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Rope type for Jordan series drogue

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Created by claverton > 9 months ago, 12 Mar 2017
claverton
NSW, 165 posts
12 Mar 2017 12:19PM
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So I've sown up my 100 cones for my drogue on the trusty sewing machine, now to select what type of rope to attach them too.

Jordan recommends for a 10,000lb displacement yacht bridles coming from each side of the stern that are 2.5 x's the transom width, then 80 foot of line then a further 170 foot of line that the cones are attached to. For this displacement he recommends 5/8" double braided nylon with 25lb chain or anchor on the end (some advise 15lb).

Packed up this is 290 feet odd of nylon line which is a big heavy package for a small boat, especially if wet. Jordan invented this system before dyneema was invented. Using dyneema would mean that the bundle of line would be a lot smaller, lighter and far more convenient. Also it doesn't absorb water to the same extent as nylon rope.

Obviously dyneema hasn't got the stretch of nylon rope, so the question is would using dyneema reduce the effectiveness of the drogue? My reasoning is probably not, because it is the delayed engagement of the cones with the sea along the length of the line that provides this type of drogue it's effectiveness rather than the elasticity of the nylon.

To reduce shock being transmitted to the hull attachment points, my original thought was to use nylon line for the two bridles, and use dyneema for the rest of the line. That is until I found an obscure entry buried in an old Cruisersforum post on this topic. The author indicated he had asked Jordan some time ago about using a less elastic form of rope and Jordan's answer was quite definitive. He advised that less elasticity is better, because the cones close to the boat must pick up the load quickly before the boat broaches, so less stretch the better. Counter intuitive but it makes sense!

So there it is. The entire drogue will be in 8mm dyneema, including the bridles.

claverton
NSW, 165 posts
12 Mar 2017 1:43PM
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One question though that I haven't found the answer to yet...I need to attach the ends of the two bridles to the main part of the line. Can I do this using soft eye splices dyneema or would I need to use stainless steel thimbles (x3) connected together with a shackle?

Obviously I'd much prefer to do the former if this sort of arrangement can handle the loads. Jordan estimates maximum loads would be around 70% of the displacement which would mean around 7,000 or 8,000 lbs.

Crusoe
QLD, 1195 posts
12 Mar 2017 8:57PM
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Select to expand quote
claverton said..
One question though that I haven't found the answer to yet...I need to attach the ends of the two bridles to the main part of the line. Can I do this using soft eye splices dyneema or would I need to use stainless steel thimbles (x3) connected together with a shackle?

Obviously I'd much prefer to do the former if this sort of arrangement can handle the loads. Jordan estimates maximum loads would be around 70% of the displacement which would mean around 7,000 or 8,000 lbs.


This is how I did mine. I wasn't keen on having a shackle that may undo.





claverton
NSW, 165 posts
13 Mar 2017 12:02AM
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thanks Crusoe, appreciated ... that looks the way to go



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"Rope type for Jordan series drogue" started by claverton