[allene]

I would like to replace my all wire main halyard on my L-36 with some Amsteel. I have picked 3/16 Amsteel as the desired size. It has about the same stretch and strength as my 5/32 wire and I think it will fit the existing wire sheave grove. It also "looks right".

My question is what to cover it with for the half I would be pulling on with my hands. Stripping the cover off some 5/16 XLS and using that as the cover for the Amsteel was recommended by Samson but I would prefer something closer to 7/16 for a nice feel. What I am thinking of is threading the Amsteel inside some 3/8 line without removing any inner core. That would bulk it up to about 7/16.

However I am afraid that threading the Amsteel inside double braid would be very difficult if not impossible. Therefore I am wondering about threading it into some 3/8 12 strand single braid specifically Tenex, which is available, inexpensive, and seems like it has some nice properties although I have never seen any.

I cannot find references of anybody doing this so I am afraid there might be a good reason not to do it and am seeking advice.

I am also not sure how I would terminate the end of the cover as I clearly could not bury 3/8 line inside the 3/16 Amsteel. Perhaps I could bury the inner core and outer braid separately if I use double braid. Perhaps I could bury each of the 12 strands in a different section of the Amsteel. Otherwise, all I can think of is to taper the 3/8 and do a long whipping over the taper.