Steve (another one) wrote:
Dear all

May I pick-up on something mentioned in response to my earlier
question.

It was suggested that running a wire up a kevlar backstay is a simple
soultion and avoids having to insulate a piece of conventional
rigging. This sounds very sensible to me and plan to try it, it
avoids having to mess with exposed connections to a wire backstay.

However then Bruce in alaska said:
Then just helical wrap the antenna wire
around the Kevlar Backstay and have a really nice "Fully Loaded
Antenna with alot of electrical length......

Could someone (Bruce perhaps?) explain this. Would I gain performance
by simply wrapping the wire ? Is no of turns per length of backstay
critical ? Is 'core' diameter critical ?

Thanks

Steve

Whilst Kevlar rope has high tensile strength and low weight, they fail to
mention that it weakens rapidly under flexion, i.e. it should never be
knotted or doubled back on itself, as when seizing around a snall-diameter
thimble.

I would think that poses several problem when using as a backstay, unless
some kind of patent terminals are available.

Our Kevlar main halyard parted quite suddenly and without warning at the
thimble a few years ago, and I resolved to go back to wire-spliced
pre-stretched polyester in future.



Remove "nospam" from return address.