GHA
Well-Known Member
Can't remember which stopper knot was used, Dyneema can creep through most knots, might have been one of the few specifically for dyneema. Industrial applications sometimes encase the knot in epoxy as well.
Braid on Braid for furler
- Thread starter LadyInBed
- Start date
mikegunn
Well-Known Member
Any braid on braid will do. On my previous 12 metre boat I had Hood furling gear. Hood advocated the use of 8mm diameter braid on braid furling line, twice boat length and the removal of 1/3 of its core. The boat’s builder had failed to remove the core. As a result I suffered from several jamming incidents where turns had collapsed. Once I had realised the cause and rectified the error I never had a reoccurrence of the problem. I’ve since similarly modified the furling line on my current boat, also 12 metre and found a considerable improvement in ease of handling.
Mike
LadyInBed
Well-Known Member
I've been thinking about dyneema stoppers - how about using a Wall and Crown Stopper?
Wall & Crown Knot
Turn the Dyneema into 3 strand by cutting off a foot length and insert it through the Dyneema line six inches back from the bitter end, giving you three six inch tails to form the Wall and Crown Stopper.
vyv_cox
Well-Known Member
I have used the same length of 8 mm braid on braid for many years now. If I call it 'Greek rope', people who sail in Greece will know exactly what I mean. It is sold in all hardware shops, where you measure out the length you need, bundle it up and it is priced by weight. Cheap as chips and definitely nothing special.
We have done our fair share of beating with a furled genoa but never had any problem with the furling line.
We have done our fair share of beating with a furled genoa but never had any problem with the furling line.
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC
Well-Known Member
Some ropes are better than others for furling line. Some ropes "dig in" the drum and you end up with a knotted mess, especially when windy under load. I am in favour of Post #17, where the core is removed, making a flat line.
gregcope
Well-Known Member
On our last boat, a contessa 32, the core was stripped from the end. This saved considerable bulk on the roller. It worked well.
thinwater
Well-Known Member
With polyester DB 50% of the strength is in the cover.
IMO, if polyester (webbing or rope) is not strong enough (while still in good shape--furler lines do not last forever) the problem is that the drum is not big enough.
If the line is suffering from chafe (the cause of virtually all failures) then something in the installation is incorrect. Fix it. Also, coating the vulnerable section with Yale Maxijacket will increase the abrasion resistance of polyester by about 10 times, to about that of Dyneema. I've tested it, side-by-side, and surprisingly, yes it does.
Neeves
Well-Known Member
Unless the yacht is 50' of more then the furling line is commonly chosen, or adapted, to be comfortable to handle and the whole line is way over strength - so the fact that 50% of the strength is in the cover should not be relevant as long as you can still handle it (and I assume you leave the cover on where the rope is not on the drum). If the drum is not big enough then to me removing the core seems a very cheap and sensible fix - the 'rope' will then lie flat, you are left with a full tail (easy to handle).
What's not to like.
Furling lines should not be suffering abrasion (or they will be more difficult to handle) - they are hardly complex, no 'corners' and should be easy to adjust to get a 'clean' run.
Sometimes answers or recommendations seem desperately over complicated or expensive .
Jonathan
gregcope
Well-Known Member
When removing the core, this is the part that js exposed when the sail is fully furled. This gets coiled onto the furler when the sail is first unfurled.
When furling a sail from fully out, the furler has line that still has the core, so no strength impack till you get to partially furled.
Most stress is when furling a sail in strong wind (for given sail size).
As others have said, the furling lines on most yachts are well over speced as they are sized for easily handling over required strength.
Considering out contessa was sailed hard by the previous owner, i very much doubt he would have stuck to a problematic system.
When furling a sail from fully out, the furler has line that still has the core, so no strength impack till you get to partially furled.
Most stress is when furling a sail in strong wind (for given sail size).
As others have said, the furling lines on most yachts are well over speced as they are sized for easily handling over required strength.
Considering out contessa was sailed hard by the previous owner, i very much doubt he would have stuck to a problematic system.