Thimbles in Spectra Eye Splices

[Greg Rodgers]

Greetings,

I want to put a SS thimble in a Spectra eye splice. It seems to me that "snapping" the eye to bury the core with the thimble in place will be difficult. Are there any tricks to be employed here?

Thanks,

Greg Rodgers

[Brion Toss]

Hi Greg,
If you are doing a covered Spectra -- or for that matter any cover-and-core rope, there are some tricks to making it easier. For one thing, the distortion of the standing part strands next to the eye will tend to shrink the eye. So we allow a bit extra, maybe 1/4" or so, more than what the eye seems to require. Next, depending on thimble shape, and how critical that maximum length might be, we might allow even a bit more length, as a very tight eye is difficult to run home. By the way, we generally use thimbles only in applications where length isn't critical, but wear is, like on running back pendants or topping lifts.
It also helps to get the splice almost completely home before inserting the thimble (unles of course it is a keeper thimble). Then it is usually easy to snap things the rest of the way. But it will still be harder to work the slack out of the cover around the thimble, so do it in small stages as you get home.
Remember, though, thimbles are most frequently not required, as braided line flattens out much better on a radius than 3-strand.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss