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Spectre rope

4K views 21 replies 10 participants last post by  downeast450 
#1 ·
Anybody used Spectre rope for standing rigging on a trailer sailer?
I have a Hunter 19 and some of the stainless wire shrouds need replacing. Was thinking about using Spectre. Any comments are appreciated
 
#3 ·
I assume you mean "Spectra", which is an identical product to the aforementioned Dynex Dux.

I did a calculation for my old boat regarding using Dyneema/Spectra/Dynex for standing rigging rather than wire and the costs were surprisingly close. The synthetic rigging cost more per running foot, but the fittings are much cheaper than those for wire.

What you will need to take into account is line creep, but apart from that I see mainly advantages for standing rigging. I examined a big Catana which had converted to Dynex and was very impressed and the weight savings were amazing.
 
#5 ·
In areas of heavy chafe one can use the outer cover of double-braid line which holds up rather well. I had my lifelines in Dyneema SK75 and the chafe on the after a year of use (including where the genoa lines rub/bang against them) was barely noticeable.
What these materials don't do well is heat up (i.e. through friction) but that is more of an issue in running rigging. And they can be cut by sharp objects such as a knife which won't have much effect on 1x19 wire.
 
#7 ·
Uncovered dyneema used as lifelines won't last 5 or 10 years; nor did I expect it to. If used as standing rigging, any area expect to see chafe should be protected; but that area/length is minimal compared to the total length of rigging.

Also, the standard 12-strand braid of Dyneema is extremely easy to splice (even without tools) and one can carry the line required for a complete rigging change in a canvas sailor's bag. Apart from not having room for the same amount of wire rigging, one would also need tools and spares for swaging wire.

Despite my liking for Dyneema, I opted not to use it for standing rigging as I'm a cruiser and not a racer and any weight savings in the rigging would immediately go to additional storage belowdecks for "stuff".
 
#11 ·
Just to be clear,

Dyneema and Spectra are the same thing. Spectra is just a trade name for the same material.

However standing rigging is NOT made from dyneema/spectra. It should only be made from Dynex Dux which starts as a dyneema line, and is further treated to reduce stretch, increase strength, and decrease diameter. But at the cost of flexibility. Dux fresh off the spool is very stiff, and can stand proud like a measuring tape. It is not interchangeable with standard dyneema lines.


For a trailer sailor, or cruiser I would highly recommend it. The first time you install it you won't save any over wire, but from there on out you just replace the line every 8 years or so, the fittings can be reused.
 
#13 ·


In all the PRO jobs i have seen by the time its sized for creep the spreaders all seem to need mods ?

IN looking at the buy in for all the fittings you need at the mast and deck level it was a LOT more money than stainless on the Cal 29
 
#16 ·
the wire goes for 15 years, 20 years, the rope maybe 8.

You have to factor in the cost x 2 because you'll have to replace it twice as often.

Racing and trailer - sure it makes sense. Most boats, not so much.
Not true at all. About 90% of the cost of switching the first time is buying the reusable fittings. After that the rest of the cost is the line itself. So your first time it is about the same price as wire, after that it gets really cheap to replace when necessary.

Also note that 8 years is what is currently being recomended from Colligio (I believe) which is the same replacement interval for stainless fittings like turnbuckles and shackles on your standing rigging.
 
#20 ·
It makes more sense financially in bigger boats I think. Doing my hunter 25 refit last year I priced out the coligo vs rigging only steel, and the price of the fittings meant that the spectra rigging would have cost significantly more even though I got new turnbuckles for the steel.

However in bigger boats where a new turnbuckle might go for $600 itself, the synthetic rigging starts making sense.

I love the stuff personally, splicing it is easy but the splices really need to set, they stretch a lot until then, making precision very difficult.

Even if u don't go with all synthetic, u should consider making the back stay out of the stuff. Or making some soft shackles, those are very handy too.

As far as chafing goes, once u splice the stuff u will find that it is very hard to cut. U get maybe two or three cuts with a razor blade before it gets completely dull. I doubt genoa chafe will do much here, ESP if ur using soft shackles or bow lines to secure the sheets to the clew.
 
#22 ·
It is amazing stuff. I found a short lived source selling mill ends of 1/4" Dynema for $10.00/pound. I bought a couple of good handfulls of hanks that were about 40' each. Originally it was to replace my coated ss lifelines. It did require pre loading to get the braid and my end splice tight enough for the turnbuckle to add proper tension there. I now use it for things I had never though of until this "soft steel" arrived. Towing, lifting, ridge line for my cover, any non stretch application that requires or benefits from a "tight line". Our I 28 has a 7000 lb displacement. This 1/4" line could lift it! No meat hooks! No rebound! Stuff it into your pocket! Soft shackles that weigh nothing.

Better living through chemistry for sure!

Standing rigging next, perhaps.

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