Synthetic Searunner

[mikereed100]

Jack,
More power to him if he did pull off 500lbs! That's roughly equivalent to 4 standard bow bunnies. I'll give John a call today and see what he can do.

[Roy M]

Jack, I have been working, it seems, eight days a week for too many months in a row. Very little progress on WILDERNESS of late, but things are looking brighter, economically, so yes, I try to get an update to you soon. I was in the middle of remodeling the galley when my battery banks went out, forcing me to create the new, improved bilge location for L16 six volts. So first I have to get the floor closed up to clear the galley for pics. You know how it goes.

I'll ask Rigworks for more detail tomorrow about this "cooking" of the synthetic line under load. Ain't science grand?

[mikereed100]

Roy,

I was on the phone with Rigworks today getting a quote on some hardware and asked them about their process. They said that they make their own "Dux" by heat treating Amstel and Spectra and that they pretension their rigging but that they don't apply heat to the line under tension. Maybe a little misunderstanding.

They gave me a little history on Dux which I found interesting. Apparantly Sampson developed the heat-treating process but abandoned it because it shortens the lifespan of the line. As they explained it to me, the heating process takes the line to it's peak performance quickly whereas non-heat treated line will actually strengthen with time under load. After the line reaches peak performance it's strength gradually declines, so the non-heat treated line lasts longer. Sampson sold the process to Hampidjan who targeted the commercial fishing industry, to all our benefit as products that target fisherman tend to be cheaper than those that target the yachting industry.

Mike

[Jmolan]

Dyneema®
Brief History Of DSM High Performance Fibres.

DSM commercially produces the strongest fibre in the world, Dyneema®.

The basic theory about how a superstrong polyethylene fibre should look was already available in the thirties. It took almost half a century to produce the high performance polyethylene fibre (HPPE).

In 1979 DSM invented and patented this fibre and the gel spinning process to produce it.

Dyneema® fibres have been in commercial production since 1990 at their plant at Heerlen , the Netherlands . The production of Dyneema® fibres demands relatively little energy and uses no aggressive chemicals.

The product can easily be recycled so environmental pollution from product and process is minimal.

In the USA DSM has granted a manufacturers license to Honeywell

This is all public record. Hampidjan was the company that developed the heat and set process.

From a reliable source. Actually not that any of this matters at all. More a matter of curiosity on our part I would guess.

No,
Samson did not develop the process. They did not incur the tremendous expense of manufacturing the machines necessary to make DUX. Nor did they go through the unusually expensive R&D process necessary to develop this rope. The concept has been around for many years & it was not conceived by Samson, DSM was waiting for years for a rope company to develop DUX. They were unusually helpful in the developmental process. Hampidjan is the world’s largest buyer of SK fibers so little wonder.

[mikereed100]

Thanks for the clarification Jack. Not the first (or the last, I suppose) time that I've been led astray by a pro.

Mike

[pfps]

Hi: I was just looking at your synthetic rigging. Very nice, and I got some good ideas. I was wondering how your halyard connections were working, though. It seems to me that the tail end will be pulling on the standing end in a less-than optimal way. Wouldn't it be better to have a separate tail spliced into the halyard? Then everything will be pulling the right way. I actually made up something along those lines. I made an eye splice from about 2' of smaller-diameter line and buried the tail of the splice into the halyard. The button was then tied on the end of the halyard line itself. No pictures (yet) as my halyard is covered and the burying the eye splice bulked the halyard core so much that the cover would not go back over the core. I'll try again when I get the right size line for the splice. peter

[Roy M]

I'm having a difficult time visualizing this arrangement. Stephen Mann, of Pacific Offshore Rigging in San Diego, puts an eye in the tensioning end of the standing rigging for his synthetic work. That way, one uses the halyard, connected to the eye, to tension the shrouds, then seizes the running end to the shroud when all is correctly tensioned. Very tidy and thus makes it easy to adjust later on. And it eliminates the turnbuckle and its weight. It's so cool that marlinspike seamanship has rediscovered its place in the 21st century.

[Jmolan]

I had the pleasure of spending the better part of 3 days in Annapolis with Steve Mann. The guy is an amazing individual. He was there representing Southbound Cruising Rigging Co...they are pretty much the leaders on the east coast for rigging with Colligo Dux Systems. Steve was on the "Wireless Westsail" that was on display for the Colligo Dux rigging. The guy had just bought a motorcycle and bombed across country to make the show!
This is after just finishing an 8 month circumnavigation around the bottom of the globe. 2 handed by the way.
Roy that is great you can hook up with Steve if you have any Dynex Dux questions. He is really stoked about the new ropes for standing rigging.....The guy is very smart and more than capable....if you see him again, please tell him Hi from Jack in Annapolis, I was there with Colligo....:-)

PfPs I am having a hard time visualizing what you are trying to explain. Would be great if you posted a photo or two.

[Roy M]

Jack, Stephen and Kathleen Torres got back from their circumnavigation in June. I met them at the dock with fresh burritos for Stephen and fresh kitchen herbs for Kathleen. They had some pretty innovative stuff aboard. Stephen is one of my best prosylitizers for Pulse-Tech battery conditioners, given their dependence on good battery performance while smashing down fifty foot waves in icebergy water and other nasty conditions. He is gung-ho on synthetics. I'll bet he's already lurking out there reading this because he was remarking about some of the stuff we are discussing here. It's a very small world, inhabited by some pretty cool folks (and a couple creeps).

[pfps]

Here are some pictures. This is not exactly what I wanted to do, but gets the idea across.
The basic idea is to make a Y in the halyard by burying the tail of a short line with an eye splice on it into the halyard. The end of the halyard is knotted (I use Ashley's stopper) and the eye splice fits over it. The eye splice is set up with a modified Brummel, done about 4 inches down so that the eye can be opened up to pass the stopper knot but can't slip.
Changes I want to make include using my current double braid halyard (instead of the single braid pictured here) and using a Brummel to lock the halyard core (I couldn't get the halyard line through the eye spliced line).
peter

[Jmolan]

I got a Christmas card/email from rigger and author Brion Toss (briontoss.com) ......


There was this ditty that really caught my eye. Looks like Brion is really stoked about Dynex Dux. Being on his mailing list, and checking into his forum is time well spent. Check out below.

Thoughts While Rigging

Brion will present a new series of Fair Leads columns to appear soon on our home page.

The first article in the new series is "Protocols for splicing Dynex Dux".

Sounds a bit rigger nerdy, but this stuff is of great interest to everyone in the sailing world who wants the most high-tech, sexy, light, durable, cost-effective standing rigging yet invented.

And, if you aren't ready to make the leap into an all Dynex rig, feature that you can carry a 200', feather-light, ropey hank of the stuff in your fo'c's'le for spare standing rigging. Handy to have out in the South Pacific or up the Inside Passage. You could loan it to a sailor in need and really be a hero!.....

Don't miss this new series coming soon!





Thoughts While Rigging

[Laidback]

Hello Jack, Ground breaker!!

Brian Toss, Without parallel the Rigging Guru has links to Harken etc.

I have used Ronstan Lashing blocks - not sure if they are the type of hardware you would use with Dynex Dux.

Question, cannot make out the type of shackle you have on this block - it looks a sharp edged punched section of flat bar. would this chafe the Dynex.

Assumption, Dynex rigging would reveal problems to a qualified survey, before those of stainless steel ???

[Jmolan]

Originally Posted by Laidback

Hello Jack, Ground breaker!!

Brian Toss, Without parallel the Rigging Guru has links to Harken etc.

I have used Ronstan Lashing blocks - not sure if they are the type of hardware you would use with Dynex Dux.

As long as they are 10:1 for running blocks, or 5:1 for static

Question, cannot make out the type of shackle you have on this block - it looks a sharp edged punched section of flat bar. would this chafe the Dynex.

It is not a good set up, it is a running backstay and I plan to clean it up with less parts. You can bend regular SK-75 Amsteel/Dynex?spectra much tighter without damage or loss of BS

Assumption, Dynex rigging would reveal problems to a qualified survey, before those of stainless steel ???

Never assume anything with Dynex Dux rigging when it comes to surveyors or anyone knowing what they are looking at. That being said, in a set up like Collego Dux uses, you can see all of the parts and nothing is hiding or corroding in secret
You can see loads and strengths and much more at Home

[Ocean Girl]

Hope this isn't off topic... steve, you commented about lightning strikes on another thread. Can you tell me (if ya know) what will happen if lightning strikes a mast with this synthetic rigging? Carbon fiber becomes brittle ( I think), does this synthetic line become brittle?
Thanks,
Erika

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by Ocean Girl

Hope this isn't off topic... steve, you commented about lightning strikes on another thread. Can you tell me (if ya know) what will happen if lightning strikes a mast with this synthetic rigging? Carbon fiber becomes brittle ( I think), does this synthetic line become brittle?
Thanks,
Erika

There are many myths and urban legends about C-F and lightning. My C-F mast was unaffected based on careful inspection and two years of problem free use since it was struck.

As for synthetic rigging -- it's probably less likely to be affected than steel wire, as it isn't a conductor.

But can anyone really know what lightning will do? All bets are off, IMHO.