Fiddling with Fids

[Brian D]

@jibes138, thanks for the idea. Don't know why I didn't think of that. So I made one using a (new to me) clothes hanger. LOL This wire fid is as long as my longest fid, which is 11 inches. Fits inside my fid case.

 

[CloudDiver]

Tools of the trade... it was fun to set this up.

Edit: Ignore the collection of WD-40 products, they aren' used for splicing, LOL! I got to meet the CEO of WD-40 company and he got me really excited about the new Specialist series, I had to try one of each! They work!

 

[CloudDiver]

Some close ups of the equipment;

 

[Meriachee]

Ha!

Don't mess with me you lil' SOB. LOL
View attachment 150431

@Brian D , just exactly what are you going to corral with that little thing?

 

[Brian D]

Oh... changing out the main sheet and it required an eye splice. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to learn. Now I will be changing out my halyards. Currently have 5/16 and moving back to the original 3/8.

 

[CloudDiver]

Tools of the trade... it was fun to set this up.

View attachment 150989

Edit: Ignore the collection of WD-40 products, they aren' used for splicing, LOL! I got to meet the CEO of WD-40 company and he got me really excited about the new Specialist series, I had to try one of each! They work!

Maybe in another post I'll explain how I put all this together. It wasn't terribly expensive, everything is available from common sources. It makes a very nice place to sit and work on splicing or fancywork projects with rope, but it also doubles as a great hobby/craft table for other interests. I also have my sewing machine stored under the table and this was also a great surface to cut out all the patterns for the SeaDek foam faux teak I installed in my cockpit.

 

[Allan12210]

I went and installed the line on the boat. Splice is just (whew) the right size. However, the line is about 9' too short for my main sheet. Oh well. It will have to do until I put a spice in the one I removed.

I had to put an eye in each end of my Dutchman boom brake line to secure it to the rigging on either side of the boat (fixed length). Of course it was too short. I solved that problem by learning how to make a soft shackle. (That's the next thing you can learn how to do after mastering splices.) Now the boom brake pulls up higher. This picture was before adding the soft shackle so you can see how low the boom brake was after snugging it up hard. The boom flapped around too much until the fix.

 

[jibes138]

@jibes138, thanks for the idea. Don't know why I didn't think of that. So I made one using a (new to me) clothes hanger. LOL This wire fid is as long as my longest fid, which is 11 inches. Fits inside my fid case.
View attachment 150986

So much easier than a fid and a pusher. Glad to see I have another convert. I never tried a Brian Toss wand and it looks like it will work really well but it also cost a lot. A coat hanger is very cost effective.