Excerpted from The Art of Seamanship by Ralph Naranjo
Cordage and performance go hand in hand, and when replacing halyards, sheets, guys, toppings lifts, outhauls, reefing lines, travelers, and downhauls, you have a great deal of cordage to choose from. The first big step is replacing conventional polyester (Dacron) main and jib halyards with much less stretchy Spectra (or Dyneema) halyards. Lower halyard stretch means less luff sag and scalloping, a big issue, especially for those using conventional piston-hanked headskills.
Another small stride forward is a new set of light-air jib sheets made of light, easy-to-handle cordage. For example, New England Ropes’ Flight Line uses a polypropylene braided cover over a Dyneema core and is so light it floats. Such sheets help keep a drifter, gennaker, or asymmetric spinnaker flying in the lightest of breezes. Along with fast-action snatch blocks, they also increase a crew’s ability to quickly set and jibe light-air sails.
To read more about lines, cordage and rigging, purchase Ralph Naranjo’s The Art of Seamanship from Practical Sailor.
