[Brian Duff]

In the quest to save a bit of weight aloft,make things work more efficiently and less streachy and maybe make maintince a bit more pleasent, why not replace the standing rigging on a 39' 16 ton Gaff Cutter built in 1903 with Yale Ultrex or some other comprable spectra line ?
It seems the stretch is only slightly more but it would be easy to get much stonger and even smaller diameter shroud with the ultrex therefore actually reducing strecth, and then one could cover the length of the line/splice/eye with a polyester cover (which is supplied in solid black, as well as many other colors) and maybe even paint the whole 'gang' as well to protect it further. For that matter why not use spectra lanyards as well, and specrtra bridles for the peak halyards.
just chasing down ways to make things lighter and easier to work with and maintain. Most blocks aloft and on deck are probably going to be switched out for harkens carbo series with wooden cheeks made up to help them fit in visually...

Edited : 10:50am
now that I think of it we usually use vectran for the runners on most boats, and I suppose it would be suitable here for shrouds, as well as for halyards and downhauls, and in all the tackles on board. I was only thinking spectra at first because I thought it might be more suitable for the halyards and lanyards and such than vectran (spectra seems to resist fatigue and chafe better where I have been using it). We would want to just buy whole spools that can be used for most the rigging on board....

Advice and thoughts are appreciated.