Roger Long wrote:
Say, that's the best idea of this young day.

Glad to be of help.

The splices are the big
time hold up and are expensive in fancy rope. I was thinking (well
assuming which is not at all the same thing) that the splice was
necessary for clearance. I forgot about the thicker tail.

Remember to get a shackle the "captures" the halyard.


According to the tests in the West Catalog, 3/8 Sta-Set has 1.5%
elongation at $1.01 per foot and XLS Extra .75% at $1.76. After that,
prices skyrocket for minimal stretch gains.

The stretch is measured at 15% of the breaking strength. Since XLS is
not as strong as Sta-Set X, the difference is actually pretty small.

I've wondered what the actual "incremental load" on the halyard is.
When hoisting, its only a few hundred pounds that tensions the line
and that will pull a few inches of stretch. When a gust hits, I
assume most of the load is taken along the luff, not by the halyard,
so the incremental load might be well under 100 pounds. In that case,
we're talking about a stretch that's under an inch, not enough to
concern a cruiser.


If we go with 1/2" Sta-Set at $1.23 a foot, we should have the same
stretch as the more expensive line (based on cross section area),
easier hoisting, and cheaper. We'll never notice the extra weight and
windage in our cruising.

And you can tell them at the bar that you got the super expensive
"easy hand" rope, rather than that cheap spectra stuff.