K.C. Walker wrote:I had some 1/4" Sta-Set, at least I thought it was, and what I thought was 1/8" amsteel. As you say, that Amsteel doesn't stretch and I was not able to stuff the cover in it. If the double taper makes it easier, which it sounds like it does, I may just try that.
I don't know what it is with the 1/8" Amsteel. I couldn't even finish a splice to 3/16. Finally, I tapered the cover and left the cover bury short (as far as I could get it when it slipped off the fid). That was for a new main halyard and I sailed with it for 7 hours in pretty brisk winds and it seems to hold fine.
For a halyard, the main focus is on reduced stretch, which means that it's very likely that the loads are never going to go up to the limit - if true, that means, a splice with shorter bury might be fine.
I've used the double taper on my jib halyard, the choice is a bit accidental, the double braid wasn't long enough to use the halyard as a topping lift when the sail is down, so I got 3/16 and started over. Now I have both halyards done that way.
For the main, I kept the eye splice with thimble plus metal shackle (without the weight of the shackle, I'd constantly lose the halyard up the mast). For the jib halyard, I made a soft eye that can be opened. It goes around a stopper knot that's attached to the sail (a short loop of Amsteel, ending in a diamond knot). You'll find pictures and instructions for that on L-36.com.