How to wash a rope?

I put some old but serviceable genoa sheets in my machine on a normal wash with conditioner. Couldn't see any improvement.
Now I trail them over the back of the boat for an hr or so and what a difference .
 
My pal swears by soaking dirty ropes in Nappisan. Cheap and effective. Not sure if it counts as bleach.
 
I'm not into Nappisan nor Patio Magic (and I'm not suggesting they are interchangeable) but I believe they both contain bleach. Bleach comes in 2 forms, one as a liquid the other is sometimes called American bleach and is a powder or granules. I would not use anything that has a suggestion of bleach on any cordage that is in any way critical. I count a halyard as critical, jack stay, tether, similar. Jackstays and tethers are often sewn - you will possibly cause more damage to stitching than the rest of the the item. Tethers are built to a specification - seems perverse to spend the money then ignore the specification by washing in bleach. It seems equally perverse to buy a new halyard, which is also built to a specification and the strength sometimes determines the size you buy - and then intentionally reduce its strength. You are just building the truth into 'sailing is for the monied rich' or 'standing in a cold shower tearing up paper currency'..

I count halyard as critical primarily because if one fails it is a major inconvenience.

I am not suggesting bleach will cause the item to fail, though the stitching might, but if you weaken the rope, by using bleach, its fibres will be damaged and it will abrade more quickly, go furry more easily - and you will then replace it more quickly - all for the sake of a cosmetic finish..

An answer is to source green coloured ropes in the first place :) and end for end your halyards (the latter is good practice anyway).

We replace sheets and halyard, specifically halyards at the clutch, because the cover is worn or wearing. The good part of the halyard becomes sheets, Genoa sheets become jib sheets etc, old snubbers become mooring warps. Oddly we don't throw cordage out - it slowly accumulates and becomes tie downs on the roof rack, part of temporary fencing - maybe we will get round to making doormats.

Jackstays are a problem, we use tape. But the loops at the end are renewed, new sewing, regularly and the jackstays are only installed when we go offshore - we don't need them for pottering about as if the weather is that bad - we stay in bed :)

Jonathan
 
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I did some of the rope testing that was quoted, in operation with New England Ropes. Bleach weakened rope a certain amount. In fact, quite a few ropes were damaged in the washing process.

* Presoak in a bucket. It really helps.
* Put the ropes in pillow cases. This greatly reduces the chance of damaging the rope or the washing machine.
* No bleach. Instead, use Oxiclean (hydrogen peroxide is the bleaching agent). It is safe for polyester and safer than bleach for nylon.
* If you want to eliminate squeaks and soften the hand, add a durable water repelant, such as Nikwax. But clean and dry the rope first. Then forget the instructions and just soak it in a bucket, air drying when done.
 
Several of the ropes on my boat are sized for handling. Genoa sheets for instance. These are way over strength for the application. I'm not worried if the strength has reduced somewhat but it's good if they are clean and nice to handle and not stiff and green. Some of my ropes are 20 years old and I see no reason to replace them.
 
Neeves said:
Jackstays are a problem, we use tape. But the loops at the end are renewed, new sewing, regularly and the jackstays are only installed when we go offshore - we don't need them for pottering about as if the weather is that bad - we stay in bed :)
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Even when just leaving or entering a marina, I always hook on when out of the cockpit. Familarity breeds contempt. One can trip & go over very easily; particularly at 75.
I had a set of tape ones fail once, so never again. I tried wire, but that is dangerous to stand on as it rolls underfoot.
I now use rope because, although it is circular, it is better underfoot & oddly enough, does not roll much.
When the tape ones failed ( just fell apart when my wife was hooked to them & fell & pulled on one) I decided to test the remaining length on the reel.
I was sitting in the harbour at Ostend talking to a Dutch couple about it & the gent was sitting on a winch. His legs were apart with feet on cockpit seat. he was in line with our winches.
I said that i would test the bit on the reel & proceeded to stretch it across my genoa winches. I gave a heave on the handle & sure enough it broke after it had stretched quite a lot.
The end flicked across to the other boat & caught the poor fellow dead in the courting tackle whith an almighty thwack. He fell of the winch groaning in pain. I cannot speak Dutch but I do reconise "F..k you b..y stupid English bar stewards" amongst the other bits of indeterminate language. My wife had to go below so he could not see her laughing, whilst I apologised profusely :rolleyes:
 
Neeves said:
I'm not into Nappisan nor Patio Magic (

Following Thinwater’s interesting reply I checked on Napisan (and now know how to spell it). It is described as
  • Disinfectant, stain remover and whitener
  • Works by releasing active oxygen to remove stains
So maybe it is not a bleach and is more “oxi”, which seems to be more suitable.
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Daydream believer said:
Even when just leaving or entering a marina, I always hook on when out of the cockpit.
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I did the same when I had a monohull. Now I have a cat, I probably won't bother in harbour, but intend to do so when at sea. You never know when a big lump of wake from a container ship or a gin palace is going to come out of nowhere, especially in Lake Solent.

Jazzcat has a really neat arrangement for lifelines - a metal grabrail each side along the cabin with a slider. Clip on, and it follows you as you go forward. That gets me to the mast, so I'll have to think about how to clip on when sorting out a stubborn anchor or genoa.
 
Stemar said:
I did the same when I had a monohull. Now I have a cat, I probably won't bother in harbour, but intend to do so when at sea. You never know when a big lump of wake from a container ship or a gin palace is going to come out of nowhere, especially in Lake Solent.

Jazzcat has a really neat arrangement for lifelines - a metal grabrail each side along the cabin with a slider. Clip on, and it follows you as you go forward. That gets me to the mast, so I'll have to think about how to clip on when sorting out a stubborn anchor or genoa.
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Our jackstays go from transom to each bow and then, another jackstay, from each bow diagonally across the trampoline and foredeck to mast.

Hopefully you never need to clip on as a result of a stubborn anchor :) - genoas are more likely and we have dolphin catchers, from bow, and plenty of strong points at the base of forestay and bowsprit

We have grab rails along the edge of the cabin roof - but they are discontinuous and a single jackstay along the deck is more convenient.

Jonathan
 
Bleaches are of two main types, chlorine bleaches and oxygen bleaches. Both work by releasing active radicals that combine with dirt and hopefully make it more soluble and less visible. Chlorine bleaches are the kind usually sold as bleach; their smell makes it pretty obvious what their active component is. Oxygen bleaches are usually not called bleach, but go under another name such as Vanish or Oxyclean or whatever. They tend to be gentler in their action. There are other bleaching agents - sulphur dioxide is used in some commercial settings - but both chlorine and oxygen releasing agents are bleaches.
 
thinwater said:
I did some of the rope testing that was quoted, in operation with New England Ropes. Bleach weakened rope a certain amount. In fact, quite a few ropes were damaged in the washing process.

* Presoak in a bucket. It really helps.

* No bleach. Instead, use Oxiclean (hydrogen peroxide is the bleaching agent). It is safe for polyester and safer than bleach for nylon.
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Hydrogen peroxide will still damage nylon, though safer than, I bow to the Pilot's clarification, chlorine bleach.


But I'm recommending that damaging a product in the quest for appearance, to me, lacks much sense - and I accept - appearance rules.

Jonathan
 
I am not sure but, is the debris from a synthetic rope count as micro plastic particles? Perhaps better extracted at a treatment plant than directly into the sea, for fish to swallow.
 
Mudisox said:
I am not sure but, is the debris from a synthetic rope count as micro plastic particles? Perhaps better extracted at a treatment plant than directly into the sea, for fish to swallow.
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Yes, but they will be shed during normal use of rope - I'm afraid they are unavoidable and a natural consequence of normal wear and degradation. Unfortunately, there isn't a good, biodegradable substitute - even Manila rope is orders of magnitude weaker! Our ropes are probably the major source of microparticles arising from our yachting. However, washing our (mostly artificial fibre) clothes is an even bigger source.
 
Just a thought, what about following the rope maker's recommendations? Or do people prefer their own random choice of harmful chemicals?
 
penberth3 said:
Just a thought, what about following the rope maker's recommendations? Or do people prefer their own random choice of harmful chemicals?
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I don't think I've ever seen recommendations for washing rope from a rope manufacturer. Given the experience here that machine washing has the potential to destroy rope completely by separating the outer braid from the inner, I'd be a bit surprised if they published any. If there are any, it would be interesting to see them.
 
AntarcticPilot said:
I don't think I've ever seen recommendations for washing rope from a rope manufacturer. Given the experience here that machine washing has the potential to destroy rope completely by separating the outer braid from the inner, I'd be a bit surprised if they published any. If there are any, it would be interesting to see them.
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I've seen info for washing Climbing ropes. I'm sure it's all there if you ask or search their web-sites. It's the sort of thing that should be in a technical data sheet.
 
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