Splicing
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Back Splice
A Back Splice is used to as a semi-permanent way to finish off the end of a three-strand rope and prevent it from fraying. This is accomplished by unraveling the strands of the rope, tying a , and then interweaving the strands back down the length of the rope. An alternative to the Back Splice is or, in the case of nylon and other plastic materials, the rope strands are simply fused together with heat to prevent fraying.
Eye Splice
The eye splice is a method of creating a permanent loop (an "eye") in the end of a rope by means of rope splicing.
Getting Started: From one end of the rope, countback 16 crowns. Tape this section.
unlay the rope up to the tape then tape the end of each strand. Form the eye and tape the standing part of the rope. To avoid a twist in the eye of the finished splice, untwist the rope one-half turn between the pieces of tape.
STEP 1 - TUCKING THE FIRST STRAND: With a fid or your finger, raise a strand just below the tape on the standing part of the rope and insert the middle working strand under the fid and pull the strand through. Mark the first tucked strand with a single hash mark; numbering the working strands will help you keep track of the tucking process.
STEP 2 - TUCKING THE SECOND STRAND: Using the fid to separate strands, tuck the next working strand over the strand you just tucked under and under the strand just below it. Mark this strand with a double hash mark.
STEP 3 - TUCKING THE THIRD STRAND: Turn the entire piece over. There is one working strand left to tuck and there is one strand left in the standing part of the rope that does not have a working strand under it. Insert the fid to separate the strands and make this tuck, continuing to work counter to the lay or twist of the rope. Mark this strand with a triple hash mark.The first round of tucks is complete. Tighten if necessary by pulling on the strand ends.When you tuck, take care to use all three strands in each round and that you tuck under a strand in the standing part of the rope and not under one of your working strands.
STEP 4 - FINISHING THE SPLICE: 3-Strand Tuck Eye Splice Figure 5Perform four more complete tucks. Tighten tucks if necessary. Both the front and the back of the splice should resemble the illustrations shown.
Short Splice
Tape the rope. Unravel enough for about 5 tucks. Push the ends into each other and tape the middle. Make the first complete set of tucks, and then another. Repeat this using the other end. Remove the tapes, tighten, and complete the remaining tucks. The Short Splice makes a secure join between two lengths of three-strand rope. This is entirely satisfactory for some purposes, e.g., making a longer tow rope or dinghy painter. However, the Short Splice is useless for any running rigging because the splice will be too fat to pass through any blocks.
