I was able to do HPME (dyneema) very inexpensively this winter and am happy so far. My boat didn't have midship gates, so I just needed hardware for the Pelicans on the stern end and 4mm dyneema lashings on the bow pulpit. I got my rope from a reputable but inexpensive online source ($0.55/ft) and cut/spliced the lines while watching TV. The other end needed to be spliced onboard after I routed it through the stanchions, but those only took about 20 minutes each once I got good at it. The only tools required were a fid ($8) and a good pair of scissors.
One note: I bought SK75 which is considerably cheaper (and harder to find) than the pre-stretched SK78 but I regret not manually stretching them before/during install. They sagged the first time I gave them a good shove and needed to be re-tensioned, but they've been pretty good since. I lashed them tight, and then used the threads on the Pelicans to fine-tune the tension. Besides - they're not shrouds so a little stretch isn't the end of the world.
Maybe they won't last as long as bare stainless, but they're much more comfortable, white in color, easy to move out of the way when the gate is down, and when I do have to redo them I already have the hardware so it'll just be $100 in rope.
One note: I bought SK75 which is considerably cheaper (and harder to find) than the pre-stretched SK78 but I regret not manually stretching them before/during install. They sagged the first time I gave them a good shove and needed to be re-tensioned, but they've been pretty good since. I lashed them tight, and then used the threads on the Pelicans to fine-tune the tension. Besides - they're not shrouds so a little stretch isn't the end of the world.
Maybe they won't last as long as bare stainless, but they're much more comfortable, white in color, easy to move out of the way when the gate is down, and when I do have to redo them I already have the hardware so it'll just be $100 in rope.
