Just in case anyone was wondering... yes, I'm crazy. Now that we have that established... yes, I'm planning to make standing rigging (just lower shrouds to start) for my little sailboat which doesn't need anything that fancy.
Why am I doing it? Because I like to learn... even it costs me money. Why would I risk wasting money? Since I got my New England STS HTR 3mm at 40% off it will actually cost less than 1/8" 1x19 wire because I don't have to pay for swaging. BTW, the breaking strength (and 40% safe working load) of 3mm STS HSR is nearly double what it is for 1x19 stainless wire rope in the same diameter. I would have liked to use 4mm but its not available in that size, and 5mm would be triple over-kill.
Anyway, to the real question... I'll be using locking Brummel Splices to make the eyes. I've seen multiple examples of spliced Dyneema using Sail-makers thimbles (fully enclosed), but I've also seen splices using standard thimbles (open-ended). Is there a 'correct' choice here? I'm assuming the Sail-makers thimbles are 'safer', less likely to crush... but I highly doubt the tension on my little rig would crush an open-ended thimble.
Obviously, a big deal is cost. Standard thimbles are only about $2 a pair, where Sail-makers thimbles are almost $6 each.
Here is a really good source of info on Dyneema used for rigging including real-world test data on stretch and different rope makers' offering. Look about 3/4 down the page and you'll a breaking test on a back-stay that was taken out of service after several years and still achieved impressive results.
Why am I doing it? Because I like to learn... even it costs me money. Why would I risk wasting money? Since I got my New England STS HTR 3mm at 40% off it will actually cost less than 1/8" 1x19 wire because I don't have to pay for swaging. BTW, the breaking strength (and 40% safe working load) of 3mm STS HSR is nearly double what it is for 1x19 stainless wire rope in the same diameter. I would have liked to use 4mm but its not available in that size, and 5mm would be triple over-kill.
Anyway, to the real question... I'll be using locking Brummel Splices to make the eyes. I've seen multiple examples of spliced Dyneema using Sail-makers thimbles (fully enclosed), but I've also seen splices using standard thimbles (open-ended). Is there a 'correct' choice here? I'm assuming the Sail-makers thimbles are 'safer', less likely to crush... but I highly doubt the tension on my little rig would crush an open-ended thimble.
Obviously, a big deal is cost. Standard thimbles are only about $2 a pair, where Sail-makers thimbles are almost $6 each.
Here is a really good source of info on Dyneema used for rigging including real-world test data on stretch and different rope makers' offering. Look about 3/4 down the page and you'll a breaking test on a back-stay that was taken out of service after several years and still achieved impressive results.
