D12 stretch charastics

Dont use knots on D12 or V12, and if possible splice the ends and insert a thimble, especially where trap wires connect to the hounds.

Fell of a friends RS700 because he tied a bowline at the top of the trap lines and it cost a new trapeze line and a carbon tiller extension.

My 700 has trapeze wires, I've tried D12 but it was too springy for too long. My 49er had herzog trap lines which were great but they came with the boat so were pre-stretched. My kicker is however v12 which I fitted a year ago now and its going fine thanks to my nicely spliced thimbles.

To be honest it barely takes any longer to splice modern ropes than it does to tie knots in them, and if you dont have a fid or splicing needle, any old bit of wire with a hook on the end will do, assuming it fits down the core of the rope.

v12 is better in many respects but far worse in terms of UV degradation so you may have to replace sooner.

As far as knots go, all knots create weak points in lines... Ive heard of bowlines reduces breaking strength by about 60% whereas a really good eye splice will only reduce by about 10%?
Idealy with a stopper knot for a bobble a bulge of whipping twine might be a better option though but be surprised if you have any problems with a knot.

As for corners a thimble in the loop will spread the load and cut out any chafe if your worried and they dont cost much

I got d12 littered about the boat no probs with corners , gnotts or so , but , a man of yur means could afford some v12 , far superior for pole supports etc , used to have it on my sx and it didn't move , the d12  doing same job around pole does change length and not permantly , ie it shrinks and stretch's , but after 2 seasons I'm no longer worried by slack pole lines at times , it doesn't seem to matter .

 

as for trap lines folk use d12 frequently , but I'm wary of getting one wrapped round my neck if things go wrong , I know it can happen with wire , but its more unlikely and sailing solo theres no one close to get you out.

 

i've a short length  of 3mm d12 joining the two halfs of the stealth down haul system through the clew , withbowline over a bobble one end and tied to the shackle of the blocks other end  , and you know how much force goes on that , i do have a safety back up though just in case .

 

 

Originally posted by Isis You might have heard it called an adjustable splice? its an eye splice where the tail is burried for about one and a half fid lengths and then exits the splice and is left long. With no tension on the line and the outside of the splice bunched up you can freely adjust the size of the loop and the effective length of the line - with tension on the line though the splice binds up without slipping. Think chinese finger trap. The big advantage is that you can roughly set the height depending on the conditions, which means less line is needed in your main adjustment and theres less dangling around your feet on the light days.

 

Ahh, OK understand.

Thanks

Thanks

Not sure what you mean by a sliding splice?