Need tips for splicing double braided dyneema?

[andreas.mehlin]

Two attempts today....failure.

10mm (3/8") Dyneema core with polyester cover....

Manage to pull it thru til the last inch inch and a half...but then it's impossible to get any further. My hands are very worn now!

Been trying to follow videos from Premium ropes...and from Liros.

Tips?

[slug]

A pro has a workbench with a winch mounted

The final pull in of the cover is done with the winch and the eye dead ended

On some braids you can pull it in by hand

Tapering the cover a bit also helps

Also hit the splice a few times with a hammer to relax the braid

Mostly it’s just practice and choosing rope, cover braid , that is easy to work with

[Benz]

Different brands will have tighter or looser covers that contribute to the difficulty. Everything that Slug said is correct, I would just add that you might have to hammer it a lot. And then hammer it more, milking the cover down between bouts of beating it senseless.
Then hit it again.

[slug]

The big secret is that before you purchase. 50 or 100 meters of unknown rope, purchase 2 meters

Then bring this two meter piece back to the boat and do a test splice
If all goes well you win

[Brioche]

I had trouble when I first tried splicing. I tried several different methods or sets of instructions, and found one that seemed to work better for me. Also, I was using recommended fid, and ended up making my own because the ones that worked so easily in the videos did not work for me. After having spliced about every line on my boat that could use a splice, it is becoming a bit easier. You would think there is simply one standard way, but for whatever reason it seems that splicing is a very personal sort of enterprise. Just keep doing it and it will start working.

[psk125]

The size of the eye also makes a big difference. In the how-to videos they’re all making loops almost a foot across, which allows much more “give” when burying the cover and core into each other. Small eyes are exponentially more difficult because there isn’t enough line to allow passage of the extra thicknesses, and it certainly doesn’t stretch.

[andreas.mehlin]

Originally Posted by slug

The big secret is that before you purchase. 50 or 100 meters of unknown rope, purchase 2 meters

Then bring this two meter piece back to the boat and do a test splice
If all goes well you win

Haha, well, I haven't been buying 50 or 100 meter....I bought 400 meter
Im replacing it all:

Main halyard
Jib halyard
Spinnaker halyard
Genoa sheets
Backstay
Running backstay
Checkstay
3 x reefs
Outhaul
...and more.

[andreas.mehlin]

Originally Posted by slug

A pro has a workbench with a winch mounted

The final pull in of the cover is done with the winch and the eye dead ended

On some braids you can pull it in by hand

Tapering the cover a bit also helps

Also hit the splice a few times with a hammer to relax the braid

Mostly it’s just practice and choosing rope, cover braid , that is easy to work with

Been hammering some....maybe not crazy much..but still some.
Yes its all tapered. Tried pulling with winch (mounted to another winch).

But I will try to go more crazy on the hammer maybe. One idea I had was to maybe pull out even more of the core and before I start to pull the cover I pull the core as much as I can to compress it so it becomes thinner? Maybe should use a winch doing it?

[AKA-None]

Originally Posted by andreas.mehlin

Haha, well, I haven't been buying 50 or 100 meter....I bought 400 meter

Im replacing it all:



Main halyard

Jib halyard

Spinnaker halyard

Genoa sheets

Backstay

Running backstay

Checkstay

3 x reefs

Outhaul

...and more.

Are you using the same line for halyards (low stretch) and sheets (high stretch)?

[andreas.mehlin]

Originally Posted by AKA-None

Are you using the same line for halyards (low stretch) and sheets (high stretch)?

Why would u like to have high stretch on sheets? By going with strong low stretch ones I can go down in rope diameter which also mean the sheaves are running easier, takes less space in the cockpit etc.

[Benz]

Originally Posted by andreas.mehlin

Been hammering some....maybe not crazy much..but still some.
Yes its all tapered. Tried pulling with winch (mounted to another winch).

But I will try to go more crazy on the hammer maybe. One idea I had was to maybe pull out even more of the core and before I start to pull the cover I pull the core as much as I can to compress it so it becomes thinner? Maybe should use a winch doing it?

One thing to make sure of is that you're giving yourself some cover slack before you start the splice. This ensures that there's enough cover as it fattens up going over the splice bury. General rule is that if there was enough slack to get the cover back to there you want it, there will be a little slack you have to milk back toward the end. We call it the "Cheat," and for half inch rope it's usually about six inches.
If you forgot to give yourself any cheat, milk some cover slack back up from the far end of the rope so you can get the splice in, then milk it firmly back down after.
Don't be afraid to hammer, but do have a good smooth surface to hammer on that won't harm the rope, and use a nylon-tipped hammer. Heavy is good.

[slug]

Originally Posted by andreas.mehlin

Why would u like to have high stretch on sheets? By going with strong low stretch ones I can go down in rope diameter which also mean the sheaves are running easier, takes less space in the cockpit etc.

Low stretch rope overload everything

I’ve seen it break winch pawls , move hardware in the deck ...

A cruising boat needs very few low stretch lines

Concerning Small diameter its a curse for many older self tailing winches

[andreas.mehlin]

Originally Posted by slug

Low stretch rope overload everything

I’ve seen it break winch pawls , move hardware in the deck ...

A cruising boat needs very few low stretch lines

Concerning Small diameter its a curse for many older self tailing winches

Hmm...well, make sense
So it's a good point u are making

[Training Wheels]

Are you by chance using instructions for splicing double braid polyester?

[andreas.mehlin]

Originally Posted by Training Wheels

Are you by chance using instructions for splicing double braid polyester?

I first did one splice where it didn't specify it was for dyneema braided....and that one went easy...but then I got suspicious it maybe needed another type of splice...so I have used two different videos for double braided dyneema now...and no success.

One alternative if of course to only splice the core and not using the cover...but I rather not. I know this is pretty common one but would like to have the extra chafe protection there