After receiving the new lines in a gigantic box, we basically shipped them straight up to Annapolis Performance Sailing with all of our old lines, asking them to "make this new stuff look like that old stuff." Easy, right? For us it was.
It was a big project for APS, I'm sure, but they did a great job with it. Everything works exactly like it's supposed to. I think. You can read about the rigging job on their blog, where they share specs and technique to explain the process of transforming a gigantic box of lines that do jack nothing into a gigantic box of lines that move sails up and down on a boat.
I imagine that replacing ALL of the lines on a boat at one time is a pretty rare deal, but I don't really know because I don't own my own boat. I own a toaster oven. It's pretty sweet. Anyways ...
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| That's a SWEET jib halyard. |
We've sailed with our new FSE Roblines twice now (podium both times, holler), and we're pretty happy with it. We're not a professional crew, but we have enough skill and knowledge between the nine of us that we fully recognize the quality job done by APS. And by that, I mean that we haven't managed to foul it all up too bad yet.
I don't really know any technical stuff about lines, but if I did, I would totally be like, "Yeah, and the tack line is made out of some technical stuff and it holds the kite better than any tack line I've ever used." Something like that. I'd use a bunch of numbers, too. Since I don't have that expertise, here is what some of the crew thinks of the new stuff after racing with it:
From front to back of the bus:
Angry Bowman, Jay Price: "When you lashed me with that spinny sheet, all I could do was cry out More! More! More! But seriously, they had a good feel to them."
Mastman, Carey Hardesty: "The finish work on all the lines is top notch! When we pulled the halyards out of the bag, we had a local rigger standing by and he was quite impressed with the work. As for the line itself, it's super strong and light, and the covers have held up quite well - no burning or flat spots!"
Trimmer, Chris Korpman: "The kite sheet is solid with very little stretch; I had lots of control on the kite. Same with the jib sheets, and the halyards all run freely."
Trimmer, Todd Hart: "The lines were great. The splicing was done extremely well. Any issues I had with the lines were not the manufacturer or the rigger's fault. The slickness from being new and too much length are easily fixed."
Main Trimmer, Nick Turcotte: "The lines are pretty yaaaaaaaaaaaaayy. Jay, do the new lines make you less angry?"
Runners, Wiley Price: "Stuff didn't seem to stretch in the runners - creep slightly/maybe. A plus is it didn't want to twist up as badly between the blocks like the prior lines did."
I guess now you guys are wondering what the hell it is that I do on the boat. Check it:
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| What did you expect? (Photo from Stephanie Sweeney) |
Anyways, I'll make sure to bring the camera and go-pro out at our next race so that we can get some good footage for Dyneema and APS. Meanwhile, you can go here to sign up with our campaign; Dyneema is giving away all sorts of stuff, and you totally might win something.
