Page 43 - The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice

Table 1. Recommended Sizes for Nylon
Docklines and Anchor Lines (With permis-
sion, courtesy of Miriam Holbrook, Inc.)

Figure 2-1. Maximum force on sheeting gear versus
sail area, and recommended Dacron sheet sizes.

forestaysail sheets, staysail halyards, dock lines, and
anchor lines.
Single-braid costs a bit more than three-strand
in a given material and size, but is stronger for its
size, usually even easier to splice than three-strand,
tends to be far more supple—and to remain so over
the pounds accumulate. Windage, too, even if you time—resists hockling, and can be had in a won-
run halyards inside the mast. And because synthetic derful variety of materials, so some form of it will
rope is so strong, you’ll be tempted to scale its size suit almost every job. When made of Spectra for a
for a comfortable grip as much as for structural halyard it can be amazingly inelastic. When made
requirements, and this can lead to oversizing. The of nylon for a mooring line it will absorb energy bet-
accompanying sidebars will help you select appro- ter than three-strand or double braid. In any appli-
priate sizes and materials for sheets and halyards, cation it is a handsome, hand-friendly rope. Yes, I
docklines, and anchor rodes for vessels up to 70 feet. have a thing for single-braid.
(For more information on loading, see the formulas Double-braid is the most costly of the three
and graphs on page 386-387 in the Appendix.) constructions, and the hardest to splice. It is, in
fact, a bizarre and often difficult-to-understand
Constructions/Materials splice. Double-braid comes in fairly elastic to very
There are three basic constructions to choose from: inelastic materials. In conventional synthetics like
three-strand, single-braid, and double-braid. Three- Dacron and nylon it is the strongest and least elas-
strand is the least expensive, easy to splice, and gen- tic construction for a given size. This is a plus in
erally ranges from very elastic to fairly inelastic. Dacron, which is generally used for halyards and
I like three-strand, but wouldn’t recommend it for sheets, which should be inelastic, but not a great
halyards or headsail sheets that go to a winch; the thing for mooring lines and rodes, where elasticity/
heavy loads for which winches are designed imply energy absorption is of paramount importance. As
a need for the strongest, least elastic rope you can near as I can tell, the only reason that people use
wrap around them, which is to say some form of double-braided rope for these applications is that it
braid, either Dacron or an exotic like Spectra. Use, looks more modern. Some double-braid ropes have
or at least try, three-strand wherever high-tech and a high-modulus (HM) core—basically they are sin-
high-strain aren’t big issues. Three-strand or single- gle-braid ropes with a coat of armor.
braid is often preferable for mainsail sheets, boomed For running rigging, you could say that manila,
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