Rigging Refresh — Thoughts & Advice on MLX3, VPC, D2, Tyrus?

[BurntEnd]

I'm starting to work through some of the running rigging. I replaced the sails last year, and a few of my older Sta‑Set lines are definitely end‑of‑life. My sailmaker (he's not a rigger but does race) suggested that, to really get the most out of the new sail shape, I should look at UHMWPE‑cored line for my main and jib halyards and vang control line rather than sticking with traditional Sta‑Set, especially if I'm not planning to make or finish the lines myself (I'm not).

I've always defaulted to Sta‑Set because it's familiar and forgiving, but I'd appreciate real‑world impressions from folks who've actually used MLX3, VPC, Marlow D2, Novabraid Tyrus, or anything comparable. I have zero experience with any of them. I'm not looking for marketing copy, just how they feel in your hand, how they perform on the water, how they age, and whether the performance jump is noticeable on boats like ours.

A couple of riggers I spoke with mentioned that if I didn't care about the color/style of the covers versus the color coding I currently have, or about staying in one product line, they could build me even higher-end sets from off‑cuts of other custom orders (e.g. Viper, WarpSpeedII, NS12 & D2R) without a significant cost jump. I don't know if that's actually worthwhile or just a bragging point of "look at what I have," on a cruiser, or if that was a path to buyer's remorse.

If you've moved (out of the 80's) from polyester double‑braid to a UHMWPE core, what differences did you notice? Handling? Knots? Slipping Covers? Was the upgrade worth it for cruising performance, or does Sta‑Set still make the most sense unless you're racing?

Thanks in advance for any firsthand guidance.

 

[southofvictor]

When we replaced our wire halyards we used MLX3. Easy to handle, wears well, nice that it’s not cover-dependent on the jib halyard in case of chafe since the shackle end doesn’t get seen every day.

 

[Loren Beach]

We converted to https://www.neropes.com/product/t-900/ , over 20 years ago. Still perform like new. I got rid of all four of the factory wire-to-rope halyards with their fat dacron tails. (meat hooks on some of the wires - yikes) and went with all T-900, 8 mm. They hold fine in my ST winches and clutches. I take them off every 2 or 3 years to launder. No splices, just halyard knots, so it's easy to end-for-end them. Do watch for sales on those spendy low stretch lines, tho!
I paid way less than "list" when I bought these lines at annual sale pricing.
(Or, go in with a dock neighbor and negotiate for a spool or half-spool...)

 

[ConchyDug]

MLX3 is great stuff and easy on the wallet, easy to splice as well. 1% elongation at 30% load is great bang for the buck compared to StaSet 2% at 20%. MLX3 has higher average strength per comparable size of StaSet so the elongation would be even less for MLX3. For 8mm line, StaSet is like $1/ft and MLX3 $1.5/ft.

 

[Prairie Schooner]

@BurntEnd Hi BE,

I know you asked for our personal experience, not necessarily 'advice', but it would still help people to help you if we have a little background.

What kind of boat do you have? - Many of us have found it helpful to put some basic vessel information in our signature line. - Click on your name, and in the drop-down menu, click 'signature'. (If you're doing this from a phone you might have to rotate to landscape view to see the sig line in a thread. It took me almost five years of private grumbling before I spoke up and someone turned me on to that.) It sounds like you've purchased a boat since you filled out your profile, so you might want to update that too. Congratulations, btw!

You've alluded to it, but it would be helpful to know more specifically what kind of sailing you do. Hard-core racer? Comfort cruiser? Something in between? What's your sailing experience? Grand prix racer slowing down to smell the water lilies? If you're on the relaxed, comfort end of the spectrum, the extra expense for the high-tech lines may not provide significant value. If more of a beginner and you will be learning how to push your boat harder, the high-tech lines will give you something to grow into.

What kind of waters do you sail in? You might even want to describe what typical wind patterns are during your season. If a relatively protected lake, you may not need low-stretch lines to really flatten out the sails.

If you think all that info will just invite advice and not data, please disregard.

We went with more technical lines for the main and primary spinn halyards, outhaul, maybe a few others, IIRC. For others we used standard cruising lines. We relied on our rigger to direct which applications got which rope. We used a combination of New England Ropes and Lanex products and have been very pleased with the performance. We race on other people's boats regularly, very occasionally ours. When cruising and day-sailing our boat, Donna is content to enjoy the ride. I can often be found tweaking sail trim. It's neurotic, but makes me happy.

Cheers,
Jeff

 

[Christian Williams]

I have a Dyneema main halyard that retailed for $5 a foot. You could lift the boat with it, but it kinks.

In the modern era of low-stretch line I don't think I have ever tightened a halyard or sheet because it stretched. I do have to tighten halyards when setting in light air, and then it blows 20 and scallops appear. But that's on me, not the rope.

For cruising, seems to me that basic line works fine.

 

[klb67pgh]

I have been upgrading running rigging the last several years. I was looking for an upgrade over double braid but not high end line at $4-$5 a foot.
First I replaced Sta Set halyards with New England Viper 10 mm for the main and 8 mm for the genoa and spinnaker. The lines are much lighter to handle, particularly when compared to wet Sta Set. I would like to think I noticed less halyard stretch, but I'm not sure I could honestly tell with my older but refurbished sail and relatively short length of line for my E25. I'm sure it would matter for a bigger boat. I'm pleased with the investment. I did wait and get a sale price on the line. They have held up well. They feel a little bit slicker now after a few years of use compared to new. I see Defender is selling 8 mm silver/blue at $1.21 a foot right now. Seems to be a close out price.

2 years ago I swapped out unknown brand genoa sheets for 10 mm D2 Club in blue at $1.70 per foot and I really like that line for the genoa sheets. They do not tangle and to me have the right balance of grip and comfort. I generally do not like fuzzy lines and these have not gotten fuzzy and seem to be pretty durable. The color has held up well.

My mainsheet is still Sta Set and at some point I'll upgrade that but I don't know to what.

 

[Slick470]

I have Marlow D2 Club for spin halyards, one was a lot tighter and stiffer than the other for some reason and was a pain to splice. Now that they have been in use for a couple seasons they've both evened out. I also have Samson MLX as the genoa halyard. Been happy with both of them. and they seem pretty similar in feel and construction.

Need to replace the main halyard soon and have been looking at going with NER Endura braid, but it's pricey. A bunch of my control lines are still sta-set, and are ok for now, but I'll replace with something nicer when it's time.

If you pay attention, you can sometimes get relatively long offcuts of really good line for good prices if you aren't too picky on color. APS was the best for that, but sadly they've been gone for years now. Sometimes West Marine has decent deals.

 

[Christian Williams]

Oh, forgot to make my pitch for single-braid for some applications: NER Regatta braid. I love the stuff for its suppleness and ease of hand.