Standing and Running Gear

Fancy terms for various types of rope / lines, with specific jobs / charactics.

Even though F&P was built 10 years ago, the design was from the late 80's.  It is a tried and true design, known for stength, light weight and speed.  Since then material science has come an long, long way.  I have 5/16" line that is stronger than the same diameter steel.  Costs have come way, way down as well.

With these new super materials comes a set of risks.  The designer made assumptions of the strength required of the hull, deck and fittings, based on materials that had a fraction of today's potential stength.  Did the designer assume failure modes (such as broken lines) that are no longer valid?  Do those assumptions put the deck, hull and hardware at risk if the new materials are used?

I have to assume so and only use the new textiles as replacements for stainless steel, or where there will be no real loads (given how cheap and UV resistant these new textiles are, they are attractive for reasons beyond strength).

One of the many little details that bedevil my day-to-day.