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Old 04-24-2008, 06:23 PM
jeffbonny jeffbonny is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 15
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Please excuse and correct my ignorance but cost aside what advantages are there to using rope instead of wire for the standing rigging on a boat like this? Am I wrong in thinking that wire has lower stretch...or at least settles more effectively and is more abrasion and UV resistant than Dyneema or Vectran? The strengths are similar in terms of similar diameter so windage would be similar, yes?

I ask because having used a lot of 6X19 IWRC 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" wire, variations on the spectra theme and miles of 1/2" double braid in non-marine applications rope of any sort seems a less durable long term solution than wire in a static system. The main advantages of cordage over wire for me have always been either lower cost or lower weight. Often the lower cost is a fair trade-off well within safety margins. Sometimes the lower weight is essential to a safe system in terms of installation and use. The relatively minuscule amount of material used in the standing rigging of a small boat make the cost a non-issue in my mind.
What am I missing...is is weight?
Am I wrongly prejudiced?
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