Deadeye Lanyard Knot question

[Garth]

Hi Everybody,

I'm very close to going sailing for the first time in my Ness Yawl (Iain Oughtred design). A little more paint, and a few rigging details and I'm there.

So, to my questions. The stays on my boat are vectran and the side stay tension will be adjusted with pairs of deadeyes. I'm using a 3/16" double braid line for the lanyards. The traditional stopper knot for deadeye lanyards is the Mathew Walker. Any suggestions on an attractive stopper knot for double braid? The hole in the deadeye is 5/16" diameter.

For the other end of the lanyard, what is the traditional knot to tie it off? I vaguely remember seeing 'cow hitch' somewhere....

Thanks in advance,
Garth

[Ian McColgin]

How about a modified eye splice with a short and tapered tuck to get that part through the deadeye and bending ninty degrees and the actual eye close to non-existant, leaving just a little nob visible.

If all the holes in the deadeye wood are relieved and grooved on both sides except this starter hole, relieved and grooved on only one side, then the hardness of the line should keep it from slipping through. If you have any doubt you could put something in the eye for extra security. Maybe even form the eye around a little grommet or circular thimble or something so's you have a place to attach a flag hallyard?

G'luck

[osteoderm]

You say, "...will be adjusted with pairs of deadeyes."; do you already have the diminutive deadeyes made up? i gave serious thought to traditional, albeit much scaled-down, deadeyes on my 13' sparred-length gaff cutter, but after realizing that i'd need to carve 18 of the blessed little things, i went with thimbles on the ends of the stays/shrouds, and bowshackles on the chainplates/thimbles inside grommets on the bowsprit.
The rigging on my boat is 4mm Spectra, and the lanyards are medium-weight seine-twine.... a nice combination of new and old; easily adjusted, and looks just fine. i don't miss the deadeyes, and the thimbles/shackles actually hold more turns and with a little lube set up great.

[Garth]

Yep, I've already made the deadeyes. I made 6, originally planning to use two for the forestay. That proved incompatable with the jib, so I'll have a turnbuckle up foreward.

Why would you need 18 deadeyes in a 13' boat? My standing rigging (for a gunter gaff sloop) is a forestay and two sidestays.

Garth

[osteoderm]

Garth,

Two deadeyes each for the aft-led lower shrouds, capshrouds, forestay, jibstay, bobstay, and whiskerstays. A silly project, yes, but A) it looks cool, and was fun to rig, and B) that mast will never fall down.

[Brion Toss]

Hi Garth,
Glad to hear you are getting to the important part, after all of that wood distraction. Consider taking the deadend to a ringbolt in the rail, directly under the deadeye, Clipper style (Ashley's #3318). Or splice directly to the last eye, with a fairly snug splice. Or even a running eye, spliced around its own part (see "Masting and Rigging the Clipper Ship and Ocean Carrier). But the first two will be the handsomest, and the first one the best.
As for finishing the lanyards, make the hitch the opposite way than is shown in Ashley's #3317, so that when you tighten the hitch the last run of the lanyard gets tightened and pulled vertical. Seize to please.
Fair leads,
Brion