Is there a good reason for not using Dyneema for shrouds on a gaff cutter?

[Joe Henderson]

Dear Andrew,

The East Coast was my next guess. I should have known really, looking at the colour of the water. I was standing on the banks of your river only last April drinking a pint with my mate. He has a rigging loft on the Deben and is the chap I was going to recommend but thought it may have been a bit far for him to travel all the way to the wilds of Devon,

If the firm you mention in Maldon starts with a capital 'TS' then you will be well served by them. (no pun intended)

We have been using CNC machined alloy deadeyes from two makers in the States and cast 316 heart shaped thinbles from, probably, China, but they all look very clumsy for the job and are like something that you would obtain from a commercial fishing shop and not at all yachty.

I don't know if you can still get Tuphnol in sheet, bar and tube form, but I reckon that if you had conventional deadeyes machined from decent sized round bar they would be perfect with minimal maintenance, and look right as well. I suggest round bar because the last time I looked the fabric was wound round like a roll of wallpaper to form the bar and so will stand the type of diametric forces better than a deadeye cut from sheet. I know that sheaves are made from sheet but those that are required to withstand high loads have to be riveted axially to keep the layers of linen together. I have seen several split.

But then again, the wrapping and containing effect of the lanyards may support the laminations in sheet components. maybe talk to the makers about the properties you need.

Do let us know how it all goes, your boat looks like an ideal candidate for - as some would have it - this type of retrograde step in the history of tension members !

Regards,
Joe Henderson.