Any Updates on Synthetic Rigging ?

[Doodles]

Anything new regarding lifelines? I'm about ready to do mine using Colligo Marine's setup .

[memelet]

I just finished my stern lifelines with 5/16 amsteel. I love it. It was so easy. I looked at the colligo setup but decided to just use stainless eyes on the amsteel. I'm not using any hardware at all but instead lashed the lines using 4 or 5 wraps of 7/64 amsteel. I used the lashing instructions from colligo.

It looks like the lashings dont slip. But its not been long enough to say for sure. If they do slip ill switch to spyderline or some covered sk75.

I will never use wire or hardware again.

[delmarrey]

I developed my own terminator ends for 1/4" Amsteel with a smaller fitting and straight pull. I haven't done a full load test yet but seems to hold fairly well.

This is the first fitting. I may do some more R&D work once I've load tested it to destruction. This basket has about 500# on it now. 60' of 5/16" anchor chain, a 15Kg anchor and as many rocks as I could get in the basket. Plus I stood on it myself at 170#


.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

I developed my own terminator ends for 1/4" Amsteel with a smaller fitting and straight pull. I haven't done a full load test yet but seems to hold fairly well.

This is the first fitting. I may do some more R&D work once I've load tested it to destruction. This basket has about 500# on it now. 60' of 5/16" anchor chain, a 15Kg anchor and as many rocks as I could get in the basket. Plus I stood on it myself at 170#


.

One thing to keep an eye on might be creep. The new hi tech ropes are used a lot in film & TV stunt work instead of steel wire rope. A sailing friend was involved and he had problems with terminations creeping, would be fine for a load test but overnight the terminations would very slowly creep. This was on a drum winch, normal terminations (in UK) are min 3 turns on the winch drum and terminated inside the drum with a plate sandwiching the wire. In the end they cast the rope in epoxy to form a termination. This was tech 12 which seems to be the most used hi tech in the entertainment biz over here.
Might not be an issue with your setup but might be worth having a look at.

After all that I'm a big fan, amazing materials.

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by memelet

I just finished my stern lifelines with 5/16 amsteel. I love it. It was so easy. I looked at the colligo setup but decided to just use stainless eyes on the amsteel. I'm not using any hardware at all but instead lashed the lines using 4 or 5 wraps of 7/64 amsteel. I used the lashing instructions from colligo.

It looks like the lashings dont slip. But its not been long enough to say for sure. If they do slip ill switch to spyderline or some covered sk75.

I will never use wire or hardware again.

Do you mean a thimble or something completely circular?

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by conachair

One thing to keep an eye on might be creep. The new hi tech ropes are used a lot in film & TV stunt work instead of steel wire rope. A sailing friend was involved and he had problems with terminations creeping, would be fine for a load test but overnight the terminations would very slowly creep. This was on a drum winch, normal terminations (in UK) are min 3 turns on the winch drum and terminated inside the drum with a plate sandwiching the wire. In the end they cast the rope in epoxy to form a termination. This was tech 12 which seems to be the most used hi tech in the entertainment biz over here.
Might not be an issue with your setup but might be worth having a look at.

After all that I'm a big fan, amazing materials.

I only plan to use these for safety rail lines so creep is not a problem since they're not under load unless they get hit.

Also, I found that epoxy doesn't stick to Amsteel very well, but if it were casted around a wedge and encapsulated it would hold, but still bulky.

[memelet]

Originally Posted by Doodles

Do you mean a thimble or something completely circular?

Just a regular thimble. I considered the closed thimbles but not at 12 vs 1 doller per. But if I see any chafe with the regular I will switch to the pricey closed thimbles

[roverhi]

Colligo oversizes their synthetic rigging to virtually eliminate creep and insure that line will maintain strength over a reasonable period of time with UV degradation. The Dynex lines are are stronger than their steel counterparts. You can experience creep if you replace 1/4" wire with 1/4" Dynex. Upsize the Dynex to 3/8" or so and creep is no longer much of a factor. Since the rope is so much lighter than wire, you still end up with lighter rigging weight that with a smaller diameter wire. Colligo pretensions their rigging so the initial stretch from the splices is taken care of.

[memelet]

Originally Posted by roverhi

CColligo pretensions their rigging so the initial stretch from the splices is taken care of.

That is definately a pro for colligos dyneema. I expecr to have to re-tension my lashing a time or two. But even so the Brummel splice is going have some of its own stretch to work out with either dymeema or amsteel.

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by memelet

Just a regular thimble. I considered the closed thimbles but not at 12 vs 1 doller per. But if I see any chafe with the regular I will switch to the pricey closed thimbles

Thanks memelet, the photos are very helpful and it looks good. Where did you find the lashing instructions by Colligo? I looked on the website but didn't see them. Did I miss them?

[virginia boy]

Originally Posted by memelet

That is definately a pro for colligos dyneema. I expecr to have to re-tension my lashing a time or two. But even so the Brummel splice is going have some of its own stretch to work out with either dymeema or amsteel.

How would you create proper tension in the lifeline using a brummel splice if there's no mechanical tensioner connecting the Dyneema to the stanchion?

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by virginia boy

How would you create proper tension in the lifeline using a brummel splice if there's no mechanical tensioner connecting the Dyneema to the stanchion?

They do it with the lashing and the purchase created as in the photos above.

[memelet]

Originally Posted by Doodles

Thanks memelet, the photos are very helpful and it looks good. Where did you find the lashing instructions by Colligo? I looked on the website but didn't see them. Did I miss them?

http://www.colligomarine.com/docs/mi...ie_ver_1_1.pdf

[Doodles]

Interesting blog from Paul Calder:

Synthetic Rigging: Not just for racers anymore? | Sail Feed

I finished my lifelines not too long ago and they turned out great. So far I'm sold on this stuff and I've even learned how to make soft shackles using Colligo's video.

[s/v Jedi]

I'm so happy to see this trend developing! We did this change in 2003 and were ridiculed by almost everybody and warned by the rest that it is against regs etc.

Now we just need to convince people to use the brummel splice, bowline withstitched seizing as a lock, and lashings instead of metal terminations and turnbuckles etc. I went completely metal free so not even thimbles. My 2003 lifelines are still okay today.

Note that tensioning without thimbles is more complicated and requires temporary block and tackle or a winch.

ciao!
Nick.