neatest end for DIY halyards?

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firstascent2002

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Hi guys,

I've bought a 100 m roll of marlow 12 mm braid on braid.

I want to replace 2 genoa sheets and one spinni halyard with it. It would be nice to splice a loop in the halyard end. Can this be done by the amature? anyone got a good link to a picture instruction?

Or should I just melt the ends and tie the shackle on with a bowline?

Jamie
 
firstascent2002 said:
Hi guys,

I've bought a 100 m roll of marlow 12 mm braid on braid.

I want to replace 2 genoa sheets and one spinni halyard with it. It would be nice to splice a loop in the halyard end. Can this be done by the amature? anyone got a good link to a picture instruction?

Or should I just melt the ends and tie the shackle on with a bowline?

Jamie
Click to expand...

You can do it if...

1) you are patient
2) you have strong fingers and a high pain threshold :)
3) you have the required fids

You can get the instructions from rope manufacturers' websites.

A neat strong alternative is a stitch and whipped eye. I've used this method and it has never failed.
 
A neat strong alternative is a stitch and whipped eye. I've used this method and it has never failed.
Click to expand...
That is what I would do/have done

I'd fit a thimble to make it a hard eye.

If you do opt to tie the shackle on directly you will find a " halyard knot" described on page 14 in THIS SELDEN GUIDE which is neater than a bowline and secures the shackle to the halyard
 
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I discovered how to do this on the Kipper's refit this summer. I got one of those gas powered soldering irons which also had a very small hot-knife blade. Heats up and cuts through beautifully, a fraction of the cost of a dedicated electric hot knife. The secret was to wait a while until it was very, very hot and then it cuts and seals the rope in a couple of seconds.
 
Making a neat spliced eye takes a lot of practice. Worth paying a rigger a fiver, and watch him do it You might get the urge to try it yourself. Or tie the shackle as VicS says.
 
Skysail said:
Making a neat spliced eye takes a lot of practice. Worth paying a rigger a fiver, and watch him do it
Click to expand...

I found a good video on Youtube and watched that. My splices looked OK from the first one. I agree it's more of a palaver than splicing three-strand, but it's really not the highly-skilled job it's made out to be.

Get some fids and get on with it.

Pete
 
It could be worth having a go on new rope. I've tried it, very unsucessfully, on old rope and I'm told that there is a problem once its lost its original lubricity. If it doesn't work, then a sewn and whipped eye works fine - I speak from sore-fingered experience.

Rob.
 
We spliced ours using online vids and printouts. try youtube and the rope manufacturers. It was a bit of getting used to but quite easy in the end. We bought some plastic fids, I think stainless would have been better. Needs a bit of stregth and a towbar to get the splice pulled back in to the cover but made a realy neat job
 
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Black Kipper said:
I discovered how to do this on the Kipper's refit this summer. I got one of those gas powered soldering irons which also had a very small hot-knife blade. Heats up and cuts through beautifully, a fraction of the cost of a dedicated electric hot knife. The secret was to wait a while until it was very, very hot and then it cuts and seals the rope in a couple of seconds.
Click to expand...
Real sailors are into whipping
whippy80.gif
:D
 
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firstascent2002 said:
Hi guys,

I've bought a 100 m roll of marlow 12 mm braid on braid.

I want to replace 2 genoa sheets and one spinni halyard with it. It would be nice to splice a loop in the halyard end. Can this be done by the amature? anyone got a good link to a picture instruction?

Or should I just melt the ends and tie the shackle on with a bowline?

Jamie
Click to expand...

Hi, I was taught how to splice three strand years ago but I recently needed to resplice the eye in the braid on braid main halyard.I bought enough 6mm line for a mousing line. I went to join it when I realised I could drop the halyard down through the salon hatch and do it on the table. As another poster said it is not recomended to eye splice used braid but It went OK. I used a little book of knots and splices I picked up in a chandlers. By following it step by step it was fairly stress free. Only the last stage of "milking" the cover over the join was a problem due to the tightening of the cover in previous use. With First Mate pulling and me pushing the cover over the join it all worked out well. A job well done and a new skill learned .Have a go-its not rocket science. Good Luck.
 
Some braid on braid is easier to splice than others. It depends how tightly woven the outer cover is. I have some German 16mm stuff that is utterly impossible, but English Braids 16mm made good splices for sheets. For halyards a halyard knot as described in the Selden Rigging Instructions may be the best bet. It just depends whether your mainsail luff is short enough to leave space for the splice without it entering the sheave at the masthead.
 
VicS said:
That is what I would do/have done

I'd fit a thimble to make it a hard eye.

If you do opt to tie the shackle on directly you will find a " halyard knot" described on page 14 in THIS SELDEN GUIDE which is neater than a bowline and secures the shackle to the halyard
Click to expand...
I tie the halyard knot directly to the head of the sail, that allows me to get plenty of luff tension as my mainsail is a tad too big for the mast if I use a shackle (also saves the cost of a shackle). Tying rather than splicing a loop is a lot simpler and you can cut a bit off next year and have a different part wearing over the top block. I like to finish the loose end with a traditional whipping incorporating a mousing eye. I'm always surprised at the number of boats that leave their halyards rigged all winter in the boatyard. As a rigger pointed out to me they last twice as long if taken off and it gives you a chance to put them in the washing machine.
 
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