coring line

[leadbelly]

I read where you can get more line on the roller furling drum by "coring" the line. I have braided line on the drum but do not know how to core it without cutting the outer braid. Can anyone tell me how this is done? Thank you.

[sailingdog]

Originally Posted by leadbelly

I read where you can get more line on the roller furling drum by "coring" the line. I have braided line on the drum but do not know how to core it without cutting the outer braid. Can anyone tell me how this is done? Thank you.

Probably the easiest way is to take the line off the drum after marking how much of it is required for the drum... then a few inches from that point, stitch and whip the outer cover to the inner core. Then open the outer braid with a fid and pull the inner core out. Cut it and remove the section that goes on the drum. You're done.

[Zanshin]

I would look into your expected line loads and double-braided line first. There are numerous types of double-braided line out there and you need to know your line's construction in order to see how much of the load is carried by the inner core and outer braid, respectively.
If you use your roller furler to reef the sail in any way then you will get significant loads on your roller furling line; plus the outer core will stretch more under load than the core so it might be preferable to strip the cover and use just the core - but the line core might not be UV-resistant.
Modern high-tech lines with an inner core of dyneema are great for this type of purpose, since the core carries the whole load and as dyneema is UV-resistant you can strip off the required outer braid lengths and use some stitching and whipping to join the two together at the stripped part.
Some rope manufacturers offer tapered line which tapers both inner and outer braids during the production process - but those lines are pretty expensive.

[sailingdog]

Z makes some good points there. Another option would be to go with a thinner dyneema cored line and add a jacket to it where it comes through the line clutch or where you have to handle it. If the line has a dyneema core, it is often strong enough that you can drop a line size—go down to 1/4 from 5/16 and such...

[St Anna]

Just stuff I have done;

I used to use the outer braid as SD suggested. I have changed back to a thinner, but stronger dbl braid line. I went back to a round section instead of flat as a jam with the flat stuff was harder to sort out. The 'round' line is easier, although obviously bulkier. I havent jammed the new stuff yet and that was about 2000nm ago.

I swap headsails often enough and need enough line on the furler to cope with the 150% genoa. I also sometimes use it like a reefing line with a winch to 'furl/reef' it. Thats also why I went back to a full line.

[leadbelly]

Thank you all. Very good advice. I'll look into different line for my rig.