[TowerTalk] dacron rope treatment

[Jim Jarvis]

N1OZ raised the question of how to treat his 3/8" 
dacron-braided guys on a 45' mast.

First, this shouldn't be a big deal.  You won't be
putting that much tension on the guys on a simple mast.
Probably less than 100lbs.

Second, you'll want to double check the tensile strength
of the rope, but my guess is that it's somewhere about
1,000 lbs.  

Third, clamps and connectors, and even knots, reduce the 
strength of the line, and will become the failure points.
In a portable situation, you MAY wish to use carabiners to
attach to the mast.  Depends on whether you wish to free the
users of the need to know how to tie knots.  This should not 
be an issue of strength, just convenience.  

Fourth, with any acrylic line, cutting the end should be done
with a hot knife, which will allow welding the inner and outer
braids together at the end.  Any failure I've seen in almost 50
years of sailing has resulted from not heating and forming the
ends properly.  

n2ea
jimjarvis at ieee.org 
jimjarvis at verizon.net