Page 135 - Barbara Merry - The Splicing Handbook

you are protecting.

Remove the core from the double-braid and tape the resultant sleeve loosely at
both ends. Then tightly and smoothly tape the rope end over which you will be
sliding the sleeve. To make the job easier, sew one end of a cord to the rope end,
making the cord a little longer than the sleeve.
Run the other end of the cord through the sleeve, then carefully remove the

tape at the ends of the sleeve. (The sleeve ends will unravel for an inch or two/25
to 50 mm.)
With the ends free, the sleeve will expand enough to allow the rope to be
pulled through. Use the cord to fish the rope through the sleeve.

Once the sleeve is on the rope, re-tape the sleeve just inside its raveled ends.
Position the sleeve on what will be the eye. Trim the ends of the sleeve close to
the tape and apply a few extra wraps to reinforce the ends.
Now splice the eye following the directions given in other chapters.

A leather chafe sleeve probably offers the best protection for both wire and
fiber ropes, and I prefer this chafe protection for double-braid rope. Because
there is a crossover step in the middle of the double-braid eye splice (see chapter
4), a sleeve would have to be applied in the middle of the splice; in all the
confusion, it’s easy to wind up with the sleeve either not on the rope at all or in
the wrong place. The leather, on the other hand, can be wrapped and sewn after
the eye is formed, and it looks better to boot.
Applying a leather sleeve can be complicated, but my instructions and a kit

like the one manufactured by Sea-Dog (available from any marine store) will
simplify the job. The kit will give you a piece of leather sized to the rope
diameter you’re covering, with holes prepunched along the mating edges. You
also get needle, twine, and directions for sewing. (Unlike the chafe sleeve made
out of double-braid, the leather sleeve is not moveable once it is applied, a fact