Honeywell Spectra® Fiber Reinforces New Rope for Racing Sailboats

Spectra fiber provides high-strength, low-stretch characteristics to innovative, high-performance marine rope

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Nov 11, 2010, 10:00 ET

MORRIS TOWNSHIP, N.J., Nov. 11, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Honeywell (NYSE: HON) announced today that its high-strength, lightweight and low-stretch Spectra® fiber is reinforcing an innovative new yachting rope used by some of the world's most accomplished racers.

Spectra fiber enables Yale Cordage's new Ph.D.™ rope, used by Olympians and America's Cup racers, to handle loads weighing several thousand pounds. Spectra fiber is an ideal fit for marine applications, as it floats and will not absorb moisture or deteriorate in harsh marine environments.

"Honeywell's Spectra fiber is helping Yale meet the needs of champion racers, who seek strong yet light and stretch-resistant ropes," said Jason Kollatschny, marketing manager for Honeywell's Advanced Fibers and Composites business. "This high-performance application demonstrates how Spectra fiber is versatile enough to be incorporated into innovative rope designs and perform under the unique demands of sailboat racing."

Yale's Ph.D. rope employs a single-braid construction that features bundles of Spectra fiber at the core of each polyester strand. The innovative design of Ph.D. allows the rope to glide through pulleys faster and grip winches more securely while maintaining a high load capacity. Spectra fiber, which is pound-for-pound 15 times stronger than steel, is made from ultra-highmolecular-weight polyethylene using a patented gel-spinning process. The fiber exhibits high resistance to chemicals and ultraviolet light, and features high vibration damping, flex fatigue and internal fiber-friction tolerances.

The fiber also serves as the key strength component in advanced mooring lines developed for U.S. Navy vessels, where a high resistance to recoil is critical to ensuring the safety of sailors. Spectra fiber is used in an array of industrial and recreational applications, including lifting slings, hurricane-resistant panels for windows and doors, security netting, and fishing line. The fiber is also commonly used in bullet-resistant armor.

Honeywell maintains an active Spectra fiber and ballistic material research and development program focused on meeting increased demand for its high-performance materials.

Yale Cordage is a specialty rope manufacturer based in Saco, Maine, that designs application-specific ropes for a variety of industrial and recreational uses.

Ph.D. is a trademark of Yale Cordage

Honeywell Specialty Materials is a global leader in providing customers with high-performance specialty materials, including fluorine products; specialty films and additives; advanced fibers and composites; intermediates; specialty chemicals; electronic materials and chemicals; and technologies and materials for petroleum refining.

Honeywell International (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; automotive products; turbochargers; and specialty materials. Based in Morris Township, N.J., Honeywell's shares are traded on the New York, London, and Chicago Stock Exchanges. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywellnow.com.

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SOURCE Honeywell