The Blue View - Making an Eye Splice

Fourteen years ago when we first started cruising on Nine of Cups, we had the opportunity to go to the Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA) gam in Melbourne. This is their biggest get-together, and there were hundreds of other sailors. Their experience levels ranged from raw newbies like us to people who had spent decades living aboard and had multiple circumnavigations under their keels. We could hardly contain our excitement at being with all these people who were living our dream.

On our first day, we arrived early and stopped at a nearby Denny's for breakfast. All the tables were taken and it looked to be a long wait. We put our names in and were about to sit down and bide our time when a man came up to us and asked if we would like to join him and his wife at their table. When we did, they introduced themselves - Andy and Pam Wall. It wasn't until later that we discovered they were quite a famous couple. Andy's home-built 30' sloop was the first Australian yacht to round Cape Horn in 1969, and together Pam and Andy spent decades cruising the globe with their family. To us, they were just Pam and Andy, fun and knowledgeable new friends who were kind enough to share their table.

Later that day, we discovered they were both giving seminars at the gam – Pam on preparing for a storm and Andy on how to splice line. We attended both, which were absolutely terrific, and that's where I learned how to splice an eye in double braid rope.

Sadly, Andy died way too young a few years ago. As I was splicing an eye in our new main halyard a few days ago, maybe my 50^th or so since Andy taught me how, my thoughts returned to Pam and Andy. I thought it only fitting that I pass along Andy's method. You can still get Andy's video on splicing and learn the method directly from him at this link.

With only a few slight variations of my own, this is Andy's method for splicing an eye in double braid line:

Tools needed:

• Fid in appropriate size for the line– I have both regular tubular fids and Brion Toss's splicing wand in a few different sizes and like them equally well.

• Box cutter or sharp knife

• Needle nose pliers

• Scissors

• Tape – either masking or plastic

• Whipping twine and needle

• Blue or black permanent marker

• Large screwdriver or spike

Note on fid lengths: A short fid length is 8x the line diameter, a long fid is 14x the line diameter, and a full fid length is 22x the diameter. I have a table at the end with the fid lengths for a few common line sizes.

Note regarding fids: These directions are for a standard tubular type fid. If using the Brion Toss splicing wand, the cover and core are pulled through each other, rather than pushed, so the process is slightly different. Sailrite has a nice video on splicing an eye using the splicing wand.

Step 1 – Marking the cover

From the end of the rope, measure back one full fid length and make mark 'A'. From 'A' form the desired eye size and make mark 'B'. From mark 'B', measure one long fid length and make mark 'D'. From mark 'D', measure 5 full fid lengths down the rope and make a figure 8 knot.

From mark 'A', count eight consecutive left strands towards the end of the line and make a heavy mark completely around the line. This is mark 'C'. From mark 'C', count five consecutive left strands towards the end of the line and mark the fifth pair of strands. From this point, count another four consecutive left strands and mark the fourth strand pair. Continue counting and marking in this 5:4 sequence to the end of the line.

Step 2 – Marking the core

Bend the line sharply at mark 'B' and carefully spread the cover strands to expose the core. Using the needle nose pliers, pull the core out from the cover, making sure not to pull any of the cover strands. Pull the core braid completely out of the cover.

Tape the ends of the core and the cover. Holding the exposed core, slide the cover braid back towards the knot. Then hold the knot and slide the slack cover back down the core in the direction of the end of the line until all the slack has been removed. Mark the core at the point it exits the cover. This is mark '1'.

Once again, slide the cover towards the knot. Measure one short fid length towards the knot from mark '1' and make two marks that go completely around the core. This is mark '2'. From mark '2', measure one full fid length plus a short fid length toward the knot and make three marks around the core. This is mark '3'.

Step 3 – Burying the cover

Taper the end of the cover by cutting through the tape at a 45 degree angle. Slide the tapered end into the fid and tape in place. Insert the fid into the hollow core at mark '2' and out at mark '3' (Photo2-a). When entering or exiting the braid with the fid, always go between strands. Pull the fid with the cover attached through the core until mark 'A' on the cover is exposed at mark '3' on the core. Remove the cover from the fid (Photo2-b).

Step 4 – Tapering the cover

Remove the tape from the end of the cover. Cut and remove the marked strand pairs, starting at the end of the cover and working back to mark 'C'.

Pull the cover back out of the core at mark '2' until mark 'C' is aligned with mark '2' on the core. To prevent the cover from disappearing into the core, tie a loose overhand knot in the end of the cover.

Step 5 – Burying the core

Attach the fid to the core tail using the same procedure as before. Insert the fid into the cover at mark 'C' and out at mark 'D'. Pull the core through at mark 'D' until all slack has been removed. Remove the fid from the core (Photo2-c).

Hints:

• The line may be extremely tight where the fid passes between marks 'C' and 'D'. To create more space, grasp the core as it exits the cover at mark 'B' and pull extra core out of the line. This will cause the cover to pucker and provide some extra slack.

• Avoid snagging the core with the end of the fid as it passes through the cover between marks 'B' and 'D'. To check if the core has been snagged, pull on the exposed core where it exits from the cover at mark 'B'. If the core moves freely, it is okay to proceed. If the core seems to be stuck, pull the fid back until the core is no longer snagged and continue.

Step 6 – Smoothing the Crossover

The crossover is the point where mark 'C' on the cover and mark '2' on the core meet. To tighten, hold the line at the crossover point and alternately pull on the free ends of the cover and the core. Continue this process until the crossover is approximately the same diameter as the line (Photo2-d).

Step 7 – Burying the tails

To bury the cover tail, untie the overhand knot. Hold the line at the crossover and smooth the core towards the cover tail, which will disappear inside the core (Photo2-e).

To bury the core tail, hold the crossover and smooth out the slack in the cover braid from the crossover to mark 'D'. Repeat this process several times to remove all the cover slack. Most, but not all of the core will disappear. Mark the core tail where it exits from the cover at mark 'D'. Then mark the core at mark 'B' by inserting the marker into the opening at mark 'B'.

Pull out the core tail at mark 'D' until the mark made at point 'B' appears. Cut off the excess core at the mark nearest the end of the core and unbraid the core tail back to the second mark. Fan out the strands (Photo2-f) and cut them so they are evenly tapered back from the end to a point about halfway to the second mark.

Again, hold the line at the crossover and smooth the cover braid from the crossover towards mark 'D'. The exposed core tail will disappear completely inside the cover (Photo3-a).

Step 8 – Finishing

Secure the knot in the body of the line to a solid anchor point. A lot of tension will be placed on the line when burying the splice, so the anchor point should be sturdy.

The slack in the cover braid will be used to bury the exposed cover, crossover and core down to mark 'A' to produce the desired size eye. This is accomplished by holding the line at the top of the eye and sliding the cover slack back from the knot towards the splice. Milk the cover from the crossover around the radius of the eye to the throat at 'B' (Photo3-b). Pull the leg sharply with a spike or screwdriver to help seat the splice. Flex and/or hammer the splice section to loosen the fibers. Seize or cross-stitch the eye to finish the splice.

Fid Length Table

(Dimensions are inches/mm)

Rope Diameter Short Fid Long Fid Full Fid

1/4”/6mm 2”/50mm 3-1/2”/89mm 5-1/2”/140mm

5/16”/8mm 2-1/2”/64mm 4-1/4”/108mm 6-3/4”/171mm

3/8”/10mm 3”/76mm 4-3/4”/121mm 7-3/4”/197mm

1/2”/12mm 4”/102mm 7”/178mm 11”/280mm

9/16”/14mm 4-1/4”/108mm 8”/204mm 12-1/4”/310mm

5/8”/16mm 4-1/2”/114mm 9-1/2”/240mm 14”/355mm

The Blue View - Reeving a New Halyard

One of the items on my to-do list was replacing the main halyard. We replaced it last while in New Zealand a few years ago and at the time I thought I would try using a higher quality, lower stretch line than the usual yacht braid.. The cost would be almost the same since I could use a smaller size.

The line was great and I liked it - it ran through the blocks easier and the main came down with less resistance than with the older, larger line. The only problem was that the rope clutch, the clamp that holds the line in place once it is winched to the correct position, chafes the smaller sized line when it is under tension. Once I noticed the four chafe spots corresponding to each of the sail positions, I swapped the line end-for-end a year ago, and now we have 8 chafe spots. It is time to replace it.

We have an internal halyard system. The line starts in the cockpit, goes through the clutch and makes its way to the mast through a couple of blocks. It enters the mast through a small hole, then exits the top of the mast over a block, and is routed back to deck level.

It is easy to reeve a new halyard. Simply attach the cockpit end of the old halyard to the new halyard, then pull the old halyard through the clutch, blocks and mast. As long as the two ends remain attached to each other, it only takes a few minutes to reeve the new halyard. If the lines part, however, the job will take two days instead of a half hour.

The trick is attaching the two ends together without adding any bulk or stiffness. The union must be strong enough to ensure the two lines don't come apart but must not add any bulk or the joint will not pass through the clutch. If it is too stiff, it won't bend around the blocks.

I have a couple of methods for attaching the ends together. The easiest is to simply butt the ends together and use whipping twine to stitch them in place. Then I tape over the union with plastic electrical tape to make the union smooth and add a little strength. This method works well for external halyards and topping lifts that don't pass through a clutch.

For my internal halyards, especially when the line passes through a clutch, I use a different method. I start by cutting off about 2” (50mm) of the cover of the old halyard. Next, I pull a few inches of core out of the new halyard and cut off 2” (50mm) of it, and tape the ends of the core together. The newly taped core is drawn back into the new halyard until the covers butt together and the union is taped with plastic electrical tape. The I stitch everything together with whipping twine.

It usually take a little finesse to pull the newly joined ends through the clutch, but once past this obstacle, it is no problem pulling them through the blocks and mast. When the new halyard is in place, I cut the lines apart and either splice an eye in the new halyard or whip the end.

The Blue View - Communicating with Hand Signals

When we first started cruising, one of the things we discovered was that there was a frequent need to communicate with each other at a distance. This happened most frequently when we were dropping or raising the anchor, but also occurred when I went up the mast or when one of us was positioned at the bow trying to direct us through a narrow channel, or around hazards.

In the early days, the typical procedure for raising anchor was for Marcie to go forward to the bow and operate the windlass while I maneuvered Nine of Cups. It takes a little teamwork to get the anchor up, especially when we are in a crowded anchorage and the wind is blowing. The wind causes the chain to be taut, which in turns makes the windlass work harder. I try to motor slowly in the direction of the anchor to take the tension off the chain while Marcie brings in the slack. When all the slack chain has been taken in and we are directly over the anchor, depending on the bottom type, it sometimes takes some finesse to break the anchor free. When it does finally break free, I need to hold position while Marcie brings the anchor up enough to ensure we don't snag it on anything - like someone else's anchor rode or a more shallow spot. Once she has the anchor in view, I can begin maneuvering around the other boats while Marcie secures the anchor. During this process, Marcie may need me to stop while she knocks the pile of chain down or to clean the chain of mud, kelp or seaweed.

Through it all, Marcie and I need to communicate quite a bit of information. She needs to tell me when to motor forward, how fast and in what direction. She needs to tell me when to stop, when the anchor has broken free, and when it is in view. Our initial method of communicating was by shouting at each other. When the wind was blowing, the engine was on, and Marcie was facing away from me, she needed to shout REALLY LOUDLY for me to hear her. Even then, I didn't always hear what she said, so I would have to yell into the wind as LOUDLY as I could, asking her to repeat what she said. There are a whole number of reasons why this wasn't ideal. The number one reason is that when we were yelling at each other, even when we started out with the best of intentions, we both got irritated and then angry. Even when things did go well, we spent the next few hours being snippy with each other. The next biggest reason was that voices really carry over the water. Even if we couldn't understand what the other was saying, everyone else within a half mile could hear us yelling at each other. Sometimes, this would be a source of amusement for the other yachties, but more often I'm sure it was quite irritating, especially when we were trying to leave quietly at the break of dawn.

We thought about getting small portable radios or one of the wireless intercom systems. But in the end, we decided to devise our own system of hand signals for communicating with each other. We needed to be able to communicate each command using only one hand, and each signal must be clearly discernible to the other at a fair distance. These are the hand signals we use:

There have been a number of times when one of us was on the bow or part way up the mast to improve visibility while maneuvering around hazards. The atolls in the South Pacific which were often strewn with numerous uncharted coral heads are an example. We use all the same hand signals, but added one more to the list:

We have a few other hand signals we use occasionally that aren't actually documented. They translate roughly to the following:

“Uhh – sweetie, I think you may not have recognized my last 6 signals and you will be embarrassed to know that you have just run over the mooring ball...”

or, “Actually honey, I did see your last 6 hand signals, and while I found your last hand gesture quite endearing, you may not have noticed that the wind has piped up just a skosh ...”

and my favorite, “That was quite a humorous response, love. While pondering it, I thought of a new storage location for the boathook I'm holding...”