Ed,



1. Where do you buy this "yale [xxx]" brand of rope (never saw it in West Marine)



West Marine is limited mostly to the New England Ropes selection. I bought the Yale Vizzion from Annapolis Performance Sailing.



2. Price per foot?



Pricing on the Vizzion 5/16 (jib sheet) was $1.14/ft, and 3/8 (mainsheet) was $1.37/ft (about 30 cents a foot cheaper than Layline's pricing).



3. Can you taper it? How?



Yalelight is strippable, but I don't believe you can with the Vizzion.



4. Is it easy to grip, or has that atribute been traded off for low friction in the block/low absorbancy? Do you guys recommend "grippy" gloves?



Vizzion has a polyester cover vs. a polypropylene cover on the Yalelight. One of the reasons I went with the Vizzion is because it has a good "hand". While I do like the feel of the fuzzy polyester cover on Samson's Trophy Braid, I wasn't thrilled with the other characteristics of the line, especially the way it absorbs water, leaving the jib sheets pretty heavy. I would highly recommend gloves. Either Ronstan or Harken. My personal preference is the 3-finger model (with the half-finger only on the index finger). I used to wear the half-finger gloves and would lose too much skin on the tips of my fingers.