Cruising_World_2016-06-07

106

cruisingworld.com

106

june/july 2016

cruisingworld.com

RIGGING

S

ailors have long embraced

cutting-edge t echnology

to voyage farther and faster.

From Capt. Cook using

Harrison’s chronometer to

determine longitude — and

thereby his ship’s position —

to carbon-fi ber wings and foil-

ing catamarans, innovations

sometimes take a few years

to trickle down to the realm

of aff ordability for the aver-

age cruising sailor, but they

are worth the wait. One such

breakthrough we’ve embraced

on our Newport 41, Kate, is

Dyneema lines.

Made available to the pub-

lic in the 1990s, Dyneema

was developed and tested for

several decades before mak-

ing its wider debut. Used for

everything from space tethers

to bulletproof armor to fi sh-

ing line, Dyneema has earned

its reputation as one of the

world’s strongest fi bers. When

tested, Dyneema displays

strength-to-weight ratios eight

to 15 times that of steel wire,

the variation depending on

the construction of the wire.

Originally quite expensive,

Dyneema is now considered

an economical alternative for

various applications on board

the typical cruising sailboat.

Dyneema and similar prod-

ucts later released under

other names, such as Spectra,

are examples of ultrahigh-

molecular-weight polyeth-

ylene, or UHMWP. These

fi bers display several unique

characteristics. They are light-

weight and fi re-resistant,

have low moisture absorp-

tion, and they fl oat. They are

also self-lubricating and low-

stretch, making Dyneema

ideal for activities such as kite-

boarding, mountain climbing,

archery, skydiving and sailing.

Recently, with potentially

more windward passages

ahead of us, we decided to

install a removable inner fore-

stay and running backstays on

Kate. The boat was originally

sloop-rigged, but the hard-

ware for an optional inner

forestay had been installed

both on the mast and the

deck during the build. Since

our boat is older, we could

not order the rigging cut-to-

fi t direct from the factory.

And being in the middle of

the South Pacifi c, we had

limited access to a reliable

rigger. So instead of running

traditional wire rigging, we

decided to try Dyneema. Not

only would it avoid the cost of

shipping stainless wire to the

island, but it also meant that

we could do the installation

ourselves.

Dyneema line is available

with a traditional polyester

braided cover or as a bare,

hollow-core, 12-braid line.

The covered Dyneema, often

referred to as Dyneema-

cored polyline, is typically

used for sheets and halyards;

the outer sheath provides

more traction on winches

and a better grip when han-

dled. We planned on using

a standard hank-on staysail,

however, so we opted for the

hollow-core line, using the

slipperiness of the Dyneema

fi bers to our advantage.

It would have been fea-

sible to use small-diameter

Dyneema line, as its break-

ing strength would have

been suffi cient for our appli-

cation. However, we were

constrained by the size of

the hanks and other hard-

ware needed to complete

the project. We found that

8- millimeter line was more

than strong enough and best

suited the hardware used.

To attach the aluminum

frictionless rings that we

used to tension the forestay

and running backstays (see

“Tension Tamer,” p. 108), as

well as the stainless thimbles

used at the attachment tangs

on the mast, we used simple

locked Brummel splices.

The process of splicing

hollow- braid line reminds me

of a magic trick; simple steps

are meticulously done and

undone, and then suddenly

the eye appears. But there is

no sleight of hand involved,

just smart rope work. The

fi nal step is to feed the tail of

The Newport 41 sloop Kate was turned into a cutter by

adding an inner forestay made of Dyneema.

RIGGER’S TIP

Though sloop-rigged, Kate

came from the factory

with hardware for an inner

forestay. If installing one

from scratch, you will need

to find a way to reinforce

the deck where the stay is

to be attached. Loads when

flying a staysail can be

considerable.

A locked Brummel eye and a few pieces of hardware turn hollow-core Dyneema into a

forestay and running backstays. BY HEATHER FRANCIS

2 SPLICE IT UP

HEATHER FRANCIS

HANDS-ON SAILOR