Regatta Lite for spinnaker sheets

[iansan5653]

I'm shopping for new spinnaker sheets for my Caliber 28 and I found an incredible deal on some 8mm Regatta Lite (polypropylene 12-strand single braid). On paper it seems generally great for spinnaker sheets - lightweight, easy to splice, non-absorbent, and good on the hands - but I can't find any info at all on how well it will hold in a self-tailing winch. It should meet the minimum size requirements for my winches, but it just looks slippery in photos.

I know polypro is terrible with UV but I will be storing these sheets out of the sun between buoy races.

Anyone have any experience with this line?

[AndyOz]

Polypropylene?

Apart from the UV degradation (which also means it fails very abruptly), polypropylene's slipperiness means splices tend to slide open, as do knots.

Not very strong, not very chafe resistant.

Best kept for floating painters and the like

[psk125]

As Andy says - not a good choice. Also, most polypropylene is less than easy on the hands. The edges of the filaments are relatively sharp and "crinkly" when you hold the line, while chafe and and UV degradation leads to rough filaments (like the "soldiers" in SS wire) that are not gentle on skin.

[Franziska]

Just on a side note, which might be interesting for people cruising not racing.

Our spinnaker sheets are simple 6mm lines bought of the shelf from a DIY store.

12€ per 15m line.

I was very sceptical at the beginning and almost bought expensive sailing type lines, but the DIY store lines hold up very well so far. Even when used in a jammer and on a winch.
We are full time cruising in the Med and use the kite quite often.

I like that they are not overly strong. If pushed to the limit they will act like a fuse and break before the boat capsize or the rig comes down.

We are sailing a 35ft cruising cat and use the kite up to 5Bft.

[cal40john]

This isn't what we normally think of as polypropylene, this was developed for dinghy racing and to be used as sheets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvxfb7OCZ0k&t=106s

[Benz]

I use it all the time for lightweight tails for spinnaker sheets and runner tails...it would be a decent line itself for spin sheets. Try to keep it out of the sun.

[iansan5653]

Thanks everyone. The line was cheap enough at $0.45/ft that I decided to just try it. It's definitely not like the crappy scratchy polypropylene lines we used to use as cheap tow lines for Optis when I was a kid. It feels like good lightweight soft stuff. Will have to see how it holds up under real use but I'm optimistic.

Unfortunately on the negative side, it's practically unspliceable. I thought the single braid would splice as easily as Dyneema but the weave is far too tight to be able to fit inside of itself like that. I'll have to settle for knots.

[Benz]

Originally Posted by iansan5653

Thanks everyone. The line was cheap enough at $0.45/ft that I decided to just try it. It's definitely not like the crappy scratchy polypropylene lines we used to use as cheap tow lines for Optis when I was a kid. It feels like good lightweight soft stuff. Will have to see how it holds up under real use but I'm optimistic.

Unfortunately on the negative side, it's practically unspliceable. I thought the single braid would splice as easily as Dyneema but the weave is far too tight to be able to fit inside of itself like that. I'll have to settle for knots.

You can bury a splice tail with great labor by using a "soft fid," but even so it's still a grunt.
You can also do a 12-strand solid-braid tuck splice in it, just as you would do with normal Regatta Braid.

[iansan5653]

Aha, a 12-strand tuck would probably work. Tedious but not too bad.