New England Rope vs. Yale Cordage?

[bob Ohler]

Do any of the savy Cape Dory sailors out there have any strong feelings about the quality one way or the other conerning these two brands of line? When venturing into West Marine my option is NER. When in Fawcett's or Bacon's in Annapolis my option is Yale. Is this a case of territorial strongholds, or is there a real difference? I almost always purchase double braid for halyards, topping lifts and sheets. Any thoughts?



bobohler@chesapeake.net

[Joe Sankey]

Bob, I have used both. I prefer the Yale ULS because it's easier to splice, and I do my own. I also like the "hand", although NER makes so many different ones they likely have one better. As for longevity, our 1984 still has the original mainsheet and staysail sheet and they cleaned up well and seem to be okay (I believe they were originally Yale, and they match up visually). I have replaced everything else with the Yale low stretch.
Joe Sankey
CD 30 Slow Dance
Magnolia Springs, AL

Do any of the savy Cape Dory sailors out there have any strong feelings about the quality one way or the other conerning these two brands of line? When venturing into West Marine my option is NER. When in Fawcett's or Bacon's in Annapolis my option is Yale. Is this a case of territorial strongholds, or is there a real difference? I almost always purchase double braid for halyards, topping lifts and sheets. Any thoughts?

sankey@gulftel.com

[Duncan Maio]

Bob:

For obvious reasons, nobody carries every line in both brands - the products overlap almost completely. West does carry some Yale lines and a few others, mostly for dinghy racers and other specialty applications.

I favor New England Ropes because they are local and the sales reps have been helpful on some special projects (1 3/4" double-braid for a giant basketball net). Also, there is a West Marine right around the corner. I have not noticed much of a price spread between brands (New England Ropes hasn't raised prices in more than five years) so it's mostly about availability.

Duncan Maio
s/v Remedy
CD27 #37
Sta-Set X halyards
Bristol, RI



mail@mysticmarine.net

[John R.]

My personal belief is that there isn't any accurate way an average consumer can tell which is better. A person would have to use matching lines from each and use them the exact same way to even begin to get a feel for which may possibly be better. I think most people just get used to a certain brand and stick with it. I've tried a bunch of different brands over the years and they all the major brands seem pretty similar in performance and durability especially with double braid. I think New England may have an edge in the three strand category. It seems to hold up better here in Florida's tough climate. I am disappointed in their StaSet X. I have a main halyard that is about 4-5 years old (in Florida climate)and the cover of the line is fraying and it has had extremely light use since the main is roller furled so the halyard is never running back and forth through a sheave. I'm disappointed with that particular NE line and won't purchase it again. I do like the three strand they make.

Do any of the savy Cape Dory sailors out there have any strong feelings about the quality one way or the other conerning these two brands of line? When venturing into West Marine my option is NER. When in Fawcett's or Bacon's in Annapolis my option is Yale. Is this a case of territorial strongholds, or is there a real difference? I almost always purchase double braid for halyards, topping lifts and sheets. Any thoughts?

[Kevin L.]

Bob,

I recently purchased new Yale "Vizzon" halyards all around, and sheets for the yankee. The 3/8" halyards do not coil that easily; there is a lot of stiffness in the core. The cover on the 7/16" sheets is unacceptably loose fitting and too loosely woven to me. During a tack, I have had the (admittedly flogging) sheets kink and force the core out through the cover. Not good.

The Yale product is pretty expensive here on the West coast, and I'm not sure it's worth the difference. I use NER Sta-set X for various bits and pieces around the boat, with good results. It handles much easier than the Yale stuff.

Kevin LeMans
CD30 Raconteur
San Francisco



lemans@gte.net

[John]

It is my understanding that New Enland Ropes is owned by West Marine.

Do any of the savy Cape Dory sailors out there have any strong feelings about the quality one way or the other conerning these two brands of line? When venturing into West Marine my option is NER. When in Fawcett's or Bacon's in Annapolis my option is Yale. Is this a case of territorial strongholds, or is there a real difference? I almost always purchase double braid for halyards, topping lifts and sheets. Any thoughts?

branchedoakmarin@aol.com

[Richard K. Rosenberger]

Not to add any more confussion but here is another choice. Sampson ropes have some nice line I use the XLS yacht braid. it has treated me well and Performance Yacht systems has all sizes in all sampson lines the also carry NER and Maffioli here is a link to XLS page and below to P-Yacht.


http://www.pyacht.net/cgi-local/SoftCar ... 1025318668

Do any of the savy Cape Dory sailors out there have any strong feelings about the quality one way or the other conerning these two brands of line? When venturing into West Marine my option is NER. When in Fawcett's or Bacon's in Annapolis my option is Yale. Is this a case of territorial strongholds, or is there a real difference? I almost always purchase double braid for halyards, topping lifts and sheets. Any thoughts?

r.rosenberger@valpeyfisher.com