Hi all.
I’m looking for someone who can help with sizing and measure length of running rigging for the Aspirations sailboat. I’ve never done this before and do not want to make it oversized or to short!
Alsk I guess I will need to check all pulleys etc.
Any help would be much appreciated.
My mobile 07904115773 Andy.
Thanks s lot.
The widths of the sheaves where halyards exit the mast should give you the diameter for what you need. Certainly not larger, unless some of them are rope to wire. If they are rope to wire I would suggest you pull them out with a bit of strong light cord attached which you can leave in as a messenger (ends secured) to pull replacements through. You should then be able to use the old ones to measure lengths of rope and wire from the join before getting them made up.
Assuming they are rope all the way you should measure from the exit point to the deck then double this and add sufficient length to reach from the foot of the mast via your organisers etc and round winches to where they are cleated off with allowance for a reasonable length of tail. Better to find you are a couple of metres over length than too short because you have tried to be too economical. If you are splicing in eyes yourself for the end fittings you will need to allow for this as well (more than you might think in my experience + a bit if you need to have a second go at it).
When I have done this either using a messenger line or an old halyard to pull a new one through I have always used insulating tape to fair off the join to minimise it jamming.
Hi Jonathan,
Thank you for your instructions.
How do you measure the widths of the sheaves. Just using a vernier calliper?
Do you know what make / materials ropes are good. I mean mid range?
Thank you for help once again.
Andy
A vernier gauge will be most accurate and what I would use as it can be difficult to judge with a rule if they are only small. The important thing is that the rope sits comfortably in the groove (not riding above it) so a tad smaller than the sheave width may be what you need. The old lines should be a good guide.
I would go for braided polyester. Soft on the hands and you can use different colours for different jobs to avoid confusion. If looking to be a bit more economical three strand polyester is good and tough, less prone to kink and is easy to splice yourself and sometimes can be had with a colour coding strand in it. Braided can be DIY spliced too but you need a few tools and there are video’s of how to do it easily found online. Videos easily found likewise for the three strand.
Avoid polypropylene – it is cheap but does not stand exposure to UV well and breaks down quickly. OK for builders’ rope but not for a yachtsman.
When I am buying rope I tend to look on-line often Ebay. A search for three strand polyester or braided polyester should bring up a good choice so you can compare prices. I don’t think there is any need to go for a well known name like Marlowe as I have found the cost likely to be a lot higher and I have found perfectly good quality elsewhere.
I have used marinebuzz on Ebay which is Sharp & Enright Ships Chandler at Dover for quite a bit of stuff at really good prices and also chandlery which calls itself englishseadog on Ebay. I like Seamark Nunn for online buying but you might find you can do ok at The Pirates Cave locally.
Feel free to contact me my details are on the members listing on the club site