August 25, 2016

I finally worked out all the kinks in the Brion Toss eyesplice method. I've completed three of the four splices I need to do to put together the Jordan Series Drogue, including one with a heavy stainless steel thimble. All of them turned out fine, look good and are strong. I was even able to determine the correct position of the splices for the correct bridle length. (For those who want the technical details, I've listed some tips and insights following my usual general paragraphs.)

Because the watermaker's output had gradually degraded output quality, some weeks back I had ordered the chemical cleaning cartridges to clean the membrane. Well, I finally got to putting them to use. It was a bit of a hassle, and took about an hour for each of three days, but I got it done. Of course I won't be sure if it did the trick until I use the watermaker again, but it seemed to go as it should.

While I was down in the engine room I confirmed that the automatic bilge pump float switch for the smaller bilge pump was dead. It's a “Don't leave home without it” item, so I got a replacement and installed it.  Works fine now. HOWEVER, while making sure the bilge pump was working properly, I discovered that pump's discharge hose is leaking somewhere. No good deed goes unpunished. A project for next week, since I ran out of time this week. I did squeeze in twenty minutes to replace the oil absorbing sausage and pads and wrap a little leftover sound insulation around the freshwater pump to quiet down a bit, though.

Carol was in Marfa, Texas (of all places) last weekend, so I went solo to the annual marina bbq and to the Wine Locker to see my old friend Curt play. He and his wife have been cruising in Mexico, so it was both fun and helpful to talk with them.  

(Scroll down to the photos now if you want to skip the bit about splicing technique.)

Okay, so what did I learn climbing up the learning curve of making a successful Brion Toss eyesplice? Quite few little things that make all the difference! The following are intended as a supplement to available written and video instruction, not a substitute. (The specific techniques listed will not make any sense if you are not familiar with Toss's instructions or doing eyesplices.) Anyway, I hope they help!

First, the general hints:

• Even with the best instruction, it takes several tries before you get it. That's because it takes doing it to really understand the instructions, and there are some things that you need to be able to feel, something that comes only with direct experience. So, be prepared for a series of problems and failures. Be patient and kind to yourself. Start with non-critical line. (But not used line or cheap line.)  You're not stupid; it's really hard! And while experience is the best teacher, it's also the most expensive. Accept the cost of wasted line as tuition.
• Read the instructions carefully. If you're not sure you understand them, study them until you do and/or look for another source of instruction. Try it and see what happens. If you have problems, try to figure out the cause.
• Approach the task with a Zen mind. Don't be impatient, in a hurry or work to a deadline. If you do, you'll find haste makes waste. Be focused, but relaxed. Take a meaningful break if you start to feel frustrated, impatient or pressured.
• Be fastidious. Neatness and organization really counts in avoiding frustration and wasting time looking for tools and materials. Simply tossing everything I used in the process into a plastic bin as soon as it was out of my hands was a real boon. Remove all the little cut-off pieces of yarn as soon as they are produced.
• Avoid snags. Literally. Examine your work area and look for anything that has the potential to snag yarns and threads. Eliminate them. (I had to tape over some locker hasps.) Not only do snagged threads create untidyness, if a yarn is pulled out of the braid a bit, it must be pulled back into alignment. Doable, but tedious.
• Always handle the line with care. Mindlessly tossing the assemblage around can result in snags or having a rope end dissappear inside prematurely. Both bad.
• Size matters. Things that worked on ½ inch line might not work on ¾ inch or vice versa.
• Have faith.

Okay, now for a few specific techniques:

• Whatever written instructions you use, annotate them as you learn through experience. Color code the illustrations to make it clearer which is the cover braid and which is the core. Believe me, it's easy to get lost.
• Color code the marker yarns.  Melt the ends to keep them from unraveling.
• Find a neat and easy way to cut the whole rope. I found 3M Safe Removal masking tape wrapped not too tightly around the line kept it together, yet was easy to remove. Cutting was best accomplished with a quality, sharp finely serrated knife. Don't melt the ends, you will need to unravel and taper them.
• Use quality sharp scissors for cutting individual or paired yarns.
• For those of us of a certain age, binocular magnifiers such as the OptiVISOR, worn on the head, and a jeweler's screwdriver make the delicate work of extracting yarns from the braid much easier and reduce problems.
• Taper and tape BOTH the core and the cover prior to drawing them through with the splicing wand.
• Use a vise to hold the splicing wand when making the tucks. Think of pushing the outer line over the inner line held by the wand rather than pulling the inner line through the outer line. Remember the Chinese finger puzzle you played with as a kid? That's how braided line behaves. The line will easily slide through (or slide over, depending on how you look at it) if the outer line is kept bunched up, unless you've snagged a thread. If that happens, just back it off and try again. It gets easier after you develop the feel and learn how to hold everything in alignment.
• Saliva makes a good lubricant any time things get tight. When it dries, it's no longer slippery, so it won't reduce the integity of the splice.
• The last step of finishing off the splice by milking the cover down is the only one that requires any force. If you didn't do a good job of tightening and stitching down the crossover in an earlier step, it can require a lot of force. Both the winch and hammer methods described by Toss (and others) can work. Sometimes both are needed, along with a bit of spit. It can seem impossible to get the splice buried as far as the marker yarn (as specified in the instructions), but it can be done. Don't give up. Keep working it. You might need to work a few yarns over a bump at the crossover. Wear leather gloves to avoid getting blisters from repeated milking.
• Have fun!!!