I'm bending on a new 95 A suit, and replacing the Joysway metal luff clips with cord.

Any tips please on achieving a suitable tightness? (And in fact for tying the fiddly knot whilst keeping the length steady!)

Thanks

With a length of wire held on the mast, tie the loop around both. Experiment with various wire diameters until you hit upon the tightness you think suitable. A 3 mm knitting needle works well for eyelets in an IOM sail, for example, or 1.2 mm piano wire for an IOM jackstay.

Adding to Lester's comments, I use the shank of a drill bit as spacer, add an extra twist to the first part of the knot - the extra friction holds it in place while tying the second half.. Then a dab of crazy glue to lock the knot, and finally trim the ends.

John

On 07/09/2026 at 17:49, John Ball said:

Adding to Lester's comments, I use the shank of a drill bit as spacer, add an extra twist to the first part of the knot - the extra friction holds it in place while tying the second half.. Then a dab of crazy glue to lock the knot, and finally trim the ends.

John

I used a 3mm drill, taped it to the mast, and tied each in turn as I fed the sail up the mast. Time will tell if 3mm is too tight or not, maybe 4 or 5 would've been better.

Good tip on the 'extra twist' 👍

On 08/09/2026 at 00:11, Colin Helliwell said:

I'm bending on a new 95 A suit, and replacing the Joysway metal luff clips with cord.

Any tips please on achieving a suitable tightness? (And in fact for tying the fiddly knot whilst keeping the length steady!)

Thanks

Use 15 lb dyneema.

Tie a loop with reef knot. Using two pairs of pliers pull the ends. The dyneema will slip in a controlled manner. When at the desired size add an overhand knot and secure with glue.

Mike Ure