Dip the rope

[cliff]

It's no point saying 'I've never heard of this archaic term' when it's still a widely used term and practice among mariners.

So the OP plus one or two who claim they have heard the term vs all the others who claim they have never heard of this archaic term not to mention numerous references to to a multitude of nautical almanacs and nautical terminology books (modern and ancient) makes "dip the rope" a "widely used term among mariners"? - Duh? Think not.
Maybe in some yoohaa Henry sailing club where they make up their own phrases, but not in the real world

 

[Deleted member 36384]

No you don't! You pass it up through the eyes that are already there, over the top of the fixture BUT you leave yours on top.

Done this way, each eye can be lifted over the top and released, independently of the other eyes, without the need of squeezing it between the other eyes and the bollard (or cleat).

It is an irrelevant and a pointless practise. Any bight can be removed independently of each other without anyone dipping i.e. by just dropping the bights over one another in order of arrival. Experiment with string if you need to prove this fact to yourself. If you think about it dipping or not dipping all the loops end up the same way on the bollard, which is why it is an irrelevant practise.

One simply places their hand through the bights that are on top their line, then grab one side of the bight of their own line and lift it up and through the existing bights and over the bollard, cleat and cast off where the bight will simply pull through the existing bights. That is how one casts off and why skippers should make sure that a reasonable sized bight is used on a mooring line.

Anyway, again it is pointless, as most sensible folks will double up just before departure and slip from the yacht.

 

[dylanwinter]

It is an irrelevant and a pointless practise. Any bight can be removed independently of each other without anyone dipping i.e. by just dropping the bights over one another in order of arrival. Experiment with string if you need to prove this fact to yourself. If you think about it dipping or not dipping all the loops end up the same way on the bollard, which is why it is an irrelevant practise.

One simply places their hand through the bights that are on top their line, then grab one side of the bight of their own line and lift it up and through the existing bights and over the bollard, cleat and cast off where the bight will simply pull through the existing bights. That is how one casts off and why skippers should make sure that a reasonable sized bight is used on a mooring line.

Anyway, again it is pointless, as most sensible folks will double up just before departure and slip from the yacht.

you make perfect sense and are entirely correct

but.... but....but...

unless we do it completely correctly by the book using jargon no-one has understood how can we laugh at other sailing buffoons and duffers for doing it wrong?

This does seem to be a bit of a Solent problem.

I have shared the odd cleat or bollard in my day but have yet to get involved in one of those six deep raft scenarios that seem to create such a lot of trauma and excitement as mobo chicks totter across the plastic teak decks of raft partners at two in the morning.

 

[prv]

I also agree that tying up a boat alongside with bowlines on to a ring a cleat is a bad move because a bowline is difficult to release under pressure. Round turn and two half hitches is much better, it can be released under pressure.

A spliced eye, dipped or not, can't be released under load either. So why approve of one and not the other? In either case you'd be easing it from the boat end before removing it.

Pete

 

[RivalRedwing]

Hi JJ
The correct form is loops on the shoreside cleats and 'figure of 8s' and excess warp on the boat..... But I expect some will argue

Not arguing, agree...... Except at some marinas where they use hoops as opposed to cleats, then loop through and back to the boat.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

.... unless we do it completely correctly by the book using jargon no-one has understood how can we laugh at other sailing buffoons and duffers for doing it wrong? .... mobo chicks ...

Preserving the jargon is a good thing as long as we don't take it too seriously and understand that the lexicon changes through time anyway. Long live buffoons, duffers and mobo chicks, they are the spice of life.

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

It is an irrelevant and a pointless practise. Any bight can be removed independently of each other without anyone dipping i.e. by just dropping the bights over one another in order of arrival. Experiment with string if you need to prove this fact to yourself. If you think about it dipping or not dipping all the loops end up the same way on the bollard, which is why it is an irrelevant practise.

One simply places their hand through the bights that are on top their line, then grab one side of the bight of their own line and lift it up and through the existing bights and over the bollard, cleat and cast off where the bight will simply pull through the existing bights. That is how one casts off and why skippers should make sure that a reasonable sized bight is used on a mooring line.

Anyway, again it is pointless, as most sensible folks will double up just before departure and slip from the yacht.

Sorry to tell you this but that is pure nonsense!

YOU try it with loops of string BUT have someone apply tension on the bights that are to remain on the bollard. If there is tension on them, as there will certainly be when boats - especially larger ones - are at the other end, you would have a hard time trying to squeeze your lines between the other bights and the bollard; the larger the lines, the more 'fun' you'll have!

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Sorry to tell you this but that is pure nonsense!

YOU try it with loops of string BUT have someone apply tension on the bights that are to remain on the bollard. If there is tension on them, as there will certainly be when boats - especially larger ones - are at the other end, you would have a hard time trying to squeeze your lines between the other bights and the bollard; the larger the lines, the more 'fun' you'll have!

Nonsense it is not! You are wrong, 100%.

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

Nonsense it is not! You are wrong, 100%.

I can live with that, no problem!

p.s. I would still like to see you puffing while trying to persuade a 30mm bight up through similar ones that are above it while there is tension on them...

 

[ronsurf]

If anyone asks me to 'dip the rope' I think I'll just chuck it in the water and yell, "It's dipped!"

 

[RichardS]

This all seems a bit OTT as it's just tying up a boat after all. However, from an academic point of view I can visualise the the second eye being passed up through the first eye allows either eye to be removed without having to relieve the tension on the remaining eye ....... but can this trick be repeated with a third eye or is two the maximum?

I can't visualise three!

Richard

 

[Fantasie 19]

91 posts and counting.... are you lot all bored or something????

 

[Shakemeister]

So the OP plus one or two who claim they have heard the term vs all the others who claim they have never heard of this archaic term not to mention numerous references to to a multitude of nautical almanacs and nautical terminology books (modern and ancient) makes "dip the rope" a "widely used term among mariners"? - Duh? Think not.
Maybe in some yoohaa Henry sailing club where they make up their own phrases, but not in the real world

Think you misunderstood me Cliff. Dipping the rope is not a widely term used term among mariners. Dipping the eye is.

Every profession or trade has it's own jargon or lingo that has grown over the years. Perhaps as leisure sailors in a leisure environment it doesn't matter. A snakes wedding in a marina might not matter so much. But say if you went into a working harbour and didn't dip your eyes if sharing a bollard with a working boat it just wees them off and fuels the 'grotty yotty' attitude that those who make their living from the sea have towards leisure boat owners.

Dipping the eye might not be a 'must know' in the same way that the basics of the rule of the road or basic pilotage might be. But it's definitely a 'should know'.

Personally I avoid hard eyes or soft eyes if possible because they are such buggers to release under tension. I much prefer the round turn and two half hitches, excess line onboard and cleated off 'OXO' on the cleat.

Perhaps one locking turn to finish. Locking turns upon locking turns is just ridiculous.

I like that this thread has caused some discussion about mooring techniques - we can all learn from this 'cos what works for ships with loads of crew and dockyard workers is not the same for shorthanded leisure boat sailors.

 

[southseaian]

Here is a youtube video (am I allowed to post link?) about "dipping the eye`
https://youtu.be/Q-ILYBU6Jlg
It seems that the term "dipping the eye" may be the more usual term.
By the way the newish play Way Up Stream by Alan Aykbourne is very funny in the way it makes fun of salty pompous boaters and their language.

 

[Spyro]

The appropriate response to the op would have been "tie up your own *&^%ing boat".

 

[prv]

Dipping the rope is not a widely term used term among mariners. Dipping the eye is.

Indeed. I was the original person back in post #5 who first recognised what the OP was asking for. But the word I was reacting to was "dip", not the whole phrase "dip the rope". I don't think I've ever come across the latter phrase before, but if you know the word "dip" then it's perfectly obvious from context what he was asking.

I don't think I'd use the canned phrase "dip the eye" either, mind you. Talking to my usual crew (who I know understand the technique and the term, but may not always remember to do it) I'd tend to say something like "could you dip this one through that one, please", or "make sure you dip our lines through his".

Pete

 

[dylanwinter]

this thread makes my buttocks clench and thank god I am unwashed, untrained and incompetent

 

[Poecheng]

this thread makes my buttocks clench and thank god I am unwashed, untrained and incompetent

Nice to end a thread with something we can all agree on :encouragement:

 

[ghostlymoron]

It's strange that so many have an opinion on this. It's clear to me that the OP misheard/understood this term sometime in the past and misused it to appear a smart arse at the expense of a passerby who was trying to be helpful. He's lucky that all he got was a slightly wet piece of rope. No further contributions from me I promise.

this thread males my buttocks clench and thank god I am unwashed, untrained and incompetent

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

this thread makes my buttocks clench and thank god I am unwashed, untrained and incompetent

If you really wish to 'improve' your sailing knowledge there's a very good series of videos on Youtube. It is probably intended for the Northern Hemisphere because it seems to cater for the Coriolis effect.







The series is called 'Keep Turning Left'...