reef/roller furler line suggestions

[asdf777]

About 150' is needed for reef outhaul (3 reefs to the cockpit), and 45' for the roller furler. Preferably something light and easy on the hands when it's both wet and dry. I'm thinking of Samson ultra-lite, 3/8" for the reefs and Samson warpspeed II 5/16" for the roller furler, but I haven't used either of these lines...

There are probably better and cheaper options.

Many thanks!
Gleb

[Brion Toss]

Hi,
What size boat? Unless it's under 25ft, you might need a longer furler line.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

[asdf777]

It's a 30' sloop. There is a 90% jib on the roller furler, so it should be 11' foot length + 30' boat length + some extra. You're probably right. 50 or 55'.

What kind of rope would you recommend?

Many thanks!
Gleb

[Stumble]

Asdf,

How much splicing are you willing to do? My favorite furling line comes in two parts. The first runs from the drum to the last turning block and is 3/16 amsteel blue. It is way to small to be used by hand, but the small size means it rolls very well on the drum. To this I splice a much larger Tenex single braid as long as needed reach the back of the boat with the sail fully rolled.

It takes some time to make, but it reduces drum problems, and leaves a nice size line to work with.

You could do the same thing easier, but with a lot more expense by tapering something like endurabraid, but you really don't need the extra strength.

[asdf777]

Hi, Stumble,

Splicing dyneema into something else sounds like a great idea! I should probably do the same with the reefs to keep the weight to a minimum. The only question is how do I do it? I've never spliced dyneema into another rope.

Tried googling, but couldn't find any instructions - just to make an eye, but I don't think it's the same technique, is it?

Thanks,
Gleb

[Stumble]

There are different ways to do it depending on what line you use.

http://l-36.com/halyard_splice.php
http://l-36.com/halyard.php