My Favorite Sail Ties

11-2011

Rev. 7-22-2024

In the West Marine catalog--or any supplier for that matter--they sell prefabricated sail ties for ridiculous prices. My boat came with 2 sets of 2 types. I tried some webbing with Fastex buckles--something I had. They worked, but the buckles don't like being stepped on and sometimes caught on the cover or the sail. Kind of rubbish for a sailor.

Having completed my Practical Sailor article on washing rope, I was faced with piles of clean ropes in various states of disrepair. Some was ancient crap, destroyed in the testing. A few bits tie Jessica's kayak to the car or the railing of the boat. Some remains in a basket, waiting some future purpose. Most puzzling was the new dock lines that were herniated and ruined in the washing process. I had 100 feet of new, soft 1/2-inch nylon dockline that simply had a tangled core. I pulled the core out--it slipped out in seconds--and played with both parts,  the core and the cover, while watching a DVD; something to keep the hands busy. Separated, the cover is loose and and easy to splice, it became a game to see what could be done and to think of a use. Toys for sailors.

The core was pitched. Other than recyclable fiber, I couldn't dream a purpose. To loose and snag prone.

The core was removed from the eye half of the line, left in for the stopper portion (ashley stopper knot).

The cover is another matter. It's a sort of webbing, or a very hollow single braid rope, super-easy to splice. Just screwing around, sitting on the boat one evening while watching "Cast Away" for the 10th time, I found myself making sail ties from this, a sort of strop. It  felt old school and relaxing... and they are the best ties I have found.

• The material is soft and easy on the sails. 
• A bury splice is fast and easy with no core; just a few stitches lock it. 
• The eye is just large enough to pass an ashley stopper, which is nice and square and never slips out. 
• The flattened profile of the hollow braid grips the stopper knot better than round rope, without need for an overly tight eye. 
• The pointed tail makes threading them simple; I can take put them on or take them off in the dark with gloves on, in moments.
• There is no hard buckle or bozo ball to step on.
• There is no knot to seize-up after wet dry cycling.
• They are not adjustable (you can move the knot, of course), but if made to fit there is no need.

Try it. It seems wasteful, just using the cover, but short bits of used rope should do. Normally old rope cannot be spliced, but I think you'll find the cover alone is different. A different spin on strops.

I swear, I'm not that cheap. These really work best for me! Well, maybe I am.

Soft shackles are hardly new.

note 11-15-2012.
Still may favorites after Hurricane Sandy. used to secure sails, tarps and some other deck items, none budged and none jammed.

note 7-22-2024
And adjustable version, copied from a rigger on a tall ship. Easily made for free from old double braid covers. Basically a string of brummel locks with a stopper knot on the end. The ashley stopper knot is made large by leaving the core in the last bit. This one secures the tail end of my mainsail cover. The adjustability makes up for slight differences in flaking.