Rigging

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Thu Mar 11, 2004 7:01 pm

Howdy Y'all,

Anyone know of a good site that covers things like rope to wire rigging, splicing, etc? I'll be buying the rigger's apprentice pretty soon, I'm just looking for some advance info to review.

Thanks!

Post by **Tim** » Sat Mar 13, 2004 7:58 am

New England Ropes has a decent site with splicing instructions for all the common types of line.

http://www.newenglandropes.com/splice/default.htm

Also, I can't think of a reason to use a wire-rope halyard anymore for most applications. Stay away from the wire and use just about any of the lines currently available. I used NER Sta-Set for my main halyard and Sta-Set X (somewhat lower stretch) for my jib halyard. There are plenty of lines that are ultra low stretch (such as NER T-900) if you need it, which used to be the argument for wire halyards. Wire halyards are going the way of cotton sails. Just ensure that your sheaves will properly fit the line. Most wire-rope sheaves will accommodate lines easily with no problem.

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Sat Mar 13, 2004 4:16 pm

Tim,
My sheeves only accomodate 1/4" line...is this a large enough diameter for a halyard? how much load does a sail put on the halyard? I'm not sure on the area of our sails offhand, but the main is probably 200 sq feet or so. Personally I'd love to go with all rope halyards...that was the original plan, in fact, until I realized just how small the masthead sheeves were.

Tony

Post by **Tim** » Sat Mar 13, 2004 5:53 pm

Check out the high-tech spectra lines, like the T-900 from NER or similar lines from other manufacturers. This stuff is strong, and low-stretch, and you could use 1/4" (or whatever in mm, as this line is measured) with no trouble--the breaking strength is high. This line is not cheap.

The biggest problem with small diameter lines is not their strength, but the fact that they are hard on the hands.

The Good Goose · Post by **The Good Goose** » Sat Mar 13, 2004 8:07 pm

Tony
Are you sure your sheaves only handle 1/4 inch line. Most wire/rope sheaves have two sizes an inner and an outer. If you currently have wire rope halyards your sheaves should be adequate to handle whatever size rope your halyards use now. 1/4 inch line is plenty strong but it could shred your hand fast. Unless this is a small boat I would want something larger. I also agree completely with Tims assesment of wire rope halyards obsolescence.

Good luck
Brock

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Sat Mar 13, 2004 8:32 pm

Brock
I've held the sheave in my hand (and lost one to deep blue, may I add, haven't gotten a replacement yet) and 1/4 is the largest the outer sheave supports. Anything larger, and the sheave causes compression of the fibers on the edges. I believe Royce calls it a "dull razor." I understand about the small size being harder to handle, if 1/4 will do it, I could always splice some larger line onto the end, say 3/8 or 5/16. I will look into the higher tech stuff but I don't know if my budget allows for it.

Figment · Post by **Figment** » Sun Mar 14, 2004 4:07 pm

Resist the urge to use an unsheathed spectra/vectran line. As far as handling goes, it might as well be barbed wire. I type with hands that learned the hard way.