What Halyard Lines to Purchase

Ahoy Owners , does anyone have reccomendations on what running rigging for halyards will be a good choice, money for value , for a cruising BCC ?

Currently located in the tropics, for another year or two .

Douglas , BCC Calliste

Hi Doug,
Aboard “Terrier” I’ve used NE Ropes Sta-Set X for Halyards. This double braided polyester differs from others in that the core fibers are parallel significantly reducing the “stretch”. The strength is not shared with the sheath but is still plenty. It handles OK, a bit stiff, splices easily (with Brions book and splicing fid in hand) and is relatively cheap, comparable to other double braided polyester lines. http://newenglandropes.com.

Cheers,
Tom
“Terrier”

Tom,

What kind of boat is Terrier? I went looking for pics in the gallery, but didn’t see any. She looks gorgeous from the little bit I can see in the pic you posted.

-Ben

Hi Ben, (with apologies to Doug),
Terrier is BCC hull #31. Built from a bare hull by Port Townsend resident Mike Logg and launched in 1987. I’ll make an effort to get some photos other than of a silly dog! Now back to halyard choices.

Cheers,
Tom

yeah sorry Douglas… hijacking :wink: but for a good cause!

I’ve seen some nice 3 strand on some BCC’s in pics… I think Roger used it and I know Rod does too. Looks salty. I thought I might think about that option when the time comes.

Iduna’s halyards are three-strand buff polyester English Braid purchased from www.rwrope.com We have also used Roblon Spunflex three-stand polypropylene purchased from Allen C Rawl & Co - http://www.shipsofwood.com/.

The spunflex is cheap compared to the English Brad. We like the hand of the English braid compared to the spunflex.

When I purchased the spunflex in 2002, I paid about $145 for 700 ft of 10 mm cordage.

I would love to go with the spunflex or English braid. But I have never seen any info on stretch characteristics. I don’t mind giving up a little performance for the “look”, but not to much. Has anyone seen any stretch specifications on this rope?

Gary:

First, let me say congratulations and best wishes and happiness. It is always wonderful when one can share their life with another. L and I just celebrated our 41st anniversary and we are still enjoying life together and having fun.

A found this forum thread I wrote a few years ago about using Roblon Spunflex rope.

http://www.samlmorse.com/forum/read.php?5,5925

There is no sense in repeating what I wrote several years ago.

After thoughts:

When we visited the schooner Bluenose, we inspected the Spunflex running rigging. It appeared to be in very good condition and very soft as if it were oiled. Carefully analysis at considerable cost, showed the rope was salt laden and damp compared to the Spunflex on Iduna. I suspect the “salt dampness” made the rope softer than that on IDUNA.

Although we purchased a spool of the English Braid when we were at the Annapolis Boat show several years ago, I am still open to the idea of using Spunflex. This year I will purchase another lot of Spunflex and replace the old Roblon life lines - may be 8 to 10 years old. Considering the cost of Spunflex vs English Braid, one can replace halyards several times for the cost of one halyard made from English Braid. Granted the hand is not as nice as English Braid. We have talked to the crew of several schooner, including the Pride’s crew about Spunflex. Some crew members hate it and some say it’s OK.

Let me emphasize, three-strand rope, regardlesss of the brand or material of construction should be inspected for internal chafe between the strands - Captain Nick Alley, former caption of the Virginia. Schooner Virginia Visit's the York River By-the-by Captain Alley did not like Spunflex.

If we were voyaging, I would have a spool of the Spunflex aboard IDUNA.

We recycle the hold halyards into dinghy tow ropes. Spunflex floats on water, hence we never worry about fouling the prop.

Oh, “careful analysis” = licking a finger, wiping the wet finger across the rope and tasting the solvent on the finger. Yummy, what I do for IDUNA is beyond words.

Hope that helps. I could always mail you a used section of an old Spunflex halyard at your pleasure.

Rod
Lost in Never Never Land.

Douglas,

We have a regular polyester double braid (Samson XLS) for our halyards and it works well. Being a couple years old, it has a good hand. Sure, it stretches a bit at first, so in a stiff breeze I wind up going forward after fifteen minutes or so and adding some more tension, but once it has stretched, it stops. We have Samson Trophy White double braid for sheets; it has a spun sheath and filament core.

I’ve also had great success with NE Rope’s 3-strand polyester, both their spun and filament variety. They stretch a bit more than the double-braids, but again…just tighten it up after a bit and all is well.

The best three strand I’ve used was aboard the SEA vessels; NE Ropes Multiline II: www.neropes.com - New England Ropes It doesn’t absorb much water, has a great hand, splices very well, and when the line is “breaking down” from exposure, the tracers break so you can see the line is loosing it. Designed as a safety line and used extensively for static lifting, and for Arborist duties. I presently have it in place for lifelines. 7/16" is about $.60/ft.

Cheers,
Aaron

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