Bolt Rope?

[nigelmercier]

I had a new main ail delivered a few days ago. The guy asked what I wanted to do with the old one, so I said to take it. Then I realised that there was a lot of cloth in it that I could use for the bases of new cushions, so I changed my mind. I cut several nice chunks out of the body, then remembered there was a 15m bit of rope along the luff.

I cut the bolt rope out, but it is really strange rope: it looks like braid-on-braid (haven't cut the ends yet) but is really stiff.

What material are these normally made of?

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Well, some bolt-ropes are wire; the one on my jib is. Others are three-strand twisted rope; some of the ones on my main are. As you can see, there is no general rule.

However, did you realize there is a thriving market for second-hand sails, and you could probably have raised a few hundred pounds by selling them? Where I sail, Saturn Sails operate a second-hand sails market (http://www.secondhandsails.co.uk/index.shtml), and I understand that other sailmakers operate similar services. You might even have sold them on the "For Sale" board of these forums; you probably would have been able to sell them there.

 

[prv]

However, did you realize there is a thriving market for second-hand sails, and you could probably have raised a few hundred pounds by selling them?

Only if there's still some life left in them. So racers disposing of no-longer-competitive sails are fine, but nobody wants a casual cruiser's shagged-out 25-year-old rags. As I found out when I took Ariam's old ones to Seateach - the guy who does second-hand sails wasn't in when I arrived, so they said to leave them and he'd give me a ring to say what they'd offer. He did phone me the next day, but the "offer" was a politer version of "please come and take your 'orrible old rags away, nobody will want them at any price"

Pete

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Only if there's still some life left in them. So racers disposing of no-longer-competitive sails are fine, but nobody wants a casual cruiser's shagged-out 25-year-old rags. As I found out when I took Ariam's old ones to Seateach - the guy who does second-hand sails wasn't in when I arrived, so they said to leave them and he'd give me a ring to say what they'd offer. He did phone me the next day, but the "offer" was a politer version of "please come and take your 'orrible old rags away, nobody will want them at any price"

Pete

Well, Saturn took a pretty ancient mainsail and genoa from me and got a couple of hundred pounds each for them. I was surprised they got that much! It did take a while - they were on sale for most of a season - but I think that our "'orrible old rags" (and I'd agree with that description of the sails I sold) may still be an improvement on what some people have. And, of course, some people may be glad of ANY sails if they don't currently have any.

 

[ronsurf]

Round here old sails get chopped up and made into jackets and bags. Because people pay more for a jacket that is made from 'orrible old rags' that are not water resistant and noisier than a luffing jib in a force 8 than they would for an actual sail. A mastery of marketing over product.

 

[nigelmercier]

To difficult to bring back to the UK. It is 15 years old, and very baggy and stained. The lower part is OK, so I kept most of this material.

 

[lw395]

I....

I cut the bolt rope out, but it is really strange rope: it looks like braid-on-braid (haven't cut the ends yet) but is really stiff.

What material are these normally made of?

Some bolt ropes have some ptfe fibre in them to help them up the slot.
Some are a braid over a solid plastic core.