3 Strand, 8 Plat, Antikink, Rope, Sheet, Control lines to name a few.

[BobT]

I had just taken most of the rope off my BRe for a clean and was considering replacing the main sheet, which appears to be 12 mm and not run very well through the blocks, for something of 10mm. I also through the jib and mizzen sheets are rather stiff (the rope itself not the run through the blocks) and not very comfortable to hold. I start looking on line and I am blown away with the variety of material and manufacture, let alone the price £1.15 - £5.70 per meter for 8mm!
Can someone shed some light on this maze with respect a BRe. I am not too worried about traditional looks as some colour to differentiate between each could be good.
Regards,
Bob

[Peter Taylor]

From my dinghy sailing background, I use 8mm Swiftcord made by Gottifredi Maffioli. It's not cheap, 8mm costs around £4.50 - I buy mine from LDC Sailing who carry a large range of colours and happen to be local to me.  I use different colours for main and port and starboard jib sheets; note the colours are not for the traditionalist but they do fade (the sheets are outside on the boat throughout the year). 

Advantages: it has a soft feel, is light weight, doesn't absorb water, and above all, does not tangle!  If the jib has been flogging and wound the sheets into a massive knot it only needs a tug on one sheet and they unravel as if by magic.

Peter

p.s. i find 8mm quite adequate for hand holding without sailing gloves given the purchase on both main and jib.  The rope tends to get oval so its probably more like 10mm by 6 mm!

[Graham W]

The mainsheet is probably the one that gets the most handling.  I have been using 10mm Liros braid on braid since 2011.  It is easy to handle, runs through the blocks nicely and, so far, shows no sign of wear.  It is available in a range of colours, with solid colours being more expensive than patterned white.  My mainsheet is solid blue, which costs £3.10 a meter at Jimmy Green  https://www.jimmygreen.co.uk/item/961/liros-10mm-braid-on-braid-sheets

I've changed a lot of my bits of string since I first bought the boat (sometimes more than once) and the Liros 10mm is the only one that has stayed the course since nearly the beginning.  I've tried all sorts of varieties of Dyneema from a number of different makers (but not Maffioli) and in most cases have reverted to polyester braids, especially if splicing isn't required.  I've found that I prefer a bit of elasticity in my strops and halyards - I don't like seeing my yard drooping away from the mast because of Dyneema creep in the main halyard.

[BobT]

Peter, Graham,
Thanks for the information.  My Current jib sheet on BRe is single line but I like the idea of a different colour for port and starboard, crew would appreciate that! Presume you don't do the same for the mizzen?
Being lazy can anyone point to a good website that explains the pros and cons of various rope construction without getting too technical.  It appears the more you pay for a given diameter the rope you get some combination of: lighter, stronger, better water repellancy, less stretch??
Graham, I thought one of the advantages of dyneema was that it did not stretch so what is this "creep?"
Regards to all,
Bob

[michaeln]

I bought Liros Braid on Braid earlier this year from Marinescene.co.uk. They offer End of Reel Offcuts at a good price. The 10mm white with coloured fleck is currently priced at £1.99 per metre. I have bought various bits and pieces from them and found them both efficient and reliable.

[BobT]

Michael,

Looks to be very good value, thanks for the pointer.

Regards,
Bob

[Julian Swindell]

Classic Marine do a good rope section, which is very jargon free
http://www.classicmarine.co.uk/boatstore/prodtype.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=76&numRecordPosition=1

[Graham W]

Graham, I thought one of the advantages of dyneema was that it did not stretch so what is this "creep?"

It's defined as a progressive elongation under constant load, and is permanent. I think some of the newer heat-treated fibres are less prone to this.  If you have Dyneema shrouds, you'll find that you have to repeatedly tighten them in a way that you don't have to do with wire.

It's not a problem with sheets, which are being adjusted all the time anyway but it's disappointing to spend a small fortune on halyard or standing rigging string, only to find that it doesn't necessarily do what it's supposed to, especially to start with.

Here's some material from Marlow explaining why you have to spend even more on the newer kind of Dyneema string to avoid these unwelcome characteristics http://seahorsemagazine.com/9-content/november-2014/239-holding-on.

Another problem that I found the hard way with Dyneema is that it's not very grippy, so can slip when tied or cleated.  You can avoid this by getting string covered in a grippy sheath.

Or you could just use much cheaper materials like polyester and accept their disadvantages, particularly weight and diameter.

[David Hudson]

Dyneema for main and jib halyards. Benefits; strength, lack of stretch and allows removal of forestay.

Sheets; 8mm main, 6mm headsail sheets and 5mm and tapered for the asymmetricI. I agree with Peter on manufacturer choice.

Come on guys the jib is hardly enormous, 6mm single purchase, without gloves is quite manageable.

[michaeln]

Bob, Just to pass on an alert that Marinescene are giving an extra 5% off with a discount code XMAS5 until 14.12.15

[BobT]

Thanks one and all for the comments/advice.  Before buying I thought to double check rope diameter and jib and mizzen I came out at 6mm rather than 8mm as given in first post!

David not clear on your bit about "... allows removal of forestay."

Michael thanks for the discount code.
Cheers,
Bob

[David Hudson]

Hi Bob

Because of the strength of dyneema, I am happy to sail without a forestay. This removes the possibility of fouling my asymmetric on gybing and the jib on furling.

On a fine tuning point, it allows a cleaner entry to the gib luff: a lesser problem on our type of craft but old habits die hard!