Looking for advice, pros and cons etc.

Yes depends on application.
Pros: You get increased breaking load strength compared to any given dia poly rope and it stretches a lot less under load.
Cons: cost
Unless you're having a particular problem, like too much stretch in your main halyard or you need to reduce the dia of an existing line while retaining the same SWL, then do the sums on the cost to see if it's worth it.

Ibdon't know if you get a longer working life, if so that may come into the calculation?

I did try a set of double braid sheets for my genoa, they didn't last longer than a few outings unfortunately, otherwise I'd be using the db.
Cheers!
SB

Wow that made me look up the genoa size for your boat, 42sqm for ~4.5 ton, fun :)

We are using Dyneema for asymm kite prodder rope down to the cutwater, jib barber haulers and vang. Goes well. Light 9.3m racer cruiser 2tonnes

I use Dyneema for various stuff. Soft shackles etc. Makes for good mooring risers, boat trailer winches. I even use it for safety loops on the suspension on my race car. The only downside is it's hard to cut. One of these days I will replace my lifelines with Dyneema.

It's interesting how the local makers of Dyneema soft shackles have disappeared from eBay. The place is now full of Chinese made items and they don't always use the actual term Dyneema.

www.ebay.com.au/itm/Blue-8mm-Soft-Shackles-ATV-Winch-Shackle-Synthetic-Rope-Shackle-for-Sailing/401596950239?hash=item5d810b26df:g:FNAAAOSwhwlb7kkL

Cannot imagine Dyneema working for lifelines sorry......as you say would surely need plastic inserts in the stanchions to handle the wear issues.........cannot see them lasting as long as ss wire and would be more expensive anyway?

r13 said..
Cannot imagine Dyneema working for lifelines sorry......as you say would surely need plastic inserts in the stanchions to handle the wear issues.........cannot see them lasting as long as ss wire and would be more expensive anyway?

Dyneema is surprisingly cheap.

www.sail-world.com/news/214202/Would-you-trust-Dyneema-with-your-lifelines

My main halyard is Dyneema and I think that's a good choice for the application. My backstay is also Dyneema and works well. I also have a small dia loop fixing the cunningham to the bottom of the mast which is a good use of Dyneema as it retains strength with a small dia. but doesn't bulk it up around that area. I think my vang line may be Dyneema as well. I considered Dyneem life lines a year ago when I was replacing my old plastic coated ss ones, but I don't think it's allowed for racing so I just went SS again (uncoated as that's not allowed either).

I was out sailing today and looking around I realized I use 2mm Dyneema for whipping on rope ends.

One thing that Rumblefish or one of the trade gents may have better info on, but raw dyneema apparently degrades in prolonged exposure to UV. I have raw dyneema for the bobstay on the bowsprit, after three years the exposed dyneema is getting furry, which means its definitely time to replace it. I really should have done it at 18 months to be safe. Unsure why it is raw, I think it might be for ultra low friction, but that's a guess. Anyone?

As a counter though, on a recent outing a regular crew had a blonde moment and used the electric winch to tension the bowsprit, a BIG no-no. I looked up to see the 100mm square bowsprit bending at a crazy angle disappearing in front of the bow with the winch audibly shuddering in protest and the poor bobstay thrumming like a piano wire.
The bobstay load is rated at 2 x forestay load, and I reckon we over torqued it past that, yet the bobstay showed no visible abuse at all. So for a three year old furry raw dyneema line I'm super impressed, that's a tough rope.

Dyneema is white or black. Here is a link to the black that was introduced more recently: www.dsm.com/dyneema/en_GB/our-products/dyneema-fiber.html


Other colours are all part of the way each company treats the Dyneema. It is pretty cool to watch the different processes, from special coatings to heat treatments.

You will find a list of companies that make rope out of Dyneema by DSM at the bottom of this link: www.dsm.com/products/dyneema/en_GB/applications/sports-equipment/sailing.html

Thanks Rumble, good to know!
why do you have raw dyneema, Ie: no casing?

rumblefish said..

shaggybaxter said..
Thanks Rumble, good to know!
why do you have raw dyneema, Ie: no casing?

Dyneema is actually better than polyester cover in resisting chafe.
Polyester cover is designed to grip in a clutch, cleat or winch. Grip = friction = chafe.

Apart from the material itself it's all to do with the construction. Look closely at polyester cover and you'll notice all the threads are at +/-45deg to the direction of the rope.
With dyneema the threads are reverse twisted in each strand so they are in line with the direction of the rope, which means less chafe.

Out of interest this is why you shouldn't use braided lines for dock lines, only 3 strand or 8 plait.
The amount of braided dock lines i see that are chafing is amazing!!

G'day Rumble,
Ever have one of those Ureka moments? I'm standing here with a piece of cased and uncased dyneema line, and it all makes sense now.
That another beer I owe you, thanks very much!

Isn't it funny how a learning mind can sometimes get confused....

in my case, I've just read through this thread, & understood everything.... until I got to 'RIP a cleat out!!'

Hmmm, how can one 'Rest In Peace' a cleat thought I.... ? I then had my own Eureka moment when I realised 'RIP' meant 'rip' not 'R.I.P'.

Oh well, thank you to all of the posters for helping me to learn, & thank you to my slightly confused brain for giving me something to chuckle about.

As the old saying goes... one who laughs at oneself is alway amused! ??

We went with double braid on a cruising main halyard and I feel the stretch is so annoying we should have paid the extra for Dyneema.

"tip it"????