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  1. #1
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    Spyder Line and Ring Buckles -- Failure

    I seem to recall that some use spyder line in a ring-buckle system. At least, I'm pretty sure I got the idea off this site, and didn't invent it. Anyway, I was laying in my hammock when *snap* i got dropped. Luckily I was only about 12 inches off the ground, so no injuries, but upon examining the spyder line, I found that it didn't completely break. Instead, the outer shell broke, allowing it to slide through the ring buckles, and that dropped me. I had a half hitch tied for security, but didn't work. I've attached photos of the setup, and the "broken rope" for your reference. Was this a fluke, or should I be using something else in a ring buckle system?
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #2
    Senior Member angrysparrow's Avatar
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    That looks more like a Garda Hitch arrangement than a typical ring buckle one?

    What diameter Spyderline were you using?
    “I think that when the lies are all told and forgot the truth will be there yet. It dont move about from place to place and it dont change from time to time. You cant corrupt it any more than you can salt salt.” - Cormac McCarthy

  3. #3
    Senior Member GrizzlyAdams's Avatar
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    wow, very apropos to this thread.

    That does look like a garda hitch. Tell me it's 2.8mm and not 3.8mm I shifted up after a bit of 2.8mm actually snapped (but not in a garda hitch).

    Grizz

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    Did the Dyneema core actually break or just the poly sheathing? One of the reasons I stopped using a Garda hitch/ring set up on the BB (AmSteel Blue) was the real slippery nature of the the Dyneema. Did the set up just suddenly slip when the covering split?
    Noel V.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Knotty's Avatar
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    Scary. Glad you weren't hurt.

    I'm not familiar with Spyder Line, but I do know that a lot of high tech lines are fussy about how they're applied. Some don't take well to knots and small radius bends. Because of this I avoided them on my sailboat. You definitely have to look beyond just their tensile strength ratings when using them.

  6. #6
    Senior Member Frawg's Avatar
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    Turkeyboy, could you tell exactly where the break occurred? I'm guessing at the pinch in the rings, but I would much appreciate learning all I could from your experience. I'm experimenting with something similar, though with 7/64" Amsteel Blue. I think I'll hang a little lower...

    Late edit:
    On page 40 of the Samson Rope Catalog is the following note:
    "Where a rope bends more than ten degrees around bitts or chocks or is bending across any surface, the diameter of that surface should not be less than three times the diameter of the rope. Stated another way, the diameter of the surface should be at least three times the rope diameter. A four-to-one ratio (or larger) would be better yet because the durability of the rope increases substantially as the diameter of the surface over which it is worked increases."
    In your first picture, it looks to my untrained eye like the turn radius might be a bit tight, especially the last turn of the Garda hitch at the pinch point. Not saying that's the case, though, and it's certainly no different from what I'm doing with 7/64" Amsteel Blue and SMC descender rings.

    I'm speculating, but the tight radius might have transferred much of the tension load onto the inner radius of the protective outer braid, off of the Dyneema core where the strength is. Perhaps single braid line might fare somewhat better. My derriere sure hopes so!!

    (2nd edit: Got my physics bass ackwards... the outer radius should have taken up the load... sorry 'bout that!)

    Maybe someone with the relevant expertise can offer some insight on this.

    Chuck
    Last edited by Frawg; 04-05-2009 at 21:33. Reason: added information; made correction

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by angrysparrow
    That looks more like a Garda Hitch arrangement than a typical ring buckle one?
    It is a garda hitch.

    Quote Originally Posted by angrysparrow
    What diameter Spyderline were you using?
    Quote Originally Posted by grizzleyadams
    That does look like a garda hitch. Tell me it's 2.8mm and not 3.8mm I shifted up after a bit of 2.8mm actually snapped (but not in a garda hitch).
    2.8mm spyderline. For some reason I thought others were using a garda . . . . What is the latest and greatest?

    Quote Originally Posted by caboyer View Post
    Turkeyboy, could you tell exactly where the break occurred? I'm guessing at the pinch in the rings, but I would much appreciate learning all I could from your experience.
    I think it occurred at the rings, but it was hard to tell, because the cover separated by about 18 inches.

    Quote Originally Posted by koahola05
    Did the Dyneema core actually break or just the poly sheathing? One of the reasons I stopped using a Garda hitch/ring set up on the BB (AmSteel Blue) was the real slippery nature of the the Dyneema. Did the set up just suddenly slip when the covering split?
    Just the poly sheathing broke. Everything slipped when the sheathing broke.

  8. #8
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    One more thing -- given that the line didn't break, just the sheathing, I wonder if the 3.8mm would have made a difference?

  9. #9
    Senior Member Frawg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by turkeyboy View Post
    One more thing -- given that the line didn't break, just the sheathing, I wonder if the 3.8mm would have made a difference?
    I don't know, but did want to point out some possibly relevant info I added to the end of my previous post. Maybe some food for thought.

    Chuck

  10. #10
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    Chuck,

    Thanks. That's interesting. I certainly violated the recommendations for running the rope around a certain diameter object. I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has had similar problems?

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