1. Cut a small piece of the rope to separate the cover from the core. Mark point A with a pen at one fid length from the end.
6 EYE SPLICE IN POLYESTER ROPES
In ropes with a polyester core you need to use both the core and the cover for strength. There are three types of polyester core: braided, laid and parallel fibres.
Use a fid similar or slightly thinner than the diameter of the rope. Always use the same fid for measuring distances while splicing.
The method to splice a rope with a braided polyester core and polyester braided cover is explained below. This eye splice is well suited to having a shackle spliced in – skip step 7A if you don’t want to do this.
1. Cut a small piece of the rope to separate the cover from the core. Mark point A with a pen at one fid length from the end.
2. Determine the size of the eye and mark point B opposite point A.
4. Mark the core at the point where it comes out of the cover; this is point B*.
5. Pull more core from the cover at B. Wrap some tape around the core and cover ends to prevent them from coming apart.
6. Mark point C* at one fid length from point B*, going away from the end of the rope.
7A. If you want to splice a shackle directly to the rope, you have to insert it around the cover now.
8. Insert a suitable fid into the core from C* to D* to pull through the cover.
9. Remove the tape from the cover and cut it diagonally. Take the cover back into the core so that it disappears completely.
11. Now you are going to insert the thinnest fid possible behind point C* into the cover up to about 10cm past point B. For thicker mooring lines, go further down past point B (for example, 16mm: 18cm; 20mm: 28cm).
12. Pull the core all the way through. Once you reach point B, you can let the core slide along the other core with the smooth side of the fid. Make sure you don’t take that core along with your fid. If the rope is tightly braided use a soft needle (see Chapter 14) or a pulling needle.
13. Remove the small fid and stretch the loop.
15. Cut the visible piece of core near the cover. Pull on the eye again to make the core disappear completely. In loosely braided ropes, add a whipping behind the eye.
16. This creates an eye splice in double braid polyester ropes.
If you want to splice in a stainless steel thimble for a mooring line, you can replace steps 2 and 14 with the variations below:
Step 2A: Measure the size of the eye according to the size of the thimble.
Step 14A: Make sure the thimble is placed in the loop in time when milking the rope.
It is advisable to secure the thimble with a whipping.
Splicing a rope with a laid core is usually more complicated than double braid polyester ropes. You need more force to take the rope back into itself because there is often less room between the core and the cover. The variations to include a shackle or stainless steel thimble (see left) can also be applied here.
1. Tie a knot about 2 metres into the rope (to keep the core and cover in place). Cut the end off the rope and pull about 10cm of the core out from the cover to create some extra room.
2. Mark point A about 30cm from the end of the cover.
3. Determine the size of the eye and mark point B.
5. Mark point A* on the core (matching point A on the cover).
6. Tape the core and unlay the strands at point A*.
7. Divide the strands into sub-strands.
8. Cut half of the sub-strands at the point where the tape is. Repeat this for the other two strands. This means you have thinned the core by half from point A* onwards.
9. Tape the cut strands at point A* so that they are stuck tightly to the rest of the core.
10. Mark point C opposite the end of the cover (about 30cm from B).
11. Feed the pulling needle through the core at point C, then along to B and let it emerge at A.
13.
14. Pull out the core so that the tape (A*) ends up just beyond B.
15. Insert the pulling needle into the cover halfway between B and C (15cm from B). Let it emerge at B.
17. Take the tapered cover back into the cover with a pulling needle.
18.
19. Pull on the eye and milk the cover towards the eye.
21. Mark the visible core, pull it out slightly and cut it.
22. Pull the cover back slightly by pulling on the eye until you can’t see the core any more.
23. Mark the visible cover at the point where it sticks out.
25. This creates an eye splice in polyester ropes with a laid core.
ROPE WITH PARALLEL FIBRES IN THE CORE
A rope with parallel fibres in the core often has a tight inner cover to keep the fibres together. This splice is similar to the one for double braid polyester rope (see Eye Splice in Polyester Ropes); the main difference is that you cannot take the cover back into the core because the fibres go through the core.
1. Cut off the end of the rope to separate the cover from the core. Mark point A at one fid length from the end.
3. At point B, carefully take out the core from the cover with a thin fid.
4. Mark the core at the point where it comes out from the cover. This is point B*.
5. Pull the core further out of the cover at B.
7. Mark point D* at ¾ of the fid length from C*. If you want to splice in a shackle, slide it around the cover now.
8. Use as thin a fid as possible to take the core into the cover from the end of the rope. Use a soft needle (see Chapter 14) or a pulling needle if the rope is tightly braided.
9. Have the fid come out 5–10cm past point B.
11. Taper the cover by taking out a few stands and cutting them.
12. Sew the cover to the core from point C to the end of the cover with a few stitches, to prevent it from sliding in the following steps.
13. Tightly wrap some tape around the rope as shown. Use smooth splicing tape (or regular adhesive tape, which often works even better) so that things don’t start to slide in the next step.
14. Milk the core back into the cover until points A and B meet. If this proves difficult, consult the tips on ‘Milking’ the Cover.
15. Cut the leftover core close to the cover. Pull on the eye once more to make sure the core has disappeared fully.
16. This creates an eye splice in a polyester rope with parallel fibres in the core.
