Amsteel/Dynex to double braid splice?

[Brion Toss]

Hello,
The Amsteel/Tenex splice is a nice one; it would be good to be able to have an all-Dacron tail, just to make things cheaper, but this can be difficult. The splice at the link is clever, but I'd be amazed if it generates acceptable strength; too much load on too small a portion of the core, and too little friction on too-small a section of the cover. Posting a splice like this, without conducting a destruction test, is like coming up with a clever new recipe for brake pads, but not actually trying it out before recommending it.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

[allene]

Originally Posted by Brion Toss

Hello,
The Amsteel/Tenex splice is a nice one; it would be good to be able to have an all-Dacron tail, just to make things cheaper, but this can be difficult. The splice at the link is clever, but I'd be amazed if it generates acceptable strength; too much load on too small a portion of the core, and too little friction on too-small a section of the cover. Posting a splice like this, without conducting a destruction test, is like coming up with a clever new recipe for brake pads, but not actually trying it out before recommending it.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

I was told by Samson that you cannot splice 12 strand Amsteel to a poly core because the stretch is different between the two materials. I didn't really believe that but I didn't want to take a chance so went with the full length Amsteel core for this and some other reasons. I made the halyard up today but replacing the wire winch with a standard winch will take a few more days (wood plugs, primer, paint, paint...). I will test it after that. The Tenex is a bit stiff and slick but I assume it will soften with usage. The only hard part was threading the Amsteel through the Tenex and it was only hard because there was so much of it. I wrote up what I did here: http://l-36.com/halyard.php. I will add more detail and pictures to the page next week. If you have any suggestions as to improvements, I am all ears.

By the way, the tail with the Amsteel core plus the Tenex cover (finished diameter of 7/16) cost about the same as 7/16 XLS double braid. I don't think you can save much by using an all poly tail unless you go with a smaller diameter.

Allen