Closed ring device in Brummel splice

[john churchill]

Hello-
I am replacing a baby stay on an Olson 30. Spliced my very first Brummel splice in 5/32" 12 strand Vectran over a thimble at one end and was thinking how adept I am. Started the other end which is a T fitiing with a ring thru which I have inserted a thimble. I now realize I cannot pass the ring and thimble thru the inverted hole. Is it possible to accomplish this task or should I figure out another arrangement? Thanks
John Churchill
Sanibel FL

[Bott]

As I see/understand it, you have a few options.

It sounds like you are making the splice in the "mobius brummel" fashion, like the howto on Colligo Marine's site. That has the advantage of not needing access to the other end of the line to make the locking tucks, but you have to form the eye "in place" and cannot splice it around some closed object. like your ring fitting.

You can keep the mobius splice and cow hitch the loop through the ring, but you'll be putting the line through a decently tight bend to do so which will reduce the strength in that area. You'd have to run some numbers to see if that is a compromise worth making.

Alternatively, you can make the splice in (what I understand is) the typical brummel method, which requires access to both ends for the locking tucks, but you can make around a closed object. Its a great splice, but can be a pain with long halyards or when trying to make one "in the moment" for a repair. Doesn't sound like that would be much of a hassle with a baby stay. You'll probably have to wrestle out the thimble from the first end for the tucks though. One of Mr. Toss's little splicing books (#5?) has detailed instructions for these.

Just my observations and experience.

[john churchill]

Yes I am using the Colligo Marine technique.

[Bott]

So for something like the baby stay, I would just make the other splice with the "other" technique. If you study the "Colligo" way, you can see how the locking tucks work. If you take the tail of the line (with extra for the bury) and pass it through the body of the line below where you want your eye to end. Then the second tuck is done with the *other* end tucking through the smaller section of line, just where it exits the first tuck.

If you just take the bury end and "S" it through the line, it won't be locked at all....

Hopefully this makes sense... it's simple but there are a number of subtleties to it that are really hard to convey. When in doubt, just buy the splicing book. I'm sure this won't be the only time you use it once you have it.

[allene]

Originally Posted by john churchill

Yes I am using the Colligo Marine technique.

You can also use the Samson technique for splicing which uses a lock stitch instead of a Brummel. I tested a piece of Amsteel with eye splices on each end, one of each type. It failed in the middle of the line. In other words, both splices were stronger than the line they were made of. Samson claims their technique is just as good or better than a Brummel, I can't remember which they said, and I have no reason to doubt that.

Allen
L-36.com

[Brion Toss]

Hello,
Re Brummels vs stitches, it is true that adequate stitching can be a strong as a locked Brummel, and I don't feel bad about using stitches in situations where Brummels are impracticable. But given the amount of stitching required for truly reassuring security, and given how easy it is to introduce deformation into the line with stitches, and given how long the process takes, I still prefer Brummels, which also happen to be profoundly secure. Plus, if you use the McDonald method, you will know how to do the multiple version, for times when you need a tool-less utility splice.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

[tamishel]

fwiw,

I'm just replacing a bobstay that was something like 11 years old, done in Amsteel Blue or something very like, simple bury around a thimble. I undid the splice and found that the tail was quite long, nicely tapered, and there were two whippings done on it. (I didn't do the splice.) The bobstay is still in good shape - the reason for replacement has to do with the metal tang on the sprit having failed, so we're going to another style of bobstay.

The situation is a sprit on a modified F-27 trimaran, and it takes a fair amount of heat (1500-3000 lb), so I'd say a well-done simple bury works too.