Quote:
Originally Posted by Dockhead
Yes, a huge benefit with a virtuous circle is downsizing lines when switching to dyneema. You get the same or greater strength with far less stretch and far, far less weight, and even the cost isn't dramatically greater, when you downsize.
Your lines sound small, however! I downsized my jib sheets to 14mm racing dyneema from 16mm poly, and my main sheet from 14mm poly to 12mm racing dyneema. My 12mm poly furling lines went to 10mm racing dyneema.
What a difference! The new lines are half or less the weight, run better over blocks, much easier to handle, more flexible. My main sheet is extremely long because of multiple purchase and the way it runs; I could hardly pick it up myself in the old version. Now it's a snap.
The only line I didn't downsize was my vang -- it was 12mm poly and I used 12mm racing dyneema with cover stripped.
My staysail sheet, running backstays, and outhaul were all Dyneema as the boat was originally built, and I left them that way (the running backs are actually still original). I lengthened my outhaul by splicing on single braid dyneema, and the bare dyneema is what runs in the clew block and boom car -- which is great.
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You are
sloop or
cutter rigged so with 54’ everything is bigger than on my 64’
ketch. My main is comparable to a 46’
sloop.
About stripping and covers: I still have a little “cover-only” available from Yale Cordage. They don’t sell it anymore. Very handy with a messenger line that I re-use as well :-)
You have another option with stripping: buy Warpspeed II and strip but save the stripped cover. Now you can use that cover with bare Amsteel Blue and get the exact same look and product without throwing anything away.
Also, think about splicing amsteel to xls3 when you have a hauling part that isn’t loaded. Example: the running tails of
running backstays. You only need Dyneema to the
winch self tailer, the rest is only used for storing the backstay forward. I cut the Dyneema a couple feet longer past the self tailer, then take xls3, remove something like 100” of
core and splice the Amsteel to the xls3
core. Then milk the cover back over the splice and the part of Amsteel that engages the
winch. Then I retract the backstay and cut the xls3 to length.
Some pictures for illustration. Note the rings replacing blocks.