Bridle setup options?

hospadar

hospadar

tiny boat fiend
Just got a new [to me] sunfish with a 3-loop bridle that I'm planning on replacing with a 2-looper and had a couple q's for experienced sunfisherpeople. I'm not planning on doing any class-legal racing so legality is not a concern. Mostly planning on pleasure-boating with possibly some recreational racing (don't care about winning) and maybe some small-time camp-cruising/adventure stuff. Most of my sailing experience is on a zuma that uses a piece of non-stretch poly and a racelite traveler block.

  1. Material: Was planning on going dyneema but I don't really have any experience one way or the other. Mostly it seems like it'd be nice to never worry about scratching the deck.
  2. Thimbles: assuming I go dyneema - any opinions about whether I should get a bridle with or without thimbles spliced in? My bridle eyestraps round (i.e. not stamped out of flat sheet metal with square corners) so it doesn't seem like the thimbles are particularly necessary.
  3. Sheet-to-bridle attachment - seems like many folk prefer to just bowline the sheet around the bridle - any strong feelings about a block/ring/snap of any kind? Maybe a block with composite cheeks for less scratcheyness (if a block at all)?
 

Attachments

  • 2022-04-22 16.30.06.jpg
    2022-04-22 16.30.06.jpg
    298.9 KB · Views: 52
1. Nothing wrong with a three-loop bridle for non-competitive sailing
2. Nothing wrong with a two-loop bridle either, assuming some tape around the fittings. No scratching of the deck whatsoever on my Sunfish (after 10+ years)
3. A bowline for the sheet around the bridle is a bit more secure, but nothing to lose sleep over IMHO
 
If you’re not class legal racing, is there a reason to change it?

The 3-loop works… maybe not as ideally a 2-loop, but if you’re a recreational sailor it is just fine.
 
If your three loop is solid just go sailing. Your year the sheet should clip. The reason for a bowline is we have sheets without the clip. So with the two loop you just tie the sheet on. The two loop helps in racing for sail shape. Just tie a line for a bridle to experiment. The class allowed rope bridles but there were lots of different lengths so they were made illegal for racing.
 
Sailflow said:
If your three loop is solid just go sailing. Your year the sheet should clip. The reason for a bowline is we have sheets without the clip. So with the two loop you just tie the sheet on. The two loop helps in racing for sail shape. Just tie a line for a bridle to experiment. The class allowed rope bridles but there were lots of different lengths so they were made illegal for racing.
Click to expand...
the clip in light wind is just more weight to flop around too.
 
Thanks for the tips!

If we're being honest I've got a case of Gear Acquisition Syndrome and am just looking to fancy things up for fun . But probably I'll just tie the sheet to the existing loop for initial sea trials and see how I feel. Maybe tape down the loop like they say in the class rules. I'm going to order a couple other bits from intensity sometime soon-ish anyhow and they have pre-spliced bridles for $15 which ain't bad.

Also @tag - I saw your post about sailing ford lake! I'm in a2 and I've been boating out there a bunch of times. Hopefully we'll cross sails some day!
 
  • Like
Reactions: tag
I made my own 2-loop bridle--using stainless steel cable with the loops cushioned with clear shrink tube. It looks very pretty, it's strong, won't damage the finish, slick in operation, and too short!
:confused:
 
Update!

Sailed the boat for the first time yesterday with the three-loop bridle, had a great time (sheet was bowline'd to the loop). This morning I spliced (fun! first time splicing dyneema) and installed my own dyneema bridle, looks great but haven't used it yet. I had to order a couple other parts for the boat so I threw in a few feet of line while I was at it. I didn't have any trouble with the backer blocks on the eyes, I removed one of the screws and loosened the others a little (but it seemed like the blocks were still securely glued to the inside of the deck). I resealed the screws with some butyl tape, it looks like whatever ancient sealant they put on in 1976 wasn't really doing anything any more.

I did a brummel splice for the eyes and did not end up installing any thimbles. I figure I'm not going to be using it hard enough that the eyes of the space-age dyneema are going to break on the smooth eyestraps any time soon (and if they do I'll make a new one with $3 of dyneema). I used the splicing guide from atlantic braids which was pretty easy to execute. I used a chopped-off knitting needle as a fid (just taped the end of the rope to the needle) and a piece of bent stainless wire to help reverse the inverted sections.


signal-2022-05-31-120045_001.jpeg
 
Is splicing dynerma similar to splicing polypropylene?

Open the braid and thread the end through it--back as far as needed? The braid holds the end tight, like those "Chinese fingers" gadgets of yesterday?

Is that ¾-inch splice going to stay tight? Only asking because my next bridle will be dynerma.
 
L&VW said:
Is splicing dynerma similar to splicing polypropylene?

Open the braid and thread the end through it--back as far as needed? The braid holds the end tight, like those "Chinese fingers" gadgets of yesterday?

Is that ¾-inch splice going to stay tight? Only asking because my next bridle will be dynerma.
Click to expand...

Well I'm no expert but I did read a lot about it on the internet today :)

I've never braided polypro, but from what you're describing I think they sound the same. I buried the tail with a fid (pushing), but a lot of folks pull the tail through with a bent piece of stainless wire (if you google pictures of a "d-splicer" you'll get the idea).

I think in general, yeah, most single-braid spices are pretty simple - the strength comes from the tail being buried in the rope which constricts the tail in a fingertrap-like way as its loaded. Internet research seems to suggest the the appropriate amount of tail to bury is between ~50 and ~70 times the diameter. There's no harm in burying more than necessary, but most folks seem to agree that a buried tail ~70x the diameter of the rope will make the splice as strong as it can theoretically be.

I saw a couple different dyneema splices, but all of them get their strength from the tail being buried in the rope. The difference I think between the different styles of splice is what they use to keep the eye from falling out when the eye is not loaded (because without load the buried tail could theoretically slide out).
Seems like the options are basically:
  1. brummel splice like I did where you invert the braid in such a way as to lock the loop in place before burying the tail
  2. whipping the splice right below the eye
  3. lockstitching the splice right below the eye
I don't know if mine will stay tight, but seems pretty solid (I can pick up the boat with it, no movement in the splice). I buried a tail about 60x the diameter per the above-linked instructions. I suspect if it does slip or fall out, it's going to be because I did something wrong. Probably if I did it again I'd just whip the splice with waxed sail twine instead of doing the brummel splice, I think it'd be easier (I just wanted to try the brummel splice because it looked cool to do TBH). FWIW the ones that west coast sailing sells are whipped not brummel'd. Also if you whip/lockstitch it's much easier to install thimbles than with the brummel splice.
 
Now I remember another reason I asked:

One of my Sunfish arrived with a polypropylene bridle. While we might turn up our noses at such a cheap "fix", it does have the advantage of "slickness"; that is, the mainsheet's bowline knot slides very easily. (Like it was greased--no hangups).
 
L&VW said:
Now I remember another reason I asked:

One of my Sunfish arrived with a polypropylene bridle. While we might turn up our noses at such a cheap "fix", it does have the advantage of "slickness"; that is, the mainsheet's bowline knot slides very easily. (Like it was greased--no hangups).
Click to expand...

Sounds good - I can't imagine that the strength of polypro would actually be a problem for recreational sailing? FWIW the dyneema is also pretty slick on the surface. I still haven't sailed with mine yet on account of flat trailer tires though so that's really just guessing :p
 
hospadar said:
Sounds good - I can't imagine that the strength of polypro would actually be a problem for recreational sailing? FWIW the dyneema is also pretty slick on the surface. I still haven't sailed with mine yet on account of flat trailer tires though so that's really just guessing :p
Click to expand...
Polypropylene does not hold up to sunlight very well. I’d stay away from it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top