Is PBO rigging an option yet for cats? I'm guessing at this point it's too expensive and the weight savings are minimal.

Bob

I purchased Aramid PBO for my HT. I went back to wire. The PBO is much lighter than regular wire. However, the disadvantages are that it much thicker once you add the waterproof cover, this increases the windage. It is much more expensive. My was over $850. And if the cover wears off the PBO can rot and break. Plus the thimble that they put on it is huge, PBO cant take a tight turn so the shackle has to be big to accomodate the big thimble.

The A cat guys have all gone to dyform wire. The rest of the cat world seems to use wire.

Bill

Thanks for the info! I guess that's a road I won't be going down anytime soon.

Bob

PBO doesn't work if you are using the same style fittings as the yachts use. This is a scale issue as the yacht style fittings are relatively too big.

The Skiffs here in Aus use PBO and they simply make their own stays by nailing two sailmakers thimbles at the right distance apart on a piece of wood and then they lay the pbo in loops between the thimbles. once finished they dip the thimbles in resin and put heat shrink over the whole lot.

it is a lot of work but pretty cool when finished. A better solution is to use Dynema as sidestays, once it has settled in the stretch is zero so they are as good as wire and the diameter is the same of very slightly bigger. make sure you use DSK 75 or 78 as anything lower will creep and stretch.

Word on the dyneema. Also excellent stuff to make trap wires from ! (use 3 mm 500 kg break )

Wouter

Actually DSK 75 is stronger than that.

2mm = 450kg
3mm = 900kg
4mm = 1825kg


We use 2.5mm on the T for traps and 3mm for pole bridles etc. I have some funky fittings coming for the super taipan that will allow me to make my sidestays from DSK75.

Alright,

as long as everybody uses at least the 500 kg stuff (more is always attractive) been hanging of those for years now. Broke the 320 kg stuff but 500 kg is fine; well tested by now.

How expensive is DSk 75 900 kg (and the 450 kg) ?

Dyneema 3 mm 500 kg was 1.3 Euro the meter.

Wouter

Whats the difference between:

Amsteel - Samson (sk-60 dyneema fiber)
Ultrex - Yale (sk-75 Dyneema fiber)
Vectrus 12 - Yale (Vectran fiber)
Samson Tech 12 - Samson (Technora fiber)

I've used Amsteel and it is slippery so the knots take a while to set. I've got some Amsteel trap lines with a spliced eye on each end that I'm planning to use on the Acat for trap lines.

Anyone else have comments on these lines? The commercial names make it confusing and hard to compare. They also dont list stretch as a percentage, but they say "low stretch or zero stretch." Is low stretch 5% or 2% or what? Is zero stretch really zero stretch, like wire?

Any other high tech single braid line that you recommend?

Bill

stretch and creep and two different things.

stretch is something that will happen each time the rope is loaded.

Creep happens only one time and is the rope bedding into its proper length.

DSK 60 is a lower grade than DSK75. I only use 75 and if its really important I use 78 which only a few manufacturers can make.

Do not tie knots with this rope, they create a weak point and negate the use of a strong thin rope.

The brands shouldn't mean a lot but in reality i have found that Samson Amsteel Blue DSK75 is very good. maffioloi also make excellent ropes but they are hard to get in AUST.

As for prices:-

2.5mm DSK75 = 1.90 AUD
3mm DSK75 = 2.48 AUD
4mm DSK75 = 2.84 AUD