Money for old rope, or something like it...

I noticed the other day that a large "discount" chandler was offering 12-strand splicing at $22 a pop, $15 for a three-strand eye splice, $30 for a rope/chain splice, and $5 for a whipping...

Talk about a whipping...OUCH!

I really try not to make categorical statements but if you pay that sort of money for splicing you are a seriously flawed (and flailed) human being and by the way, you just might be interested in this tower I have for sale in the middle of Paris...

Seriously, splicing is one of the first bits of boat work you need to know how to do. It's easy, needful, and it will save you a lot of money... With me so far?

Take the rig on "So It Goes" we have four halyards each needing an eye splice, nine stays needing two each... At $22 a pop that is $286 for splicing and we won't even get into the various other splices that come into play with sheets, rodes, and other marlinspike miscellany.

Now, an unhurried 12-strand splice done to good music while sipping coffee or a beer takes a little less than ten minutes. So being industrious you could knock out the rig and halyards in about two hours if you are sipping coffee, and, let's say three if you are doing the Moose Drool.  Thinking along those lines you'd be paying that discount chandler between $95 to $143 and hour to do your needful splices.

Tools for splicing are really simple you can get by with knitting needle, a bit of copper tubing, forceps, or even buy a bespoke everything you need kit for not much more than a single splice at that discount chandlery. Everything you need to learn is in Mr Toss's excellent "The Complete Rigger's Apprentice" book or his "Eye Splices" DVD. For those of a very frugal nature and some time on their hands, how-to's for most needful splices can be found on the net and YouTube.

Listening to Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks (with the Lickettes!)

So it goes...