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Spectra break phenomenon
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Subject: Spectra break phenomenon
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From: czw70@ccc.amdahl.com (CA Whitfield)
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Date: 5 Mar 92 09:47:52 GMT
At the risk of sounding like a real meat-head I have a question
for those of you (I presume just about everybody) who use Spectra,
or similar, line.
Here is the setup: Spectra 150lb line. Yes, it is sleeved! Heavy-duty
swivels attached to sleeving by 125lb nylon traces (the intention was
that these traces, only about 8-10 inches long, would break before the
Spectra. Also they make matching line lengths alot easier).
bridle -LH- swivel -LH- braided trace -LH- looped sleeve (LH=larks head)
Here is what happens: I have broken this line on two occasions. First
was with my foil on a windy, windy day. I reckoned that I took the line
beyond its limits and BOTH lines broke. I found that surprising but
at least it saved me from Death by a Thousand Tangles. The funny thing
was that they broke about one inch from the sleeving at the kite-end.
I re-sleeved my lines and made up some new sacrificial traces from
110lb braided nylon.
The second time they broke was on a milder day when I was flying my
Fire Dart. Again, both lines broke about one inch from the kite-end
sleeving.
It strikes me that:
- Both breakages happened after many, many hours of flying.
- In both cases I re-sleeved, re-tuned for length, and carried on
without any more breaks.
- My sacrificial traces survived twice (great plan, huh?). :-(
- Both lines went on each occasion.
- The second incident happened in mild-ish weather (read: not much
pull from the kite).
Is this coincidence? Am I witnessing a known phenomenon? Have I
offended some little-known String God?
Any half-believable explanation gratefully received!
Charlie
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