three-strand splicing?

[navahoIII]

Can't seem to find the trick for splicing a three-strand mooring line to itself after wrapping around a thimble. The instructions I have are minimal.

Anyone have a clue?

[Bob Hunkins]

Tough to answer here. I would recommend getting a copy of "Royce's Sailing Illustrated". Google tat and you should be able to find a copy. Has lots of that kind of information, and the splicing instructions are the best I ever found.

[navahoIII]

Thanks, Bob, I'll check it out.

[K.C. Walker]

http://www.neropes.com/SplGuide_Categor ... Braid.aspx

[GreenLake]

One set of instructions I remember is to untwist the rope 1/2 turn before tucking in the strands. That's to correct the tendency of the eye to become twisted. With a thimble, the eye would stay open, of course (without it, it can twist shut).

[Moose]

After you get the rope wrapped around the thimble wrap some tape about 1/4" "above" where the splice will start to hold it in place around the thimble. this will allow you concentrate on making the splice and not holding the rope in place.

There are hundreds of videos on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=eye+splice&aq=f

[navahoIII]

Thanks, everyone, for the help. I did manage to fashion a splice though I'm sure I missed some tucks here and there, so it isn't exactly symmetrical. How much does that matter? I set aside about 14 crowns to work with. Alas, I did not wrap tape around the thimble top. The thimble seems to be in there fairly securely but not quite as snug as it could be.
After a thorough wetting do you suppose it will tighten up? I'ts nylon.

[GreenLake]

You could do one of several things.

• Cut off the splice and redo it.
• Try to work it tighter.
• Wrap the thimble with yarn.
• Call it perfect and move on to the next project.

To work it tighter, you would go back to the neck of the thimble and try to lift out each tuck in turn, which should result in a small tightening.

You could use any of many popular seizings to wrap the thimble to the rope, that way it can not fall out if not under load. This would increase friction, if a rope is supposed to run through the eye.

I'd take a good look at whether your result looks like it's functional. If so, why not leave it at that. Always time to redo it, if it should show signs of failing over time.

[navahoIII]

Thanks, again, for the good advice.

I did take it apart and put it back together six or seven times, cutting two feet of line off in the process, and it finally worked! It looks to be correctly done and symmetrical. I seized it in three places along the thimble and made sure the first tuck was the closest to thimble opening so that it is now tight and secure.

I wouldn't want my fellow sailors to think I only made a half-hearted attempt!

By the way, I also referred to "Sailing for Beginners" by Moulton
Farnham, that's we've had for years. It's an excellent source and well written too. Don't know if it's still inprint.

The mooring line is now about 15' 8". Long enough I think -- maybe even too long.

[GreenLake]

Glad you have a good-looking and functional splice now.

About the length, all I can say, it depends. I tied up last summer at a friend's dock, and, with the lake low, the DS tended to get pulled under and then slammed into the underside of the dock by the powerboat wakes. Bad situation.

With a long line (50') that I keep in the boat just in case, I was able to loop around a piling opposite the dock to hold her off.

A few years ago I did the same thing you did, once with a 17' and once with a 20' line. I used soft eyes (no thimble). They worked fine, but in the end, I found the eyes less practical than I had imagined and I recently switched to a different type of line, sold to me as "ideal for dinghy painters". It's braided and I find it easier to use than the three-strand nylon. As I only tie up intermittently, my needs may be different from people who keep their boat at a dock.

[navahoIII]

Thanks, GreenLake.

Now for a dumb question: Don't I need to put another eyesplice on the other end of the line so that it can loop around the bow cleat? This would be larger and "soft". The thimble end attaches to the bottom of the pickup bouy -- right?

[GreenLake]

Ok, now I think I understand. So you're tying up to a mooring buoy where there's a fitting to accept the eye with thimble.

For the bow cleat end, you can either just belay the line, or use a soft eye. If your bow cleat has two legs holding up the horns, in other words, if there's a hole in the middle, then the way to go is to push the eye through the hole and have it just large enough so it can be flipped over both horns.

I used to do that with the stern cleats when docking, but found it more convenient to be able to adjust the length of the line from inside the boat as well, so now I tend to just belay there. Howver, as I wrote, I tie up only for short periods. Your method would seem to give you dependable security and in mooring like that you don't need to adjust your line.

For that purpose, 15' is plenty. I see loots of boats on buoys with much shorter lines around here. Depends a bit on how tightly they are packed, as well.

[navahoIII]

Thanks for the good advice, GreenLake, looks like I get another go at splicing!

On the thimble end, isn't it secured to the bouy chain under the float? What would you suggest for a fitting -- a screw shackle? How about a stainless caribiner?

[GreenLake]

Sorry, I mainly know the floats where the end of the chain is led to the top. But, sure. If it's a swinging mooring I'd think you'd need a swivel somewhere, or the line will get all twisted. That happens in surprisingly short time. If you tie the boat between two buoys or in a river with steady current, that may not be an issue.

A carabiner would be quicker than a shackle - but I don't have long-term experience with either one, so I can't give you first-hand advice on what will serve you best.

[navahoIII]

Okay, GreenLake, eyesplice on the other end is done, with only one re-do!

I have led it through the cleat "legs" and secured (as you suggested) rather than belaying it. Looks great -- and functional!

While splicing may be a bit hard on the fingers it is satisfying to see the end result! One more step toward true seamanship!! -- many more to go...

Thanks, again.