Ropes By Any Other Name...

[floydraser]

I know, there are none on a boat, they're all called something else like sheets, lifts, warps, wefts, painters etc etc. Just to keep things simple I suppose. 

Anyway, to be serious for a second: I am going to Boatlife on Thursday and looking at a video of last year's event, I may find a large stand selling a large amount of rope. The Denham Owl is a tad short of rope so I have questions:

What would be a reasonable mooring rope for a 1970 37 foot Broads boat, to be used on the Broads. Last time I came accross such a stand the variety of compounds was very confusing to say the least. What length of each rope?

Basic questions but better to get the latest info. Thanks in anticipation.

 

[marshman]

Depends what purpose it will serve - I have many different lengths and sizes and all come in handy although nothing is more than twice the length of the boat!!! Helpful that!!!!

[Smoggy]

I usually go for 1.5x boat length 12mm double braid with polyester outer braid and nylon core, the polyester is better for abrasion and the nylon gives a bit of stretch for when the wind is tugging on it a bit as it's quieter in the boat.

The strength of 12mm is probably enough to suspend the boat by but is kinder on hands than thinner.

For bouncy Harbours I have 16mm 3 strand nylon to avoid the banging on the cleats.

[MauriceMynah]

"What would be a reasonable mooring rope for a 1970 37 foot Broads boat, to be used on the Broads."

 

A white one or possibly a blue one.

[Smoggy]

40 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

"What would be a reasonable mooring rope for a 1970 37 foot Broads boat, to be used on the Broads."

 

A white one or possibly a blue one.

Because MM would never be able to find a green one....

[Andrewcook]

If they have Black Ropes you would not find them so Dirty Griff Puts Broad Ambition Ropes in the Washing Machine from time to time as it comes out nice and Clean and soft what Griffs says

[Chelsea14Ian]

Thinking of getting new ropes for Mermaid.Perhaps classic rope.Depending on cost.

 

 

 

 

[floydraser]

If only I had taken more notice of what colour mooring ropes were back then. At 13 I was too busy learning things about female girls.  Mrs Raser says I didn't pay much attention in that direction either. 

[BrundallNavy]

We have 15ft 12mm on the stern and 20ft 12mm on the bow with two 15ft spares as springs etc. 

[grendel]

when I went to a boat jumble there was a stand selling odd lengths, that had been made up both ends, I got 4, all in the 14m length range, all less than £15 each, bargain, though at 14m they are a tad longer than water rail, it does mean I can take a rope round to the stern via the bow, from the opposite centre cleat and use it to turn the boat.

also makes for good springs

[floydraser]

3 hours ago, BrundallNavy said:

We have 15ft 12mm on the stern and 20ft 12mm on the bow with two 15ft spares as springs etc. 

Funny how we mix our units?  I knew an old engineer who would blow a gasket if he found mixed units on a drawing.

I notice in fishing that rods are still referred to in feet but poles are always in metres. 

[Turnoar]

4 hours ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

Thinking of getting new ropes for Mermaid.Perhaps classic rope.Depending on cost.

 

 

 

 

Yes to classic rope, hemp if you can get it although it might be scarce these days, a sailmaker told me twenty or more years ago that it was fast becoming unobtainable “because all them young beggars burn it”, pyropemaniacs obviously. Biodegradable in its natural form so a green tick in the box to boot too!

[YnysMon]

Maybe the hemp is being used elsewhere. I made myself a herbal tea this afternoon, using a teabag that included the ingredient ‘hemp oil’. Apparently it’s supposed to be very good for your immune system. The herbal tea (free sample teabag) was labelled ‘peace’. Ingredients supposedly also being conducive to calmness. Actually, the taste was quite pleasant, the main ingredient being spearmint.

 

 

[Mouldy]

5 hours ago, YnysMon said:

Maybe the hemp is being used elsewhere. I made myself a herbal tea this afternoon, using a teabag that included the ingredient ‘hemp oil’. Apparently it’s supposed to be very good for your immune system. The herbal tea (free sample teabag) was labelled ‘peace’. Ingredients supposedly also being conducive to calmness. Actually, the taste was quite pleasant, the main ingredient being spearmint.

 

 

I thought hemp was connected to the cannabis plant.  No wonder the tea bags are called peace! ✌️😌

[grendel]

hemp (rope) is from the processed and crushed stems of the plant, processed in much the same fashion that flax is processed to produce linen, the stems are fibrous and its these fibres that are spun to form the rope, first the stems have to be retted ( a process to remove the parts not needed- the interconnecting tissue between the fibres) then they are crushed to leave just the fibres to be spun into linen (or rope).

[MauriceMynah]

"Officer, please rest assured, I'm just growing myself a new stern rope."

[Smoggy]

Hemp is also used in clothing as well, there are very low thc versions around being grown and you'd have to smoke half the field for a party, probably the same stuff used for cbd oil that is so popular now.

I recall emerging from a wooded track once into a field thinking I'd found a huge illegal stash, you could tell by the smell (or lack of) it was a legal variant but did take me back a bit.

[grendel]

you can still get traditionally made hemp rope (though nowadays made from flax)

https://www.master-ropemakers.co.uk/12mm-chatham-hemp-p-802.html

not cheap by the metre, a bit cheaper if you buy a 220m coil.

[Bikertov]

1 hour ago, grendel said:

not cheap by the metre, a bit cheaper if you buy a 220m coil.

That would need some very large Rizla's to go with it 

[FlyingFortress]

I know folk have different views on this but here is my 2p worth.

I would stick with the good old 3 stranded Polypropylene ropes that most hire fleets use. They are fairly robust, cheap, and easy to splice. But best of all they float.

This is fairly important as anything that does not float is liable to get caught in propellors or Bow Thrusters. How often have you seen boats trailing ropes in the water.

My ropes are the same length as the boat and eye spliced at both ends. The inboard end is spliced with an eye that has to be placed over the cleat and will not come loose under normal circumstances but is fairly easy to remove when required. The other end has a slightly larger eye.

This ensures that they are long enough to cope with the biggest tidal ranges and can be used as either springs or head/stern lines from the outboard side. And can also be easily adapted for either an alongside or stern tow.

They are not the prettiest but I don't go for attractiveness over practicality. Having said that the current ones in use are white and pretty soft on the hands.

Have not measured them but would guess at 12mm . This is for a 35' bathtub.

[marshman]

You can buy a synthetic hemp equivalent called Polyhemp or Hempex - it has a similar feel but a much higher breaking strain neither will it tend to rot or discolour. It really is very good stuff and you would be hard pushed to tell the difference.

https://www.ropeservicesuk.com/product-category/store/rope-products/marine-ropes/

In another life, always used to use these people  and have purchased and used Polyhemp by the reel and without issues - its good stuff,and although synthetic, not hard on the hands either. Coils nicely too!

 

[BroadAmbition]

 

Brand new 46m of 14mm 8 x strand soft plait nylon available - Offers?

Griff

[floydraser]

Went to the show yesterday as planned. No rope bargains or any others for that matter, very rare at the NEC anyway due to the high cost of stands probably. Anyway, not a bad show really but not quite what I was expecting either. I thought it was going to be mainly small, activity type boats but there were plenty of luxury cruisers and canal boats on show.

I was disappointed in the lack of fishing gear though. What they call "angling" seemed to be a big thing but they meant fishing from expensive open boats in the sea. Just one stand with fishing gear but none of it for course fishing.

I was in and out in an hour but hey ho, I had a free ticket from Marine Power (BGM). Entered draws for an inflatable tent for a rib, a year's supply of gin and a grand off a Richardsons holiday.

I bumped into a few people, literally. I must have been the only person there not making a Youtube video. Parades of people wandering around looking everything via their phones!

Thankfully JD Wetherspoon has a place there so as I was never invited on to any of the stands, I took a libation or two there. I was shocked to find the prices were not inflated. 

[MauriceMynah]

"Entered draws for an inflatable tent for a rib, a year's supply of gin and a grand off a Richardsons holiday."

 

Years supply of gin eh? Probably just as well I was unaware of this. My libational habits might just have been a bit too much for their coffers. 

[floydraser]

1 hour ago, MauriceMynah said:

"Entered draws for an inflatable tent for a rib, a year's supply of gin and a grand off a Richardsons holiday."

 

Years supply of gin eh? Probably just as well I was unaware of this. My libational habits might just have been a bit too much for their coffers. 

It's this stuff: https://bullardsspirits.co.uk/

I think you get a bottle and eight refils...  don't know who decided that was a year's supply, probably the same person who decided the timing for the automatic lighting in toilets.