How to splice a deadeye into a wire shroud

[Bell]

Good Evening All

I greatly enjoy reading the various threads and postings here, but have not seen this subject previously raised - apologies if it has been!

This winter I am intending to undertake the long overdue replacement of the standing rigging on a small, 100 year old, gaff sloop on the Norfolk Broads. She has three sets of shrouds, two pairs of which have wooden (lignum vitae?) dead eyes whilst the third pair (a later addition when the rig was enlarged) have a thimble. There are no lower dead eyes, each shroud lanyard is reeved directly through the eye of its shroud plate - not entirely traditional but it does the job okay and I believe this is the set up from when she was built. I would like to retain the dead eyes and also put them on the third set of shrouds, which leads me to my question.

The dead eyes at present sit snugly in eyes formed in the shroud wire by a talurit type mechanical splice. I would like to splice the new shrouds by hand (partly so that it looks right, but also to save a few quid!) but I am concerned that if the eye is tight enough around the dead eye to provide a snug fit, the tension on the splice once in use will be trying to pull it apart, rather than how it would be if formed round a thimble for example.

Is there anything that I should do or any particular splice that should be used to prevent damage to the wire? Any suggestions would be extremely gratefully received.

[Brion Toss]

Hello,
Splicing and/or seizing to a deadeye properly is well-documented; I can recommend the pertinent chapter in the Apprentice, or Ashley's. Actual skill is involved, so I trust you will be practicing assiduously before making up your new shrouds. But even before that, I hope you will assess rig configuration, wire size, chainplate location, and basically everything else about the rig.
In part I'm suggesting this because I always do; rerigging is the time to correct any built-in oddities and inefficiencies. But it seems extra-important in your case, because whoever rigged this last did the following:
terminated with Talurits, which require no skill, and are vulnerable to lateral failure, and are basically ugly;
left off the lower deadeyes, because, I surmise, putting them in would have also required skill;
added a third set of shrouds, for reasons that may or may not have had anything to do with rig needs;
and put no deadeyes at all on the new set (see skill, above).
A boat that has survived a hundred years deserves a rig that does more than doing the job "okay."
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

[Bell]

Hi Brion

Thank you very much for your reply and your advice. I do have a copy of your book at home, so will read the relevant parts once I return and do some serious practicing before going any further!

With regard to the reasons for the current set up, I think that it is as much due to cost as skill - though I realise that the two are frequently closely linked! The boat was originally built for hire and probably down to a minimum cost and then adapted over the years.

However I do take your point; at present I have "half a job" and I should take the time and trouble to make it right now. Ho hum, more expense......