Spliced and splinched

This is a follow up to my earlier post today. After cutting and trimming my worn mooring line, I followed the instructions at Animated Knots to splice the two ends together. First time I'd ever tried such a thing.

I thought it wasn't bad for a first attempt. Even if it's clearly not professional standard it seems strong enough to stand up to mooring line strains.

The main problem was what to do with the fuzzy ends, not being a dab hand with a crochet hook. In the end I decided to melt them. Safety first – take everything outside, use long safety matches, etc. Trouble was I forgot to leave enough time for one of the strands to cool, and got molten plastic over my finger. A loud yell was followed by a dash down to the cold tap. My one consolation is that any damage to my appendage is completely sealed in with black plastic – no danger of infection there!

Next time I do a splice, I think I'd seal the strands beforehand, and use narrower tape for the initial binding of the two ends.