Do you make your own splices?

[Jammer]

When I bought my boat, it was clear that the former owner couldn't tie knots. There were shackles and snaps everywhere, including for the fender lines. I tie knots instead.


I have been making my own splices. It is not difficult to splice three-strand rope and I've made a loop that's just the right length for warping into my slip that way.


I have been making my own eye splices in double braid but am not happy with the results. It takes me 20 minutes and I have to look at printed instructions to do it. I have one of the kits with various sized fids, plus a marker, a knife, scissors. I made my own lazyjacks with all kinds of eye splices, partly as a sort of exercise. I am better but the results are still inconsistent and time consuming.


Wish I could get good.

[Tillsbury]

There's no "yes" option on your poll question...

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Jammer

When I bought my boat, it was clear that the former owner couldn't tie knots. There were shackles and snaps everywhere, including for the fender lines. I tie knots instead.


I have been making my own splices. It is not difficult to splice three-strand rope and I've made a loop that's just the right length for warping into my slip that way.


I have been making my own eye splices in double braid but am not happy with the results. It takes me 20 minutes and I have to look at printed instructions to do it. I have one of the kits with various sized fids, plus a marker, a knife, scissors. I made my own lazyjacks with all kinds of eye splices, partly as a sort of exercise. I am better but the results are still inconsistent and time consuming.

Wish I could get good.

Your poll question is sort of lame, I can't find the answer that matches me.

I do all my own splices, three strand (what's that?) double braid, high tech double braid, including tight cover traditional etc, etc, and also, although not in much demand now, wire to rope splices and the dynema and soft shackles.

Get a cool beverage and comfy place and follow the instructions. The first ones won't look so good but they will work. They get better with practice.

If you want perfect without all the hard work, hire a rigger.

[kayakerChuck]

I do my own splices.

Recently, that's been: dyneema, double braid, and 3 strand.

[IslandHopper]

Do you make your all own splices? = Yes

[Tillsbury]

Yes, mostly dyneema but a bit of double braid, and octoplait for the mooring lines. Not seen three-strand on a boat this century.

I've seen a number of web pages describing eye splices in double braid, some of which work better than others. This is the technique I use, which works very easily indeed. Note: this is *only* for polyester double braid, not for Dyneema or other stuff where the entire strength is in the core:

http://www.sw-marine.co.uk/acatalog/...id_Splice.html

[StuM]

Originally Posted by wingssail

three strand (what's that?)

Originally Posted by Tillsbury

Yes, mostly dyneema but a bit of double braid, and octoplait for the mooring lines. Not seen three-strand on a boat this century.

My docklines are three-strand.

So are the bridle and tow lines on our SAR boat.
I put a backsplice in a three-strand pendant on a fender on the SAR boat just yesterday

[Tillsbury]

Originally Posted by StuM

My mooring lines as three-strand.

So are the bridle and tow lines on our SAR boat.
I put a backsplice in a three-strand pendant on a fender on the SAR boat just yesterday

But I've not seen your boat

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Jammer

When I bought my boat, it was clear that the former owner couldn't tie knots. There were shackles and snaps everywhere, including for the fender lines. I tie knots instead.


I have been making my own splices. It is not difficult to splice three-strand rope and I've made a loop that's just the right length for warping into my slip that way.


I have been making my own eye splices in double braid but am not happy with the results. It takes me 20 minutes and I have to look at printed instructions to do it. I have one of the kits with various sized fids, plus a marker, a knife, scissors. I made my own lazyjacks with all kinds of eye splices, partly as a sort of exercise. I am better but the results are still inconsistent and time consuming.


Wish I could get good.

I do my own splices. Don't beat yourself up. It's impossible to get good at it and do it all by memory because there just isn't enough splicing work on one single boat to get in all the practice you'd need.

Nothing wrong with refreshing yourself by looking at the instructions again trying to do that splice you've only done 2 or 3 times and haven't done for 2 years.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Chotu

I do my own splices. Don't beat yourself up. It's impossible to get good at it and do it all by memory because there just isn't enough splicing work on one single boat to get in all the practice you'd need.

Nothing wrong with refreshing yourself by looking at the instructions again trying to do that splice you've only done 2 or 3 times and haven't done for 2 years.

+1 .

I still pull out instructions for splicing double braid just to refresh my memory, as it can easily be months between needing to splice double braid. I am still super slow too, but nothing wrong with that.

Getting good at double braid eye splices mainly involves a huge amount of care and not taking shortcuts such as shortening the core excessively and only burying the cover a small distance to increase ease and therefore speed. Several riggers I have chatted with employ both techniques.

It is quality not speed that is critical in my book .

Jammer hasn’t mentioned single braid UHMWPE such as dyneema. These splices are super easy and super quick and there is a multitude of uses for loops and strops produced from these. I find my kit comes out frequently for this type of splicing.

SWL

[belizesailor]

Three strand and dyneema, yes I do my own, since both are easy. Low strerch double braid is a PITA and I dont trust my results so Ive often farmed that out to pro friends.

Its also rare that I need to splice double braid anyway...esp since on my boats I typically use buntline hitches to attach to hardware rather than splices. I prefer that method because its easier to service in the field vs redoing a splice and I dont need to rely on someone else to make a splice I have more confidence in.

Buntline hitches are also of course way more quick and easy to do than a splice. Case in point: had a halyard fail at the eye splice on a friend's boat WAY offshore at night...of course. The field fix was simply to cut off the failed splice and tie onto the shackle using a buntline hitch...quick and easy and I was back in my bunk un a matter of minutes.

[sdowney717]

I splice the nylon 3 strand rope to remove worn spots or if I want to extend the rope.
But some of my ropes are too used up, if you open them up they will fall apart.
I got one interesting old 3/4" rope came from a work boat and use that for a short spring line. Its worn on the outer edges and stiff but it does the job ok.

[conachair]

Dyneema into double braid can be handy as well sometimes >>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aohGiTNCMQE

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Jammer

When I bought my boat, it was clear that the former owner couldn't tie knots. There were shackles and snaps everywhere, including for the fender lines. I tie knots instead.


I have been making my own splices. It is not difficult to splice three-strand rope and I've made a loop that's just the right length for warping into my slip that way.


I have been making my own eye splices in double braid but am not happy with the results. It takes me 20 minutes and I have to look at printed instructions to do it. I have one of the kits with various sized fids, plus a marker, a knife, scissors. I made my own lazyjacks with all kinds of eye splices, partly as a sort of exercise. I am better but the results are still inconsistent and time consuming.


Wish I could get good.

You CAN get good -- just stick with it.


Do you have Brian Toss' wonderful book, The Rigger's Apprentice?


If not, stop whatever you're doing now and order a copy of it. Read and enjoy it -- it is a beautiful book, beautifully written and illustrated, and contains almost all you really need to know.


I do almost all of my own splices. I started out splicing single braid Dyneema and three strand -- which is dead easy. Then dyneema double braid, which is somewhat harder, and hardest of all is poly double braid. Don't try to splice used poly double braid, and don't ask me how I know! I was pretty crap at it too and only very slowly achieved more or less decent skills. In my experience, it just takes practice, practice and practice.



Splicing and doing everything else with ropes is fundamental to seamanship, in my opinion. Ropes are our basic tools -- we should love them and know them intimately and have all the skills related to them. Splicing, knots, and ropework are all immensely satisfying to me, personally. Good luck!

[psk125]

Got a set of Selma fids. They’re fantastic!