Assembling a Dyneema Jordan Series Drogue

We begin by showing a pre-assembled dyneema Jordan Series Drogue bought from OceanBrake and then describe how to assemble one yourself using your own source for dyneema line and cones from OceanBrake. You want minimal stretch on a JSD which is why polyester doublebraid instead of more stretchy nylon has been the standard material over the years but dyneema is even better in this regard and takes up less space with less weight. For the most compact drogue we separate the cones attachment points by 3". Otherwise you can use the standard 4" spacing that will add about 9' to overall length. 5/16" (8mm) is adequate for boats under 10,000 lb displacement. Larger boats up to 15,000 lbs should use 3/8" (10mm). I store the lead weights low in the bilge as added ballast and attach to the drogue line when needed.
Cost in 2021: The ready-made JSD we purchased earlier cost $1,250 compared to the kit we assembled which cost about $920, not including shackles and lead weights. Cost could be less depending on your source for dyneema. Splicing the line and assembling the cones to it is easy but tedious and took us about 4 minutes per cone, which came out to almost 6 hours. For 100 cones that would be just under 7 hours. Total project time was about 8 hours. You could save money by using cones from Sailrite that you sew together yourself but that is a very time consuming project and the cones are not as strong or hemmed as the ones from OceanBrake.
Cones - $4.70 each. $438 for 85 cones including shipping.
Two Titan 7/16" high test shackles - $14 wholesale
One 1/4" stainless shackle for lead weight attachment - $5
Lead ingots - $87 for 25lbs including shipping.
300 feet x 5/16" (8mm) dyneema - $1.50/ft = $450 at Dutchware. Shop around and you may find it cheaper but beware of low strength Chinese counterfeits.
4 feet x 1" tubular nylon webbing chafe guard - $16 (you might find it cheaper but I bought the minimum 30' priced at $16)
Two 3/8" SUNCOR 3/8" stainless steel extra heavy duty thimbles - $17
Parts supplier links:
Dyneema dutchwaregear....
Oceanbrake cones www.oceanbrake...
1" tubular nylon webbing chafe guard - BlueWater Ropes www.amazon.com...
Two 3/8" SUNCOR 3/8" stainless steel extra heavy duty thimbles - www.westmarine...
Lead ingots from Pure Lead Products - pureleadproduc...
Further info:
Sailrite PDF www.hughes38.co...
Dyneema knots • Buntline and EStar Hit...
My earlier JSD Test video • Jordan Series Drogue Test
Warning: The biggest danger I see to using a drogue is getting injured or even pulled overboard by getting entangled in the line during deployment or retrieval. Use caution. I would always let the line run out of a bag and never hand feed out the drogue from a loose bundle near my feet as I've seen others do online.
We can be reached at atomvoyages.com where you can find articles on cruising and fitting out sailboats. If you have a classic sailboat and want to share your experiences or have questions on fitting out, consider joining the Plastic Classic Forum where I'm a forum moderator and answer questions: plasticclassic...