Tracer Dimensions

[John Stone]

I am in the process of splicing 10mm Marlow double braid. It is buff colored and of course there are no tracer yarns.

Is there a formula to determine the distance between tracer yarns? On some 3/8" double braid they look to be about 1.5" apart. Brion mentions in The Rigger's Apprentice, in the sections that provides instruction on splicing double braid, that there is an accompanying chart to address the distance between tracer yarns but I don't see it . . . or perhaps it is there but not obvious.

Thanks.

[benz]

Hi John,

Not sure why you want to locate tracer yarns. The instructions that Samson has, as well as their fids, are set up so that you measure either along the fids or by counting 'picks' on the cover. You can download Samson's instructions for free, and their splicing fid kit is not excessively expensive.
Best,
Ben

[John Stone]

Hi Ben,
Thanks for the reply.

Brion mentioned, in the splicing instruction I am using, counting down "X" number of tracers to find the location for the bury. I am not using fids . . . I have one of his splicing wands. Anyway, thick headed as I am sometimes, I finally figured out the conversion chart. All good now. Spliced on the main halyard shackle. Currently splicing eyes for the remaining halyards to incorporate soft shackles that we previously discussed. The Marlow pre-stretched double braid seems easy enough to splice.

[Brion Toss]

Hi there,
Sans tracers, you can use rope diameters, specified in Book 5. Or you can, in a pinch, measure tracer length by, um, tracing a yarn one circumference of the rope. Just pulling gently on one will show where it gets to. Or you can count pics, which always seemed needlessly labor-intensive to me.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss