Blog no 210 was, I assure you, not written after reading a few chapters of Fifty Shades of Grey on Jen's Kindle but it's a few words on whipping rope ends. If you have all the time in the world or, like me, you're sitting at anchor in Tranquil Bay, Nidri in the Ionian, there is nothing more satisfying than going through your mooring lines etc and checking the condition of each one and that the hand whipping on the end is still in good condition and if it isn't getting out the whipping twine, palm and needle. For those whipping 'virgins' there are many excellent books on the subject of rope craft, however my boss Andy's favourite is The Splicing Handbook by Barbara Merry, no it's not that silver haired lady who cooks for a living! As for me, the new kid or author on the block, Jan-Willemstad Polmen, has brought out an excellent book, (published methinks less than two years ago) and has some excellent pictures and informative text on the subject of whipping. It is also bang up to date on splicing these 'newer high tech lines' as well as traditional braid on braid and the like.
If you are time precious you can of course rely on a 'heat set end' to keep the halyard, sheet or mooring line intact, the downside being that should one stand on the end of rope you can easily break the melted resin down! The bog standard lines such as braid on braidhalyards are easy to heat seal however the more high tech lines are a different kettle of fish as the 'melting point' is so much higher! Andy sells a range of gas powered hot knives which do an excellent job of sealing the end. Starbrite's Dip-It-Whip-It is also a great answer to sealing the ends of ropes, especially the loose weave style of line that doesn't have a cover on it! Of course Dip It & Whip It can be used on all low tech lines you may have on board.
Which ever method you use, be it a traditional whipping, heat sealed end or painting on some of Starbrite's Dip-It-Whip-It (available in a choice of colours, clear, red, green, black and white) don't under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES open your tablet or iPad and Google whipping, you will be in danger of going way way beyond E L James's Fifty Shades Of Grey!
Best wishes and happy whipping,
Rob