Page 119 - The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice

Figure 4-11. Mending Splice. Cross and finish the ends as for a Chain Splice or Long Splice.

a long enough piece of whole rope left to use where small space between the two pairs of strands (as in
you need a shorter line. 4-12B). Tie an Overhand Knot, left over right, with
But if you damage three-strand rope with a sud- half of each pair. The knot should just exactly fill the
den slash, it’s possible that most or all of the damage space. If it fits poorly, undo it and lay up or unlay
will be done to one strand. And if that’s the case, the the halves until you get two that fit well when knot-
Mending Splice will repair it. ted. Leave the other two halves hanging out, and
You’ll need about 3 feet of the same diameter, tuck each of the knotted ends against the lay four or
construction, and material as the damaged piece. If five times. As a simpler but lumpier option, you may
the damaged piece is plenty long, cut 3 feet off its tie the whole strands together and tuck them.
end. Soak this section in the same gel you’d use for Repeat the procedure with the other two ends,
the Traditional Irony Chain Splice; this is to keep wash the gel out, and you’re done.
the line from losing its spiral shape, or “lay,” as you With a little practice at delicate handling, you
work. Let the line dry, then gently unlay one strand will find you can skip starching all but the soft-
right out of it. This is your mending strand. est-laid line. This will qualify the splice as not only
Now go to the damaged piece and cut the clever and economical, but also valuable as an
wounded strand the rest of the way through. Undo, emergency procedure.
or “lay out,” the two resulting ends a full turn each, It’s worth noting here that boats are always
and set the middle of the mending strand into the doing non-emergency damage to rope. They chew
space they leave. Lay out one of the wounded ends on it with fairleads, sheaves, winch drums, and espe-
another turn, and lay in behind it with one end cially with chocks, stoppers, and self-tailing gear.
of the mending strand. Twist the mending strand They chew on it gently, but steadily; about the only
clockwise, with a little tension on it, and pull it thing you can do is to try to blunt their teeth. Use
firmly into the groove. It should be indistinguish- bigger fairleads and sheaves. Carefully angle leads
able from the two strands next to it. If it is tighter to winches so you get no wraps. File gentler curves
or looser than they, or has more or less twist, it will into the edges of chocks and bow roller side-keepers.
take more or less strain than they do, and the rope Minimize the use of stoppers and self-tailers. And
will be weakened. So, practice until you can lay in end-for-end lines when wear becomes noticeable, to
smoothly (Figure 4-11). get the most life out of them.
Lay out and in until there are 6 to 8 inches of All of these little details are a lot less dramatic,
the wounded new strand remaining, and split both but in the long run even more valuable than the
strands in half down to the standing part, leaving a Mending Splice.

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