Guide to Splicing Rigging Wire

In the Storm Tactics DVD, Larry discusses the advantages of having hand spliced rigging rather than using swaged or mechanical end fittings. Unfortunately in recent times, few people know how to splice their own wire and even fewer people are available to show you how to do it. There are several books which show step by step photos, but if you are like Larry and I, it is hard to learn from photos. During our visit to Port Townsend we spent two evenings with Brion Toss, who is not only a skilled rigger, but a good teacher. He gave us copies of the DVD’s he has produced on various aspects of rigging, inspection, care, rope splicing and most recently Splicing Wire Rope. When we finished our west coast tour, we settled in to watch his splicing lesson. It is almost as good as attending a hands-on class. Though Larry prefers to do his wire splicing with the wire hung vertically from a ceiling joist or from the mast while Brion likes to work on a horizontal plane, all the steps and suggestions are right on. One thing we would like to add is, once you have made two or three practice splices, splicing wire is not much more difficult than knitting. To make a splice in 5/16’diameter 7X7 wire takes about 30 to 35 minutes once you have some practice. The cost savings are amazing, the longevity and dependability, as discussed in our Storm Tactics DVD make spliced ends definitely the gold standard for offshore cruising boats. Brion’s DVD’s are available from his site www.briontoss.com or most nautical book stores. No this is not an advert, it is an answer to folks who have asked when Larry was going to create a video demonstration of wire splicing.