[Joe Henderson]

Dear All,

I have just realised when reading the last few posts, on lifelines particularly, that no-one on here seems to be aware that a way to achieve a locked brummell when you cannot pass the other end of the line, whether in a grommett or other closed loop, to join long lengths of inaccesible rope, or indeed around a fitting that is too large to pass, ( like your complete boat when securing lifelines to the pulpit ) has existed for at least 40 years.

In 1972 I was a spotty-faced 16 year old appretice at Spencer Rigging when the problem arose of how to strop some timber blocks using the inner core of some 16 mm Braidline ( the British ropes version of Sampson Braid.)

I had been using the core that was discarded when making covered wire spinnaker braces and genoa sheets ( I shudder at the memory! ) to secure my trials bike in the back of my mates Ford Transit, securing one end to the load rails utilising a rudimetary form of the splice/hitch that has become known as the Locked Brummell.

Mine had the two interlocking tucks but I left the short end unburied and just put a whipping on said end about 3 inches from the two interlocking tucks.

This held for the job it was doing for many years. When the van was finally scrapped the tie lines were still swinging merrily from the upper inner corner of the roof.

When the block strop problem came up all the time-served men were scratching their heads a bit and I, as only an arrogant youth can, piped up with " Why dont you just tuck them through each other like I do for my lashings?'

Much scowling and dismissive gestures until I persuaded them to have a look at what I was doing.

The problem was, of course, how to acheive the same security in a closed ring/grommet.

More scratching of heads and I was a bit nervous about suggesting it, but went ahead anyway ( I was much more arrogant in those days, if that is possible to believe ) and proposed that we tucked one end as per usual then unlaid the braid of the other end, passed half each side of the line to form the interlock, and then re-laid up the strands into the sennet that comprised the material in the first place.

( As an aside, it may be a trick of the photographs, but every time I see a step-by-step explanation on how to do a locked brummell the demonstrator seems to just stick the two parts through each other at 90 degrees.

I have always, from the very beginning, followed the angle of the braid making sure that there is an equal number of strands each side of my pull-through. This seems to make for a fairer lay of the two parts together. )

-Back to Cowes cica 1972-

Graham " Curly " Floyd then grabbed the fledgling grommet out of my hands and tapered and buried the two ends and with a couple of whippings and a few tweaks on length and taper cofiguration the join was sorted out.

I have been doing them in the UK and Australia ever since.

I got hold of some ex America's Cup spectra core and used it for some blocks on a smallish gaffer here in Sydney in 1987 and since the advent of Spectron 12 and it's ilk, I have used the join, in dacron, spectra and kevlar to taper and repair halyards on site.

The most recent joins I did were out on site at a large electrical cable installation where they had to gulley-pull 2 kilometres of cable in one go, and I joined-up several lengths of 16 mm Lankhorste Euronete Dyneema to make one length of just over the required 2000 metres.

Of course, they broke the pulling line and I had to return and make a join standing up to my waist in water down in an access pit.

Well I was the one who said I could do it - natural arrogance you see.

There again, as my mate Mike Vester says, " If your'e not arrogant enough, you never get anything done! "

Apropos of that, the Dynex standing rigging for the 200 ton charter schooner is progressing.

Photos to follow.

Regards,

Joe Henderson, Henderson Rigging.