Quick wire eye-splice by Nick Skeates
With wire rope terminals and swaged fittings popular and
readily available nowadays, the wire splice is fast becoming a thing of the past. The professionally
fitted ends are neat and reliable, and not over costly, but suppose one day you had to make an eye in
the end of a wire far from a boatyard and maybe far from land, what then?
The traditional type
of wire splice would not be much good then, for it's a long, time consuming job, requiring several tools
and some sort of vice. Bulldog grips would be fine, always assuming you have some of the right size,
but have you?
This splice was shown to me by one of those characters who really go cruising rather
than titivating their boats the whole summer, and he'd found it good. I've used it most successfully
in 6 x 19 and 6 x 24 flexible wire, and I see no reason why it should not be just as good in 7 x 7 wire.
It is intended as a temporary repair, although I seem to have several on my boat which have been there
for quite some time…..
Start off as in figure 1 by unlaying two or three adjacent strands (it
seems not to matter which number you choose). Go back as far as the neck of the splice, and leave an
extra couple of inches at the end. Now take the piece of wire you have unwound (B), cross over as in
figure 2 and lay it up, beginning a couple of inches from the end (C), the opposite way round the loop.
You'll find it will lay in very snugly, looking as if it had never been disturbed. Continue right round
the loop, and then cross back again at the neck, as in figure 3, neatly finishing up at the end (C).
To finish off, put a wracking seizing on as in figure 4, with thin wire - that's the figure of eight
type - to hold everything firm. One bulldog grip will do the same thing but not as neatly. The splice
is now finished: It may be tidied up by parcelling with tape, and serving with marline. You'll notice
that not a single tool has been used.
If a thimble is required in the eye, that eye should be
made slightly small, and the thimble hammered in afterwards. Bringing the parcelling and serving up very
near the eye will close it a little, and hold the thimble tightly in place.
I was a bit dubious
about it at first, but now I find that the splices like this on my boat (28ft cutter) have been in service
for over 12,000 miles on the headsail halyards and at the masthead, and have weathered three gales at
sea.
Not bad for a temporary splice.
Nick Skeates
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