When I upgraded my halyards to use Amsteel with a double braided tail in 2012, I discussed that project in a different thread, but apparently never collected those details here.
GreenLake wrote:I'm in the process of replacing the halyard with Amsteel as well. In this context, check out the website
http://l-36.com.
He describes how to splice a halyard
http://l-36.com/halyard_splice.phpI found the descriptions easy to follow, but, here's the caveat, the dimensions he gives didn't work for me. I hadn't used Sta-Set, but "equivalent" rope from another manufacturer, and it was just a bit too wide, so that it simply wouldn't fit the opening in the Amsteel.
Solution: I used a short length of larger diameter Amsteel to make the splice, and then spliced the Amsteel using a Brummel splice. To be deployed whenever I get to take out the DS this season.
In that thread, another user mentioned that he had an existing tail with a loop and simply used a loop splice to connect. The advantage to him, was the ability to connect a halyard tensioner at that point.
Then, somebody asked "Why not use Amsteel for the full length of the halyard?" and this was my reply:
GreenLake wrote:The main reason for adopting a split Amsteel / double braid solution for the halyard is that the Amsteel is can be sized very thin and is very slippery. This makes handling the halyard unpleasant. It is better to make the part that is being handled from a more grippy material - which also doesn't have as low-stretch.
There are ropes that are Dyneema core with a very grippy cover. These can be used for halyards at rather low diameters, but they are grippy enough to be handled (with gloves, because you'll want to use the narrow diameter). And there's no need to change construction - in fact, it's not possible to splice rope line that.
If you want to look up the full discussion thread, you can find it
here.