I am looking to update the spinnaker halyard/retrieval line on my Nacra 20 to a tapered dyneema core setup. The main reason is that I want to avoid burn holes in the spinnaker during retrieval.
What line would you recommend, and how much cover would you remove? My thought is to only remove from the spinnaker head to the snuffer opening, so about 30 ft or so on my Nacra 20. Any other recommendations? Thank you!
Edited by traphappy on May 24, 2017 - 07:21 PM.
The easiest (and cheapest) is to make it from a single piece of 3/16" EnduraBraid. Pull the core, taper cover and bury the cover. You end up with a 80' single line made from 55', giving you core only for the halyard (light weight), and covered core for the cleat (strong grip), and just cover for the retrieval part. It works perfect. I'll send you some pics if you like.
Philip
P.M. wrote: The easiest (and cheapest) is to make it from a single piece of 3/16" EnduraBraid. Pull the core, taper cover and bury the cover. You end up with a 80' single line made from 55', giving you core only for the halyard (light weight), and covered core for the cleat (strong grip), and just cover for the retrieval part. It works perfect. I'll send you some pics if you like.
Crap, forgot I have a pic . . .
More here
https://www.thebeachcats.com/pictures?g2_itemId=75207&g2_GALLERYSID=db737c56e31ea3ba69e373746600c26a
Edited by P.M. on May 24, 2017 - 06:06 PM.
Philip
Robbie Daniels showed me the same using dingy control line
your looks much cleaner than i was ever able to make -
He claimed the flat cover wouldn't burn holes
I found - it did. Probably was my technique
i have switched to a soft dynema blend - 4mm robline racing sheet - works well for me but ... i don't race and only pop the shoot occasional when conditions and water-levels are right
MN3
Can't always prevent burns in an O.S. moment, but burns are typically snuffing technique rather that the line.
Philip
My experience is the Robline is more difficult to splice.
Philip
Thank you Phillip and MN3 for the great information. What's the best technique to avoid buying holes? Most of my sailing now is just having fun, not too much racing at the moment. Thanks!
Edited by traphappy on May 25, 2017 - 12:13 PM.
My experience is I get spinnaker holes with any sort of covered line touching the kite. I have a spinnaker that is 4 years old and I found 1 minor hole in it the other day. How is this possible? I use a double tapered halyard with 3mm dyneema on each end of a section of 6mm Marlow Excel Fusion. FSE Robline Racing Sheet Pro will also work well for this application.
Lots of great information. For simplicity.... I've never tapered a line before, I am going with this for my spin halyard for my midpole Nacra 20.... 80 ft Marlow Excel Racing, with 28 ft tapered on the retrieval end. Whipped splice on the retrieval end and some kind of knot on the halyard end. The 80 ft should allow me to reduce the length of the line if I find it to be slightly too long. I appreciate the advice of simply keeping the retrieval line off of the sail when possible.
Edited by traphappy on May 25, 2017 - 12:19 PM.
Thank you Phillip and MN3 for the great information. What's the best technique to avoid buying holes?
Most of my sailing now is just having fun, not too much racing at the moment. Thanks!
smooth and as slow as possible retrieval (without shrimping it / aka dropping it in the water and running over it)
think of your hands - if you pull a sheet through your hand quickly with pressure - you'll get a rope burn
do it slower and smoother ... less heat
MN3