Anyone got any experience with leaded rope?

I picked some up at a jumble in the slummy box with the intent of using it for the fore & aft lines on my trot mooring. It's a fairly light open weave braid with thin plastic sheath in it. Inside the sheath is a strip of lead crimped into short lengths to make it flexible.

I haven't actually used it yet, the old warps were still OK & I moved onto the quayside for a couple of years. I liked the idea of it sinking rather than wrapping itself around my prop or rudder.
 
Just asking, what's wrong with nylon rope - it sinks and is straightforward, is very strong & trustworthy, has give under snatch loads - with a bit of chain either end if necessary on a fore & aft or trot mooring ?

I might well lead the rope through plastic ' food grade tube ' or similar to help avoid abrasion from barnacles etc.
 
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Better used as a tow rope. Not sure it gives much advanatge over normal rope for anchoring though. The lead loaded ropes I've used for towing only have a thin wire of lead. It's just enough to sink the rope so if it breaks there's less risk of fouling the prop.
 
Good polyester yachting rope will sink. I think if you wanted my weight you could easily attach rings of lead around the rope but as said why not chain if you want weight. olewill
 
Olewill,

I take it you mean nylon rope; the stuff usually called polyester in the UK is nasty cheap hairy stuff and it floats !

The lead-filled stuff mentioned here doesn't fill me with confidence, as you say there are ways to ensure ropes sink.
 
We use leaded rope for topmarks on pots, and for the main backline if the pots are a bit light weight. You can buy it from Survitec (Cosalt) or any fishing supply emporium. It is very much cheaper than in the link. Gael force, good quality:
http://www.gaelforcemarine.co.uk/36168/Gael-Force-Seagold-Plus-Leaded-Rope.html

It is mostly ordinary three strand polypropylene with one, two or three lead wires in. High quality is more expensive, heavier, and has lead beads. As an anchor rope I would worry that it is not as effective as chain and prone to chafing on rough ground, and it usually only has enough lead to overcome the rope's buoyancy. I would use nylon.
 
They are both types of plastic rope if one is a standard yottie not a chemist, I am well aware of the differences, but I'd suggest caution if ever dealing with mail order...
 
here to me Polyester ropes are the good stuff used for jib sheets spin sheets etc finely braided and kind to the hands and expensive. The same material is used for the outer sheath of dyneema etc. It sinks.
Polypropelene is widely used for cray fish pots is usually 3 strand cheap and floats. yes might be described as hairy especially when old. olewill
 
Seajet said:
Yes I was confusing the two, but the two terms are interchangeable !
Click to expand...

WTF? Polypropylene and polyester? One is (usually) nasty blue builder's lorry rope, the other is what we all use for our sheets and halyards unless we're posh enough to go for Dyneema. Not interchangeable in any sense, and not even commonly misused as some terms are.

Anyone can misread a word (apparently more easily than normal for most people with the new forum style) and mix things up. Try acknowledging such trivial mistakes gracefully instead of digging deeper.

Pete
 
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