Mooring Ropes

[Maffi]

snip

Maffi..........MUST I have blue rope?????????

 

Its a boat rope not a fashion show!

Edited July 24, 2011 by Maffi

[Mac of Cygnet]

it looks to me too 'shiny' to be a natural fibre; artificial fibres can be 'fine'.

The roves appear to be plaited which will make it more elastic than a traditional rope.

To determine the material type, apply a flame. Vegetable fibres burn to ash, artificial fibres change state and colour. e.g. Nylon goes harder and brown.Alan

 

 

Yes, sorry forgot to say this is definitely artificial fibre - it melts without changing from its original colour (grey-blue). It is extremely smooth to the touch. The 'roves' (which I'd not heard of) are not plaited, but in their turn twists of three, with the individual fibres being, as far as I can see, as fine as silk. It would be absolutely great but for its extreme water-absorption.

[sueb]

We use a multifilament 16mm rope. Soft to handle but the strength is very good, splices ok.

Maffi..........MUST I have blue rope?????????

It does come in other colours. We did have a yellow fender.

Sue

[Clivo]

Excellent information. After much research for a non-boating application I decided that staple-spun polypropylene was the the best value for rope that was dragged along the, wet, gritty ground and required spliced ends.

 

As you say, breaking strain is not a major factor for mooring/handling ropes. Generally the mooring pins will pull out before the rope breaks. Mayabe there is an argument for using 8mm Spilt Film (as BW do!:-).

 

I find the 'hairy' rope acceptable but I am informed, by the rope salesman, SWMBO, MIL etc., that the ladies prefer the softer, smoother rope. It is the hard splinters that some (old) rope embeds in my calloused hands that I find painful.

 

Alan

 

Hi Alan

 

What appears to be the 'Ladies' favourite, Multifilament Poly, is certainly easy on the hands but as the yarns which in turn are wound into the strands (3 per rope - in most cases) are made up from very fine filaments (this is why it's so smooth) it is very easily prone to wear & tear. Just imagine pulling a fine piece of sand paper across your hair, it's going to catch on every one it touches. Doing the same on a lot thicker hair would be less pronounced.

 

To help reduce any discomfort to your hands try to adopt this:-

 

When paying out or hauling the rope avoid letting it slip through your hands. Grip the rope and move it from hand to hand. Old habits are always hard to break but allowing rope to slip through your hands can have the effect of sanding your skin.

 

Monofilament Poly is better than splitfilm, more durable although a little stiffer to coil but easier on the hands. As the name suggests it is made up from numerous filaments of round poly. Think of a fishing line, now think of lots of them in a bunch and then wound into a strand.

 

Smooth to the touch, reasonable performance and cost effective.

 

Don't forget to air dry your ropes whenever possible, keep out of direct sunlight when not in use & visually check regularly.

 

Hope this helps a little

 

 

 

Clivo

[RLWP]

<snip>

 

Don't forget to air dry your ropes whenever possible, keep out of direct sunlight when not in use & visually check regularly.

 

Hope this helps a little

 

 

 

Clivo

 

Have you been peeking through our bathroom windows and seen our centre line hanging from the shower rail?

 

Richard

[Clivo]

Have you been peeking through our bathroom windows and seen our centre line hanging from the shower rail?

 

Richard

 

Happy to deny all knowledge of what's going on in your bathroom . I'm still a landlubber in Cumbria. Hope to be heading to the midland's in a month or two for a weeks break so hope I can bump into some of the good folk I've met through the forum.

 

For those of you who may spend a little time in sea water ie: crossing the Ribble Estury, rinse any rope that gets exposed to sea water with fresh water as soon as possible. Otherwise salt crystals will form internally in the rope and gradually start to damage the rope from the inside where it is difficult to see.

 

Clivo

[Ally]

Hi Richard

 

I think your referring to Hempex, (Hardy Hemp or Hempoline), it comes in several marketing names. This is just a variation of multifilament for those who prefer the look and feel of natural fibre rope but with all the benefits of Polypropylene. Staple spun poly is most usually in white but can be found in a few colours.

 

Here's a pic - Clicky

 

Sorry about the quality of the picture but white rope ain't the easiest think to get a close-up of.

 

Clivo

Ah, yes, I have a huge coil of that, that we initially bought to send our boats off with. Brilliant to splice and as you say very strong.

Unfortuately we still have a huge coil because all our customers wanted softer handling ropes in a colour to match their paintwork!

Ah well............it comes in handy for handling the ones being craned in and out!

[Maffi]

Ah, yes, I have a huge coil of that, that we initially bought to send our boats off with. Brilliant to splice and as you say very strong.

Unfortuately we still have a huge coil because all our customers wanted softer handling ropes in a colour to match their paintwork!

Ah well............it comes in handy for handling the ones being craned in and out!

 

Does it float?

[Clivo]

Does it float?

 

 

If it's Staple Spun Ally refers to ( I think she is), as with all polyprop, it certainly will float.

 

Clivo

[Ally]

Does it float?

yup!

[Clivo]

Apparently a sailing ship has 'only one rope', all the rest have names.

 

I think that would be The Bell Rope.

 

Think all the rest are Sheets, Halyards, Lines, Topping Lift, Docklines etc

 

 

Clivo

[Theo]

I think that would be The Bell Rope.

 

Think all the rest are Sheets, Halyards, Lines, Topping Lift, Docklines etc

 

 

Clivo

 

The material is collectively known as cordage.

 

N

[Naughty Cal]

We bought some new ropes for NC earlier this year. We are currently using 12mm Marlow braided lines which are much nicer to handle than the cheapo ropes we replaced. They are soft on the hands and very easy to work with.

 

Line lengths we currently have the bow ropes at 11m and the stern ropes at 10m. We also carry a couple of 15m ropes for occasions when we may be rafted a few boats out but still need to send lines ashore.

[deletedaccount]

I use rasta mooring rope.

 

 

Got it half price of ebay.

 

No idea what it's made of but it's nice to handle

 

( the IWA call it roses and castles rope but they've run out)

[Guest wanted]

I use rasta mooring rope.

 

 

Got it half price of ebay.

 

No idea what it's made of but it's nice to handle

 

( the IWA call it roses and castles rope but they've run out)

 

 

Cease and Sekkle bredda! Dat some crucial rope!

 

Check

 

http://shop.sheffieldnarrowboats.com/rastarope

[Chertsey]

Slightly off topic... I've just started wearing rings again after having abandoned them for boating purposes. Is it true that if I persist in this vanity, sooner or later a rope will take my finger off?

 

PS I'm working on developing callouses rather than using ladies' rope.

[RLWP]

Slightly off topic... I've just started wearing rings again after having abandoned them for boating purposes. Is it true that if I persist in this vanity, sooner or later a rope will take my finger off?

 

PS I'm working on developing callouses rather than using ladies' rope.

 

No, it's worse than that. You eventually catch a ring and de-glove your finger. That is, the ring will cut into the skin and then rip the whole lot off your finger

 

Mind you, perhaps you like scars and surgery

 

Richard

[Chertsey]

No I don't, which is why I asked.

[RLWP]

No I don't, which is why I asked.

 

Seriously, don't wear rings while you're working or boating. The least that could happen is wrecking the rings. I've managed a nasty cut on the back of my finger and seen someone with worse. Not nice

 

Richard

[Mac of Cygnet]

I use rasta mooring rope.

 

 

Got it half price of ebay.

 

No idea what it's made of but it's nice to handle

 

( the IWA call it roses and castles rope but they've run out)

 

That looks very like the stuff I bought from Lidl (see earlier post), but multicoloured. What happens when it gets wet?

[Smelly]

No I don't, which is why I asked.

 

Next time we cross paths I shall show you my non-typing finger...

 

That was only one knuckle; both would be bad news!

[Clivo]

I use rasta mooring rope.

 

 

Got it half price of ebay.

 

No idea what it's made of but it's nice to handle

 

( the IWA call it roses and castles rope but they've run out)

 

This rope looks great and I bet it makes a very attractive splice. Would make a pretty bell rope too.

 

Is this multifilament Polyprop ???

 

Clivo

[deletedaccount]

That looks very like the stuff I bought from Lidl (see earlier post), but multicoloured. What happens when it gets wet?

 

Not much. It stays the same, but wetter.

[Lady Muck]

Not much. It stays the same, but wetter.

 

How much £?

Edited July 26, 2011 by Lady Muck

[deletedaccount]

I can't remember, but it was about half the price of 'normal' mooring ropes advertised elsewhere at the time. Remainder stock I guess. On Ebay.

 

eta: just looked it up

 

2 X 30FT x14mm "Jester" MOORING LINES £22.95

 

From this seller: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Tradline-Surplus-Stock-Clearance/Rope-/_i.html?_fsub=2&_sid=666255148&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322 none in stock atm.