Working ropes & mooring ropes

[blackrose]

I've had a set of new ropes for my boat sitting in the engine hole for about 5 years waiting for me to put them on. The original ropes are from 2005 and are still perfectly useable, they're just worn and don't look very nice. 

 

I've got dedicated mooring ropes at my mooring but I was thinking I could keep the old ropes as mooring ropes for when I go away on the boat to keep the new ropes just for working locks, etc. On the other hand, the idea of changing ropes to moor up seems like a pain.

 

Does anyone else use a different set of ropes for moving the boat and mooring up when out cruising, or is it a stupid idea?

[Ray T]

We have a set of mooring ropes we leave tied to the mooring rings on the pontoon. 
We do this as uv and a good freeze can damage the ropes over the years. I wouldn’t like a rope to break whilst strapping the boat, unlikely I know but better safe than sorry. Poly propylene degrades over the years, obvious when little slivers start coming away.

In winter when the boat is laid up I take the working ropes home and put them in an old pillow case and give them a good wash using non bio.
When the working ropes begin to wear they then become the pontoon mooring ropes.

Edited March 6, 2021 by Ray T

[blackrose]

Thanks. Yes I do have permanent mooring ropes at my mooring but I was wondering whether it was worth keeping mooring ropes on the boat too for when I go somewhere.

[Mad Harold]

Read somewhere that you will know a boater by the condition of his mooring lines.

[Alan de Enfield]

18 minutes ago, blackrose said:

Thanks. Yes I do have permanent mooring ropes at my mooring but I was wondering whether it was worth keeping mooring ropes on the boat too for when I go somewhere.

 

We have the big 25mm Nylon Anchorplait 8-strand as permanent mooring and spring lines, and we just use standard 19mm 3-strand for 'visitors moorings', locking etc.

[blackrose]

26 minutes ago, Ray T said:

Poly propylene degrades over the years, obvious when little slivers start coming away.

 

 

I would never use polypropylene rope for anything other than cheap fender line or some other lower grade use. Nylon is ok when it's new but soon stiffens if exposed to the elements and becomes unusable. The only polymer rope that really works over time is polyester.

[frangar]

I have a set of ropes cut & spliced to size for my home mooring....then a cruising set...once they become worn I relegate them for use as springs or other uses...then they get chopped down for permanent mooring duties choosing the decent bits obviously. 

 

I just splice eyes on my ropes so its a 10 second job to swap each rope as needed...If I need more security on a dolly then I just thread the rope back through the eye...say when using on a big river lock etc.

 

[blackrose]

3 minutes ago, frangar said:

I have a set of ropes cut & spliced to size for my home mooring....then a cruising set...

 

 

But you wouldn't use different ropes for mooring while you were cruising? That's my question really.

[Tonka]

We have roped on the boat and we also have ropes spliced to nappy pins which we use to tie up with if the bank is suitable

[frangar]

1 minute ago, blackrose said:

 

But you wouldn't use different ropes for mooring while you were cruising? That's my question really.

Well I really only use a centre line to hold the boat when cruising....apart from say using a river lock etc with riding posts. Perhaps more correctly I  should say we have a set while out boating and a set when on the permanent mooring

[Bacchus]

31 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

But you wouldn't use different ropes for mooring while you were cruising? That's my question really.

 

I think you would have to be a very special kind of person to use two sets of warps whilst out cruising.

 

As many have said - permanently rigged lines on the home mooring (I should think nearly always cruising lines which have aged in one way or another), and a set of cruising lines which shoul be in reasonably good condition for ease of throwing etc. 

 

The cruising lines may get fouled on lock walls, but they can, as @Ray T mentioned, easily be washed. The need to have clean lines when moored up for the night might help you to find a bit of peace and tranquillity of course, because anyone seeing you swap them over would give you a wide berth (c:

[Alan de Enfield]

14 minutes ago, Bacchus said:

As many have said - permanently rigged lines on the home mooring (I should think nearly always cruising lines which have aged in one way or another)

 

My thinking is actually the reverse.

 

I'd far rather have good quality / stongest lines for my mooring so that when away from the boat it is at its safest.

 

Manky old ropes, worn or frayed are fine for just overnighting (when I'm on board anyway so can sort out any problems).

[Rob-M]

I have separate working lines and mooring lines plus a set left on our mooring.  I tend to work the boat from centre lines and would never moor with these so when we moor up they get coiled up and put inside and I use the mooring lines fore and aft plus get a spring line out if required.  Whilst moving the aft line sits on the rear slide and the fore line sits on the bow locker lid.

[tehmarks]

3 hours ago, blackrose said:

Does anyone else use a different set of ropes for moving the boat and mooring up when out cruising, or is it a stupid idea?

 

I have dedicated bow, stern and centre lines, and a variety of other bits of line for springs, fendering problems, etc - though they currently all need replacing. I wouldn't personally bother with separate nice lines for mooring on your mooring, but then again I don't rate appearance as a priority to that degree.

 

A bit of lateral thinking: have you tried chucking your lines in the wash? I do it every so often when they get muddy, gritty or generally 'orrible to handle, and it's surprising just how much cleaner and nicer they look when they come out. And you have the advantage of not having to handle gritty lines too.

 

Edit: but I'm a continuous cruiser, so I don't have a mooring on which I can leave nice lines. Though if I did, I still wouldn't bother. If I had nice bits of string, I would want them on the boat when cruising as that's where they're going to be most useful!

Edited March 6, 2021 by tehmarks

[tehmarks]

3 hours ago, blackrose said:

 

I would never use polypropylene rope for anything other than cheap fender line or some other lower grade use.

 

'Decent' (Treadline call it multifilament, but for some reason I was under the impression that the 'nice' stuff was monofilament) polypropylene is good for mooring lines, in my opinion. The great advantage is that they don't retain water, so when you're handling soaking wet lines in cold weather you don't instantly end up with painfully cold hands. They also float, though I don't think that that is particularly important if you don't practise idiocy with them while motoring.

[blackrose]

2 hours ago, Bacchus said:

 

I think you would have to be a very special kind of person to use two sets of warps whilst out cruising.

 

 

Ok, I don't think I want to be that sort of person. I just wondered if anyone did it.

45 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

I have separate working lines and mooring lines plus a set left on our mooring.  I tend to work the boat from centre lines and would never moor with these so when we moor up they get coiled up and put inside and I use the mooring lines fore and aft plus get a spring line out if required.  Whilst moving the aft line sits on the rear slide and the fore line sits on the bow locker lid.

 

I'm moving a big widebeam on rivers so I can't get away with just using a centreline. I often use bow and stern ropes for working the boat through locks.

[blackrose]

51 minutes ago, tehmarks said:

A bit of lateral thinking: have you tried chucking your lines in the wash? I do it every so often when they get muddy, gritty or generally 'orrible to handle, and it's surprising just how much cleaner and nicer they look when they come out. And you have the advantage of not having to handle gritty lines too.

 

 

Yes I put them in the wash only last summer and then came out nice enough, although they're still well worn of course. After aa autumn and winter is lockdown mooring they've gone a nice shade of green again.

45 minutes ago, tehmarks said:

 

'Decent' (Treadline call it multifilament, but for some reason I was under the impression that the 'nice' stuff was monofilament) polypropylene is good for mooring lines, in my opinion. The great advantage is that they don't retain water, so when you're handling soaking wet lines in cold weather you don't instantly end up with painfully cold hands. They also float, though I don't think that that is particularly important if you don't practise idiocy with them while motoring.

 

The nice stuff is polyester. Polypropylene is horrible to handle in my experience and is the worst in terms of its propensity for environmental damage and fraying.

 

Perhaps you're using polyester rope and you're under the impression it's polypropylene?

 

https://www.mapability.com/ei8ic/contest/rope.php

 

Edited March 6, 2021 by blackrose

[Scholar Gypsy]

I tend to use my  good lines for lock work, mooring up etc. Some old ropes permanently attached at the mooring. On the rare occasion that I moor on towpaths with lots of that nasty black grit I would also use old ropes then. 

[PhilR]

4 hours ago, Bacchus said:

 

I think you would have to be a very special kind of person to use two sets of warps whilst out cruising.

 

 

I must be very very special then!! ? I cruise with 7 warps onboard.

[tehmarks]

2 hours ago, blackrose said:

Perhaps you're using polyester rope and you're under the impression it's polypropylene?

Nope - I'm using polyester lines and wishing I wasn't. Don't get me wrong, cheap polyprop (the awful blue/orange stuff) is awful. But you can get nice polyprop lines, and I like them because they don't soak up water and so they're much nicer on the hands when it's cold and wet. For actual line handling properties, you are of course right: polyester wins easily.

[Bacchus]

5 hours ago, PhilR said:

I must be very very special then!! ? I cruise with 7 warps onboard.

 

To be fair, if I am off for a while I usually carry a few extras - in particular a couple of extra long ones; too long for general use, but "you never know when you might need them" (I never have)

9 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

My thinking is actually the reverse.

 

I'd far rather have good quality / stongest lines for my mooring so that when away from the boat it is at its safest.

 

Manky old ropes, worn or frayed are fine for just overnighting (when I'm on board anyway so can sort out any problems).

 

I am perhaps a little spoilt in that I can see the boat on its home mooring from the bedroom. And the sitting room... and the study. Come to think of it, the dining room and kitchen too... (c:

 

I kinda meant manky - worn or frayed should really go in the skip be recycled (can you recycle ropes?).

[Scholar Gypsy]

7 minutes ago, Bacchus said:

 

To be fair, if I am off for a while I usually carry a few extras - in particular a couple of extra long ones; too long for general use, but "you never know when you might need them" (I never have)

 

 

Yes you can see my 35 metre line in use here - it's a long way to the bank. A total of six lines here, I think.

[system 4-50]

I don't know what my lines are made of, but what gets me is the change in length dry to wet.  I tie up the boat tightly (I'm not on a river), the ropes dry out or get wet from rain, I forget which, and I come out to find the boat flopping all over the place.  Which ropes are best to avoid this?

[Sea Dog]

12 hours ago, Bacchus said:

can you recycle ropes?

I believe it is possible get money for old rope...

[frangar]

2 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

I believe it is possible get money for old rope...

Only if you have a canal based vlog