How to Splice Dock Lines
When you use dock lines, you can simply loop them around the bit on the dock, or you can splice a permanent loop, called an "eye," into the end of the line. Making the splice may look hard at first, but with practice, it may take less time than a conventional three-strand splice. Splicing an eye in a high-strength braided dock line made of braided Kevlar fiber--called "Samson weave" because it originated with Samson Rope--gives you a small-diameter, easily stored dock line that can hold a large boat.
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Instructions
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Draw a mark 1 foot from the end of the line, then bend the line to make a loop that's the size of the eye you want to create. Draw a second line where your first mark touches on the main part of the rope (called the "standing part" of the rope).
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Use a marlinspike to separate the woven covering of the line to make an opening in the covering (the line is a woven sheath over a solid core). Pull the core through the opening you made, and push the sheath 1 foot down the core.
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Tie a slipknot 3 feet from the base of the now-empty sheath. The end the sheath is open; push the core into the opening, and pull the sheath over the core until the empty sheath fully covers the exposed core.
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Milk the undisturbed part of the sheath from the slipknot back over the core (now covered with the formerly empty sheath), and secure it with a lockstitch.
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Tips & Warnings
This project involves work with tools that can cause serious injury. Appropriate caution is advised.
