Quick Shortsplice

When you need to connect two ropes and can't have the bulk of a knot, splicing becomes your only option. If the ropes you are connecting are for low load, you can skip the precise way of making a short splice and go for the quick and dirty, easy short splice!

I used this splice while I was making the rope fenders, not much load and a very easy connection to allow me to keep working.

Simply splice one line into the other burying all the strands. Then release the other lines strands and splice them into the first line. You will now have a very quick and dirty short splice!

Drafty Companionway

Winter is upon us and heat is an important property to keep inside the cabin. Companionways are wonderfully designed to keep water out, but they are great at letting cold air in. 

When a cold wind seems to cut through the companionway, the best solution is to add some insulation. The offending feature of the companionway is usually the sliding hood. The slats will do a good job of keeping the cold air out, but the air will rush between the top slat and the hood. The next biggest offender will be the sides where the hood slides.

To mitigate these downfalls in companionway design, I stuff a blanket into these weak points. The blanket will slow down or stop the flow of cold air into the cabin.

This blanket does not pose a safety hazard as it can very easily be pulled clear to open the hood, but it does make life close to this area much more comfortable.

Cultured Pet Life

Landlubbers have expressed concern about raising a dog inside a sailboat. Common concerns hint towards the lack of space for the dog to run around, or the lack of stimulation found inside a boat, or the fact that there isn't anywhere for a dog to be a dog. 

Granted, most of these people have never stepped foot inside a boat before, I think they assume that we live in this:

When cruising, Morty greatly enjoys lounging with us in the cockpit, but we encourage him to run around and play on deck during calm hours. Cruising also exposes him to all kinds of new places! There is a fresh supply of people to pet him and trees to pee on every time we make landfall. When we are in port, he gets plenty of exercise from his long walks along the shore. 

When he is alone in the boat, he has plenty of beds to sleep in (which is his version of being a dog).​

My final counter argument to the nay sayers of a dog permanently on board a boat is this:​

Morty lives such a cultured life that he has taken to theater! Our little boat dog is now a little thespian! ​

Maddie takes him on many adventures during the day including a dress rehearsal where he immediately stole the show by running up on stage when one of the characters fell. 

FIN

Hydronic Heat

Baseboards heaters that run on hot water are very quiet and efficient at giving off heat. There is little risk of fire from these units, and are safe to touch (but I wouldn't hug one of these units, it will get hot after a while).

Hydronic Heat works by flowing hot water through metal that will transfer the heat to the surrounding air. This is a passive method of heating, as there are no fans or noise. As the air heats up, it rises and leaves the unit, drawing in cold air to the bottom of the unit. 

They work very well and can heat up a small space effectively as long as they have appropriate air flow. If they are tucked away behind something or if clutter blocks air from entering the bottom, they will not provide as much heat as they could otherwise.

The heat source in this case is hot water. Most people connect these systems up to a boiler, which produces a lot of heat! I used a water heater that is already in the boat as my heat source for the hot water. The hot water is pumped through the system using a constant duty 110V AC circulator pump. This keeps the water flowing through the system, constantly flowing heat into the cabin.

I have found that the two base boards are able to keep the boat 19F warmer than outside air temperatures. This is fine in the spring and fall, when it only goes down to the 60s, but is only part of the heating equation in the depths of winter when the temperatures are bitter cold.

An added bonus to the hydronic heat system is the hot water lines that run to and from the base boards provide heat to their surroundings. This translates into warm socks or PJ pants when these hot water lines run through the lockers where your clothes are kept. 

Installation was more involved than I expected, mounting the baseboards was straight forward but running the hot water hoses and soldering all the copper fittings was very time consuming. Once it was all connected, they instantly provided a comfortable heat source that is safe to leave unattended.

Synthetic Backstay

While the best material for synthetic standing rigging is Heat Set SK78 Dyneema, the backstay plays by its own rules.

Backstays come in two flavors, static and adjustable.

Static backstays are just that, static. They are set up just like any other stay on the boat and adjusted infrequently. 

Adjustable backstays are a superb addition to synthetic rigging system. They allow "on the fly" tension control of the headstay. If you are beating to windward and notice that your headsail's luff is sagging, simply tighten the adjustable backstay to increase tension on the headstay. The opposite applies when running, as more belly can be induced into the headsail by easing the backstay to slacken the headstay.

Since the backstay will be adjusted frequently, additional creep is not as detrimental. For reasons of reduced cost and additional chafe resistance, normal SK78 dyneema works wonderfully. I used a combination of New England Ropes STS-HSR and Samson Amsteel-Blue SK78 on my own adjustable backstay. The top part is STS-HSR, and the bottom half (where the adjustments take place) is in regular dyneema.

There are several ways to set up an adjustable backstay ranging from a hydraulic system, to a block and tackle system. The choice for synthetic backstay material greatly depends on the type of backstay adjuster. 

Single backstays, especially on larger craft, tend to do better with a hydraulic system. Smaller crafts with lighter rigging loads can benefit from a simple but sturdy block and tackle setup.

When a single backstay is used with an adjuster, be it block and tackle or hydraulic, Heat Set Dyneema will shine supreme. The minimal creep can be absorbed by tightening the hydraulic ram. I would caution away from using regular dyneema with a hydraulic backstay adjuster because the hydraulic system has a fixed amount of distance it can travel. The creep of regular dyneema may consume most of the travel available by the hydraulic system. This can be rectified by moving the splice further up the backstay to absorb the creep experienced. Heat set dyneema will still creep during Phase I of its life cycle, but it will still be much less then regular dyneema would exhibit. 

If it is a small craft with light rigging loads, a block and tackle will suffice with regular dyneema. The additional creep can be easily absorbed by an "initially long" block and tackle system. As the dyneema creeps and settles into Phase II of its life cycle, the block and tackle system will begin to look more reasonable in length while still having wonderful adjust-ability available to work with.

Split backstays have more options available to them. It is best to set the backstay up as a V and either set a block and tackle on one leg of the backstay or create a slide system that will squeeze the backstays together to provide the tension. Smaller craft with lighter rigging loads can get away with the simple to install and adjust "block and tackle" system, where larger craft will benefit from the slide system.

Either system will work wonderfully, but I prefer the peace of mind of a slide system as compared to a block and tackle. My fear with a block and tackle is if the blocks were to break or the pulley line come free, the whole backstay would go slack and could lead to damaging consequences. The slide system is safer because if the slides were to break, the backstay is still secured and tensioned. 

The slide system is very easy to manage and adjust, even in high winds with large sails exerting tremendous loads onto the rigging. The slides pinch the backstays together which then increases the tension on them. To tighten the backstay (and in turn the headstay), simply slide the system down. To loosen the backstay (and in turn the headstay), slide the system up.

Due to the slides passing over the backstays which will attribute a negligible amount of chafe, the use of a more chafe resistant rope is preferred. For this reason, the lower half of the backstay is Samson Amsteel-Blue which is much more abrasion resistant then Heat Set Dyneema. 

How much creep can be expected when using regular dyneema instead of heat set dyneema? A lot! The headstay on Wisdom (45 foot Morgan) is around 60 feet long and made of New England Ropes STS-HSR Heat Set SK78 Dyneema and creeped around 2 inches. The backstay is composed of 20 feet of STS-HSR and nearly 60 feet of Samson Amsteel-Blue SK78 Dyneema and creeped nearly 36 inches! This is not a comparison of New England Ropes to Samson, but instead a comparison of Heat Set vs Regular Dyneema. While Heat Set Dyneema is less resistant to abrasion and sharp turns, it is very resistant to creep, making it wonderful for static backstays and single backstays. The sharp turn for a split backstay should be performed by regular dyneema and simply calculate in tremendous amounts of creep. 

In conclusion, the best material for a synthetic backstay greatly depends on the type of backstay in question. 

Heat set dyneema is best for single adjustable backstays and static backstays.
Regular dyneema is best for split backstays with an adjuster.