New anti-torsion cable - PERFECT!

The standard anti-torsion rope on my jib has never impressed me much. Especially with a lot of wind, when you need it to work, it doesn't. The top of the jib would not furl because the line was not stiff enough (and probably because there is relatively little tension on the anti-torsion line compared to fixed mast-boats).

Old anti-torsion Rope

I replaced the line with Harken Reflex anti torsion rope. This rope is a normal anti-torsion rope but with a braided stainless steel cover round that rope. What a difference! I am usually a bit sceptical about claims of new products, but this works perfect for my setup.


Harken Reflex Rope

The rope can be bought with expensive end-terminals, but I made them very cheap with aluminium press-sleeves, just for the fun of trying to replace some stuff with diy-parts.

Here is a test-piece with a normal alu press-sleeve I used:

 

Unlike the official terminals it is a permanent fix: to remove the sleeve it has to be carefully cut into multiple pieces:

For extra security i tapped some m5 machine screws into the press sleeve to further lock the cable, but in hindsight this is overkill.

My cheap trick to press the sleeves, step 1: put sleeve in a vice with to big steel nails as 'press die' to (pre)form the sleeve.

My cheap trick to press the sleeves, step 2: use some threaded rod, some steel bar, a small hydraulic jack and again a steel nail to get some real pressure on the the already preformed sleeve:

 

Next post: mainsail top batten-tackle....