Since first publishing my new
technique a couple years ago a few "professional" riggers
have been critical in a way that seems to be attempting to protect
their vested interest in keeping the market ignorant and willing
to pay them money for doing something that anyone can learn how
to do. TCP is abouts facts... so here is the test...
The mission was to put a Norson Splice
on one end of a line and a Norson Double on the other end to
test which would fail first or whether the line would go before
either of them.. The first attempt immediately below, failed
to break anything. It took acquiring an accomplice of destruction
to helm the van to make it finally work. So keep scrolling down
for the fun....
AND PLEASE NOTE; the tow ball's are
not the safe tow point for retrieving a car. They were used here
with caution because the shape was similar to a block so best
imitated actual use on a yacht.
The one ton van has the parking brake
on and large bricks behind every tire and shoved hard in place.
The CRV is backed off and then floored!!!!!!!!!
I really thought I had given it enough
to break something but no damage at all. Examination of the splices
showed that they not only took it but were looking better!
So nothing to do but do it again
but this time a bit more slack in the line so the snatch is more
powerful.
The shock felt inside
the Honda was extreme but I just couldn't do it.
These are the loops used on the test
line. The rope was stiff and thin from the strain. The inside
of the loops was smooth and hard like the cover melted and glossed
over but after working the rope a bit it's flexibility was restored.
Success..finally!
Johnny Cadwallader, well known multihull
sailor, happened to stop in for a visit with partner Fran and
when offered the opportunity to participate in an act of destruction,
fell right into the mission.. This time a few hundred pounds
of weight was added to the van and and we would have a driver
in both vehicles. Still it took a couple tries and there was
some concern about the safety of the equipment but hell, this
is science!
Having more power and traction, the
honda pulled the van back but eventually we were able to break
the line. SO.... Where Did
it Break????????????
It Broke just beyond the
Norson Double Splice... an inch or so past it..
And the opposite end?
The Norson splice. The simplest, fastest, easiest splice that
anyone can learn. No damage of any kind. Still as supple and
and tidy as before.
This is a close up of the actual
break. The cover and core broke about 2 inches or 50 mm from
each other. The lump in the core in the strand pictured below
is the last bit of the buried section of the norson double splice.
In this photo I have cut
away the cover to see what the break looked like. The cover was
actually stuck to the core and had to be pulled away. It appeared
the two layers were welded by heat.
And to those marina layabouts and
forum heroes that critisise anything new... I like what I've
done a lot better than what you haven't done! If anyone out
there really knows a better way then please send me the
explanation and photos or drawings or whatever, to illustrate
the method so that I can post it to the web and credit you for
it. You will have all our thanks. This is not about money or
ego, this is about making sailors more self sufficient and that
is a good thing.
