splicing nuts

[The Good Goose]

Anyone use or have any thoughts on these? www.splicingnuts.com

Brock

[Figment]

I think you mean www.splicingnut.com

I'm not a fan.
I know how to tie knots that cost nothing.
I know how to splice with a dandy little tool that isn't all that expensive.

I'm a big stick in the mud.

[Ceasar Choppy]

I'm a big stick in the mud.

Hardly... a regular splice is just so much cleaner and better looking. And cheaper if you do it yourself.

I suppose these things have their place-- maybe for really small line that is too hard to splice (3/16" comes to mind).

[Rachel]

When I first saw those in the "New Stuff!" section of a sailing magazine, all I could think of was how it would feel to have one catch in your hand or whack you in the eye. I thought they were awful - one of those products someone thinks up in a "What can we sell people this time around?" way, and which eventually makes people think splicing or knot-tying must be really hard, or that only professionals can do it. Then you've got to stock a variety of sizes in your spares kit, and...

Yep, another stick in the mud.

Rachel
(who admittedly has never even seen one)

[CharlieJ]

I've tried to see tham, but that site sits there with a little arrow spinning around and after 20 minutes of it saying "loading" I just give up. I've tried it four times now, so I guess I'm just not supposed to see the site.

But if Rachel says they are not worth it, then I'll not bother, cause they aren't worth it.

[Tim]

If you can't splice, tie a knot.

[Ric in Richmond]

If you can't tie knots....tie lots (of knots)!!!!

One of my pet peeves are those who don't even spend the time to learn a basic knot or cleat hitch and when to use it.

[Case]

Hmm... I can see why many of the forum members here are a "stick in the mud"... That's because most members in this forum is NOT in the niche that see any uses for these splicing nuts.

Those splicing nuts are a controversial thing with many sailors, including racing sailors. I see them as useless - I know how to splice both 3 strand and double braid and is learning on how to splice 8 or 12 strand right now. Plus, they are just too ugly for me.

BUT... they are growing in popularity with a certain type of sailor who frequently change out high tech lines for their racing sailboats. It takes time to splice so this splicing nut helps you to basically create new splices almost instantly.

Think of these "near" hard core racers who constantly buy new high tech lines and try them out and go hmm... that other line is better, lets switch it out pronto.

Those specific type of sailors... are the market for these splicing nuts. Typing knots on these lines... after you use them, its often almost IMPOSSIBLE to unknot, hence the splicing nuts.

I said "near" because the TRUE hardcore racers would never use a splicing nut in racing, it adds weight. But even these hardcore racers would probably end up using the nuts so to test certain lines out before deciding on one type and doing an actual splice on that type of line and race with it. Not dealing with ultra tight knots is a real time saver and some certain types of high tech lines will not hold a knot well.

Oh also... yes these splicing nuts are for the lazy, too. That's probably ultimately the biggest market in the future.

Just letting people know why they even exist in the first place.

- Case

[Al]

At the risk of being booed off this site, I admit that I kinda like the Splicing Nut, even though I do know how to tie a bowline and a few other knots. I also have to admit that I wrote the review of the Splicing Nut for Good Old Boat magazine. I have only one of them on my boat, on a Cunningham, and I do think it looks a bit neater than a bowline. I would not use it on anything that required more than the strength of a bowline, and the manufacturer says the same thing. I'll take the liberty of quoting myself:

Steve Brennan was up in a bosun?s chair during a race some years ago, trying to free a spinnaker halyard splice that had jammed in the sheave, when he told himself in frustration that there had to be a better way. It wasn?t until 1999, while the industrial designer was working on a nuclear submarine, that the answer came to him. The result is the SplicingNut, a patented device intended to replace bowline knots and splices in many, but not all, applications on a sailboat (and in tents) which made its official debut at the Annapolis Sailboat Show in October, 2005.

The SplicingNut is a two piece glass reinforced polymer device that creates a loop to which a sail, a ring, or a shackle can be attached. Available in four sizes (3/16?, 1/4?, 5/16?, and 3/8?), Brennan says the SplicingNut has some real advantages over a knot: the line will ?never back out?; the shape of the SplicingNut means it is unlikely to snag on anything; it won?t pull through a sheave; and it can be undone under load. Despite its virtues, Brennan said he does not recommend the SplicingNut for anchor and mooring lines. And the SplicingNut doesn?t work especially well with high tech line. But for most single and double braid polyester, Brennan said, the SplicingNut is ?the right one to use 85 percent of the time.?

The SplicingNut can be thought of a Sta-Lok fitting for line. But while a mechanical fitting like a Sta-Lok will create a connection as strong as the wire rope itself, the SplicingNut does decrease the breaking strength of the line, just as a bowline or any knot does. Any bend in a line reduces the strength of a line, Brennan said, and the SplicingNut uses three bends. While Brennan has test data on his instruction sheet and web site, he said its best to think of the Splicing Nut as a substitute for a bowline: if you wouldn?t trust a bowline for the job, you probably shouldn?t use the SplicingNut.

[Peter]

Interesting little gadgets .... think I'll throw a couple in my parts box for times when I don't have 40 minutes to do a double braid splice ... just in case :-)

[Case]

If you use a bowlines for halyards and have a tendency to replace it often for a reason or something... Now for that, I can see an use for the splicing nuts. My bowlines NEVER loosen up but they can be pure hell to unknot. I have had to cut short perfectly good lines because of the ultra tight bowlines.

I can understand their appeal. Not for me but can be nice to have, though.

Heh Heh, all of the comments in this particular thread makes me think of those in the past who thought roller furling was stupid. Now look where we are at today... The same can be said for fiberglass.

I got a feeling those splicing nuts will become more common in the future.

- Case

[Rachel]

At the risk of being booed off this site, I admit that I kinda like the Splicing Nut, even though I do know how to tie a bowline and a few other knots. I also have to admit that I wrote the review of the Splicing Nut for Good Old Boat magazine.

Hey, everyone doesn't have to be a stick-in-the-mud. I'm glad you posted the additional information and the reference to your article.

Rachel

[Ceasar Choppy]

BUT... they are growing in popularity with a certain type of sailor who frequently change out high tech lines for their racing sailboats. It takes time to splice so this splicing nut helps you to basically create new splices almost instantly.

IMHO, most of the high tech line can be spliced in a matter of minutes. The only line that is a real pain is Sta-Set X, and frankly I don't think you'll see much of that on the boats you describe.