A Source of Dead- eyes

brokethebox

brokethebox

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Good morning ladies and gentlemen,

I'd like to replace the bottlescrews on my Nobby with dead-eyes, both for aesthetic purposes and the more gentle motion on our masts.

Is this 1) sensible, and 2)possible?

I cant seem to find any source on the web and as they're traditionally made of lignum vitae and this is very difficult to get a hold of and then to work with, i am again looking for some advice from you guys.

What to do?

Much appreciated,

James
 
some good info and pics from another site about dyneema and deadeyes.

http://www.diy-boat.com/solution-center/2010/09/primer-synthetic-rigging/



This stuff from Colligo is quality but expensive.

http://www.colligomarine.com/Colligo-Synthetic-Systems/Distributors.htm

I suppose it might be possible to make the deadeyes from steel blocks, but they would need a lot of filing and smoothing to make the leads fair, unless you use a CNC lathe.


I suspect that lignum vitae is not suitable for use in small sizes; a block I have at home is about 8 inches across.
 
Any close-grained hardwood should be up to the task so long as the deadeyes are properly shaped , the loads are purely compressive so as long as the grain is running roughly the right direction they should be OK. Once the rigging is set up there's no friction so they won't wear out in a hurry.
 
Unfortunately tufnol dust is pretty carcinogenic, lignum can be bought in a variety of sizes. HWMBO has a number of different sized billets some bought from Axminster tools IMHO it turns really well like wax and doesn't appear to over heat
if you have a lathe and the right attachments don't see why you shouldn't make them your own alternatively you use ts rigging in Maldon www.tsrigging.co.uk/traditional_standing_rigging.asp
 
Evening, folks

Many thanks for the info. I'll try all avenues! I think i'd rather 'real' ones than more modern equivalents.

Thanks Ken, i'll have a think about that. You might not remember me, but i remember eating an awful lot of seafood and drinking even more rioja in a La Coruna bar a few years ago with you.

And to Antarcticpilot, why morgues? i'm intrigued...

James
 
brokethebox said:
Evening, folks

Many thanks for the info. I'll try all avenues! I think i'd rather 'real' ones than more modern equivalents.

Thanks Ken, i'll have a think about that. You might not remember me, but i remember eating an awful lot of seafood and drinking even more rioja in a La Coruna bar a few years ago with you.

James
Click to expand...

I certainly remember the occasion, November 2005 I think?
 
Make your own . . .

Not at all difficult and you can make them to exactly the right size. I made mine out of Apepe (a lump left in the bilge when I bought Talisman).
The plan was not to use steel bound eyes but to use wire bound. The eyes were cut to a rough tear drop shape and then smoothed and drilled to take the rope (10mm braid on braid).
I then bound them in served galvanized wire, using a good number of "frapping" turns to close the wire up tightly around the eye.

So in the end I have a shackle to attach to the chain plate, then a hard eye to a short length of served wire then the dead eye. The fall of the haliard has the same arrangement, Galv' wire served about the dead eye then the two are hauled in close. I found that a good dollop of Lanolin helps with the friction load as you haul the strop in tight.

Feel free to PM me if you want more info,

Simes
 
I have used dead-eyes now for many years and on several boats. They work and are much more gentle on a wooden hull than over tightened bottle screws. But, there are a few things you should think about before making the change. If you have an alu mast it is not made to bend very much and depends on a pretty tight rig to stay up there. Wooden masts are no problem. If you make your own dead-eyes make sure the fairings for the lanyards are VERY WELL ROUNDED. There will always be a little "working" on the lanyards and if not well faired you will get some ugly surprises. Also do lash the standing legs together in pairs. This gives you a little more time to respond should the poodle manage to wee in the fan again. If done with nylon line these lashings will also act as schock absorbers as she rolls. Do not over tighten the dead-eyes. I haqve seen so many boats distorted by this it is not even funny. A wooden boat will give and if you do over tighten after a while the lanyards will be slack again so you tighten again etc until your lovely boat starts to look like an hour glass. I can rant for hours but that should get you started and avoid the biggest worries. BTW traditional way of tightening was with a block and tackle.... like a gun tackle lashed to the shroud being worked on. Good luck and keep us posted on how this works out.
 
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