Dyneema powerline splice

bwd · Since 04 Aug 2007 385 Posts Obsessed

Hi, for those who know:
Had an unfortunate meeting between an ozone 800 # front line and a counter-rotating stern drive the other day, no harm to anything but the line luckily.
Broke near the bar, want to remake the loop splice for the bar end and add some gimp rigging to the kite end.
Loop has to be pretty slick because of how it runs through the safety, very similar set up to slingshot.
Can you splice these dyneema braids the way you do amsteel/spectra, tapering the tail by unlaying and cutting every other strand?
The ends look pretty much the same as the spectra lines on my SS kites, but not sure if there's any other trick needed...
..thanks.

jeremy · Since 18 Aug 2006 276 Posts Manzo & HR Obsessed

Check out

http://kiteracing.com/Splicing_Lines.html

I made an eye on my depower line using this technique (with a lock) and it works great. No stitching required and I only embedded 8" as the lock felt solid. I used 3/16" Amsteel Blue for my Naish bar. For a fid, I used the top of a pen.

bwd · Since 04 Aug 2007 385 Posts Obsessed

sweet, I thought I could do that!
Thanks.
But where to such a little fid?
The ones I know of are too big.

BTW: those counter-rotating dual-prop drives, avoid them even more than normal props.
They suck up lines like you wouldn't believe...

chrissmack · Since 08 Jun 2005 526 Posts portland Addicted

can you flip the line around, so the broken end is by the kite, and just tie a nice knot? although it seems that a lot of the lines today are not the same at both ends...

Kraemer · Since 24 Apr 2006 1736 Posts Sky Pilot Unicorn Captain

Nice link J-Dog -- got to do some of this myself

Nak · Wed Sep 19, 12 7:29 pm

@BWD: you can sometimes find fids like that at Toy kite shops. I just use a piece of stainless steel wire from the hardware store and then bend it to the shape I need. Check out my thread "making a lineset" to see how to make your fid.

@chrissmack: A knot will not work. First off, it will cut the strength of your line in half. Second, it will slip and give way. Once you get the hang of it, making a splice is pretty easy.

Those are good splices in the link, however he's wrong on one key point. The lock is not responsible for any of the strength of the splice. He claims it's the major strength, totally wrong. The lock only keeps the splice from separating when there is no load on the line. It is the tail running through the interior of the line and the line clamping down on that tail that provides 100 percent of the strength when the line is under tension. With kite line, you only need to taper the last inch or 2 of the tail. Make sure you have at least 4 to 6 inches--I use a minimum of 8 inches--of untapered tail. The taper is important to insure the line does not wear at the point where the tail ends. If you taper the entire tail, your splice will be critically weak.

I'm not a fan of the self locking loop splice. It's not bad, but a little inferior to just a standard loop splice. The advantage, of course, is not having to stitch the splice. The disadvantage is that it's a little bulkier and not quite as strong. The extra bulk can be a problem with safety systems like the slingshot center line safety. Also, a standard loop splice allows you to adjust the length of the loop to get the length of your line exactly correct. That is just not possible with the lock splice loop. Stitching only takes about a minute. It's also possible to use specialized super glue to lock the splice. Regular super glue is useless and will not last. It does not adhere to spectra. Jerry Brown fishing line has a 2 part super glue that is excellent, but expensive. Loctite makes a reasonably priced two part super glue available at Home Depot. But it's a little more difficult to use than the Jerry Brown stuff. You have to be careful when either stitching or using super glue so that the splice spools through the safety. Make a couple of practice loops first so you get the hang of it.

Any hollow core line should be fine for splicing. Lines that have a center core, like Q line, cannot be spliced. That's one reason Q line just does not make a good kite line.

bwd · Since 04 Aug 2007 385 Posts Obsessed

Thanks all, got it done.
Did the standard splice and stitched it, just to match what the maker did.
It was the safety line, so I went for smooth.
Next I have to make myself a bungy line -mine's on the bottom of a river...