Splicing old Rope

[Stemar]

One of my mooring lines was quite badly chafed, so I've cut the damaged bit off and am splicing a new eye, but it's fighting me. It's laid line about 18mm diameter, and feels like polyester, but can't be sure. I've go three tucks in, but I can hardly get a fid in to open up the lay. Apart from the difficulty splicing, while it's far from new, it seems in decent condition

Is there a way to make splicing easier easier?

 

[Mudisox]

Untwist the rope back to where you will make the splice, and re-lay it. gives a softer eye though. Should be OK.
Almost impossible to do it with Octoplait though.

 

[Boathook]

One of my mooring lines was quite badly chafed, so I've cut the damaged bit off and am splicing a new eye, but it's fighting me. It's laid line about 18mm diameter, and feels like polyester, but can't be sure. I've go three tucks in, but I can hardly get a fid in to open up the lay. Apart from the difficulty splicing, while it's far from new, it seems in decent condition

Is there a way to make splicing easier easier?

I had some 22mm diameter nylon like that for my mooring. The rope even though little used and looking nearly new had gone 'hard'. The splicing took a long time and looked a mess but it has survived a few storms since I did it so the mooring is OK for quite a few years.

 

[Roberto]

Repeatedly hammering the rope with a wooden mallet can usually help. A little.
Oh and some dish washing liquid.

 

[jdc]

Nylon will go hard and is virtually impossible to splice after a year or so. Polyester should last nearly for ever without going hard. I've just changed my anchor chain and re-spliced the polyester tail without issue. Make sure it's clean, and maybe add a bit of fabric softener to the rinse water?

 

[Stemar]

I've had nylon ropes go hard on me before, and this isn't like that, which is what makes me think it's polyester, though I wouldn't bet the cost of a new line on it!

Thanks for the suggestions; I've got three tucks in, so I hope I don't have to unlay it, I'll try the hammer - my kind of solution! - and a soak in washing up liquid and fabric softener.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

A very big fid helps! When splicing spectacularly hard-laid rope, I used an iron wire-splicing fid about a foot long to open the strands. The advantage of a wire-splicing fid is that they have a screwdriver kind of end, rather than a point, which makes it easier to get between the strands. A Swedish Fid is no use in this situation; you'll just bend it!