I did the splice myself, and yes, it was a bit messy. I did the same to make new halyards; they all seem to be working OK, but they're not very pretty. Allen has a couple other variants up now at http://l-36.com/halyard.php (I should have linked that page the first time). If I were starting over, I'd probably try the one that adds a cover over the Amsteel instead of splicing. That looks pretty straightforward. BTW - I have a 1/4" fid but I think wire fids (just bent out of an old coil of wire I had in the garage) work much better on the skinny lines for our small boats. Brion Toss has some tools on his site that look great., but I haven't tried those Maybe one will show up under the Christmas tree.
And no, I don't yet have mast gates. Our main still has a bolt rope; I decided just to wait until we buy a new main instead of modifying the old one we have. Not this season, but it might make it in the budget for next winter.
