End-splicing braid on braid to dyneema?

[Ric]

I am installing an inner forestay on my boat. I will mount the sails on a cassette. In order to get enough tension on the luff, I am going to use a dyneema halyard and install a pulley at the head of the sail, doubling the halyard tension. The halyard will be lead back to a winch on the coaming.

This will mean that when the sail is hoisted, there will be a great deal of lazy and expensive 10mm dyneema coiled up in the cockpit. I am therefore wondering whether I can install just enough dyneema to reach back to the winch when the sail is hoisted, and then splice a braid on braid tail (maybe 8mm) to take up the work when I lower the sail. The 8mm would also take up a lot less room in the cockpit.

Anybody tried this?

 

[johnphilip]

back to back soft eye splices, or will it have to go through the sheeve/block.

 

[Ric]

Yes, it has to go through blocks. It needs to be an true end to end splice.

 

[gregcope]

You could put a soft eye splice, and remove the core to make it smaller, as you do not need the strength, and it will go through blocks easier due to reduced size.

Or, if you dyneema has a dyneema core, you could do a naked eye splice with the cover removed like this;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl8FBnBEZYM

There is a variant with a soft shackle in the end instead;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRKOkYqWpug

Not sure if that will fit through any blocks.

I have heard similar ideas for roller halyards, where they have are only long enough to get onto the winch, and need a smaller tail added to hoist.

 

[LadyInBed]

If there's no great tension on it, stuff the end of one into the end of the other and stich it!

 

[lw395]

Dyneema core is often used for continuous lines, it is easy to splice into braid-on braid.

 

[nigelmercier]

I would test it on a short length first. I was unable to do an eye splice in my Dyneema cored line, even a naked eye, it was too tight.

 

[PetiteFleur]

If there's no great tension on it, stuff the end of one into the end of the other and stich it!

That's what I did with my genoa furling genoa - 10mm for hoisting with an 8mm tail. I may also do the same with the main as I have just aquired a length of dyneema but it's a bit short without an extra length added.

 

[Neeves]

Use dyneema braided fishing line for the stitches. Do you really need 10mm dyneema for the halyard.

Jonathan

 

[Ric]

Thanks for the suggestions - in the end I went for full-length in 8mm and hopefully won't be too bulky when coiled in the cockpit.