Runner Tails

[Jason]

Hey there,

"1 - The tails are badly twisted - like a twist per inch or so. Where would this twist come from and how do I prevent it in the new ones? The tails are not coiled, they are stuffed into a mesh bag in the cockpit."

Are you using self tailing winches to tension these? If you are and don't have a swivel at the very end termination, the wrapping of the tails up the winch drum and through the self tailing mechanism will put twist in them very quickly. You also see this on jib sheets that are tied or spliced on and fed to self-tailers. Try adding a nice big swivel to the end.


"2 - Other than race boat coolness, what benefit is the stripping. I could see that the bare vectran may run through the block a little easier, but that is about it. The weight savings seems neglible, especially on deck."

Since you only need the cover for where it will be on a winch or in a stopper/jammer, you strip everything else so that the effect of the difference in stretch between the vectran and the polyester cover is minimized. After loading and unloading these a few times that polyester can get all streched and mangled, which won't happen as soon with bare vectran. Plus, the heat generated by loading and unloading these can fry a polyester cover in short time. I think Yale used to make a line specifically for runner tails that was vectran covered in a kevlar/poly blend that was specifically for resisting the heat.

You can have your rigger "dip" your exposed vectran in uv protectant every year or so to keep it healthy.