[Woolly]

I built a Soling 1M and a Climate Boatworks Panache Elite several years ago and only sailed them a couple of times in my swimming pool. I would like to replace the rigging especially on the Panache Elite and am thinking about using either Spectra kite line or fishing line.

Any pros or cons to the spectra lines?

Thanks!

[Skidoo55]

What kind of fishing line? I am just building a Victoria, and going to do a build thread. I am planning to try bow string serving, (Archery) which is almost the same as the actual bow string. I know that Spectra was used to actually construct bow strings, and has some excellent qualities, such as light weight, ridiculous strength and it doesn't stretch at all.
As long as it doesn't shrink after being wet, I would go with the spectra.

[Woolly]

That was more or less my theory but was hoping to find someone that already tried and proved it. The fishing line I was thinking is the spectra based stuff. Spiderwire I think is one of the many brands. I like the idea of using a darker colour line rather than the traditional white of kite line.

[Skidoo55]

I agree. I wouldn't use white either. The serving string that I have is black. The rigging line that came my boat is blue... That's not going to happen.

[Skidoo55]

I bought 10 lb Spectra fishing line to try on my Victoria that I'm building.

I don't like it, it's kind of rough and abrasive, and not very flexible. I don't know what the kite string would be like, but I'm going to actually put the spectra on one of my fishing rods!

[Woolly]

I have several different spectra kite lines ranging from 90lb to 150 lb. They are very soft and supple. Incredibly stretch resistant and very fine for their strength. I haven't handled any of the fishing line spectra yet. Looks like I may see if I can get the kite line in a darker colour.

[NDW]

Have you guys tried the spider wire fishing line? Its a zero stretch line and is a light smoke color and very flexible.

D.

[Jimmy P]

Ok so i'm interested in buying a Victoria now but I see you guys are talking about using different line etc? Can you direct me to where I can read and become informed properly before purchasing the wrong boat and supplies?

[Skidoo55]

After assembling my Victoria, you could absolutely use the line that comes with the boat. It's blue in colour, and very soft to the touch. I had another type of string that is used in the archery industry. It is black in colour and has zero stretch. There are places on the boat where you bring the line back to a cleat and tie it off. The archery stuff didn't tie off well, so I used the stock string for these places. There were two reasons that I didn't use the spider wire fishing line. First, it's hard to tie a knot with, and second, it feels a little abrasive. I am going to revisit the spider wire, but rather than 10lb line, I'm going to get 20 or 30lb. The 10lb stuff is about as thin as sewing thread, and I was really having a hard time working with it. With the 20 or 30lb stuff, I will be able to crimp it rather than tie knots. Other than that, I replaced most of the metal attachments that came with the kit with fishing swivels that have bearings. Google the Okanagan Victoria class, and they have the complete instructions on how to build a competitive boat. I read that through a few times to understand what upgrades they make, then built my boat with those upgrades in mind. If you built the boat with all of the upgrades, you wouldn't use any of the stock mast pieces, or the sails. Because of that, I built my mast totally stock, with all of the plastic pieces installed. This adds some weight to the top of the mast, which isn't good for racing, but it really looks nice when completed. The way I have built my boat, I can change my entire rigging by releasing 7 snaps.