and realized it was hosed at this point so I started over.

With the crochet needles I knocked the whole thing out in no time...maybe an hour start to finish. Its almost amazing how easy it was.

Anyway, thanks mummp for the tip on the needles, and everyone else on all tips from the discussions of HM line lately.

--
Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
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Here are the two splices up close.


--
Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
--

Oh man that looks too sweet! I just ordered my new custom forestay (with pigtail and block swaged in at the top) for my roller furling rig and the line for the halyard. Thinking I should do something similar!

Good call about the crochet needles! Nice to get a set of fids for less than $20.



edited by: Wolfman, Jan 10, 2010 - 12:40 AM

--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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whats the black on the like with the block? dipping whip?

No, nothing that fancy, just heat-shrink. I wanted something to protect the eye from chafing on the block.

The edge of the heatshrink may chafe the line given enough time, or may just get torn up against the metal, but either way it took 1 minute to do and is certainly easy to inspect.

--
Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
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gotcha.

if it doesnt last .. use a thimble next time.. i can send you instructions on how to do a brummel around a thimble if you need/want

PS when you get real good at splicing.. you can use a piece of wire as your fid (i'm not that good)



edited by: andrewscott, Jan 11, 2010 - 09:29 AM

I've got little 1/8" ronstan thimbles, but that block is fixed, so there's no way to get a thimble onto it. I didn't want to add a shackle to the mix.

If I'd ordered parts specifically for this (instead of using what I already had) I'd have gone with a Ronstan RF35101, 30mm lashing block. I have two of the 20mm versions which I really like, but they are too small for this application, although they are the perfect size to splice onto this dyneema.

I have a ronstan 55 that has the dyneema link on it as well. I imagine any of the blocks like that in the 29 or 30 mm size (like the ti-lites) would work really well, as I could use the thimble on them. But, again, just used the block I had available.

...sucks, now that you got me thinking about it I really would like to use a lashing block there and I bet I order stuff from aps 4 more times between now and the start of sailing season. I wonder how many jib halyards I end up with.

--
Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
--

you can open up the thimble.. they are not welded/sealed shut. you can pry it open with a screwdriver or similar.. you can squeeze it back shut with pliers if you want..but a little opening/gap wont hurt either

oh right..

This is the style I have. I never thought about using the others for line instead of wire.

--
Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
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Couldn't resist:


I suppose this way if it frays I'll have an extra. I like this block better (30mm - same size), and with the thimble there's no worry of fraying on the shackle.

The shackle had some knicks in it which I lightly filed down, then covered w/ heat shrink to be sure....and then I remembered I had the thimble in the bottom of a toolbox somewhere, hence the total overkill.

--
Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
--