Mikadi
New Member
What is the ideal length of warps for a 29 footer cruising the river from Teddington to Oxford?
Length of warps
- Thread starter Mikadi
- Start date
boatone
Well-Known Member
I use 10 metres although you would probably manage ok with 8 metres.
byron
RIP
You would be wise to ensure that your bow lines cannot reach your props.
teddington_lock
Well-Known Member
We usually tell people 1 1/2 times the length of their boat.
That way , especially in the deeper locks , if you are single handed , you can have the bow rope round the bollard and back to you in the cockpit.
Nothing worse than a rope that is too short .
That way , especially in the deeper locks , if you are single handed , you can have the bow rope round the bollard and back to you in the cockpit.
Nothing worse than a rope that is too short .
oldgit
Well-Known Member
I use 10 metres although you would probably manage ok with 8 metres.[/QUOTE]
Thort you normally ran aground at around 1 metre !
Thort you normally ran aground at around 1 metre !
boatone
Well-Known Member
Now lets see ........ how much rope would be 'enough' ........
Actually, I think that anything over ten metres can become a pain to handle i.e. coil and throw, particularly for unskilled crew.
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sailorman
Well-Known Member
TrueBlue
Well-Known Member
I would have trouble lifting a warp 2 x my boat length....
sailorman
Well-Known Member
boatone
Well-Known Member
One would imagine that with a Blue Ensign One would have paid crew
On a Narrow Boat?
TrueBlue
Well-Known Member
One would imagine that with a Blue Ensign One would have paid crew
I wasn't expecting that one....
Still The Management might take exception to being called "paid".....
sailorman
Well-Known Member
TrueBlue
Well-Known Member
TrueBlue
Well-Known Member
they would use Sash Cord
Having one worked for Marlow's I've still got a quantity of the Proper Stuff, none of Austin's stuff (Trade joke..).
apollo
...
10m or 30feet in old money.
Chris_d
Well-Known Member
Never quite understood the relationship for warps with boat length (for the river anyway), if you are in say a 4m deep lock you will need at least a 8m warp to reach a bollard and come back to the boat doesn't really matter how long the boat is, but if in a 4m boat with x1.5 you will be in trouble 
Agree with everybody else 8m or 10m don't bother getting longer ones as they will be too difficult to handle.
Agree with everybody else 8m or 10m don't bother getting longer ones as they will be too difficult to handle.
JKay
Well-Known Member
Never quite understood the relationship for warps with boat length (for the river anyway), if you are in say a 4m deep lock you will need at least a 8m warp to reach a bollard and come back to the boat doesn't really matter how long the boat is, but if in a 4m boat with x1.5 you will be in trouble
Agree with everybody else 8m or 10m don't bother getting longer ones as they will be too difficult to handle.
Agreed
My crew seem to prefer them 6 foot shorter than the lock and backup here we all have longer "spare"warps for the deep Trent locks
teddington_lock
Well-Known Member
Never quite understood the relationship for warps with boat length (for the river anyway), if you are in say a 4m deep lock you will need at least a 8m warp to reach a bollard and come back to the boat doesn't really matter how long the boat is, but if in a 4m boat with x1.5 you will be in trouble
Agree with everybody else 8m or 10m don't bother getting longer ones as they will be too difficult to handle.
Not many 4m deep locks on the Thames.
If you are likely to be cruising single handed you need a rope that will reach back to your cockpit , where you will be holding the stern rope.
If your boat is 10m long and your rope is 10m long , it will reach back to the cockpit in a straight line , but not once you take into account the extra angle you are putting in it to go up to the bollard and then back to the cockpit.
All very well if you are only ever going to cruise with one other person on board , but who will hold the line for you if you are on your own ?
The amount of people we have in the lock that end up standing on the boat like a scarecrow , arms outstretched because the ropes are too short never ceases to amaze me.
The lockstaff will hold the ropes if they are able to , but on busy days it will be unlikely.
As long as the rope you are thinking of buying isn't really really thick , you won't struggle with 15m ropes , just learn to coil it and throw it properly .
Pump-Out
Well-Known Member
Staff answer....
As made clear by other posters 8m is about right; HOWEVER for a deeper lock I recommend having an extension to hand, about another 4m, then the problem of having "too much" on a shallow lock is overcome.
On approching a deeper lock (Marlow, Boulters et al) a quick sheet-bend will resolve your problem; as the lock rises untie and remove the extension.
Simples.
As made clear by other posters 8m is about right; HOWEVER for a deeper lock I recommend having an extension to hand, about another 4m, then the problem of having "too much" on a shallow lock is overcome.
On approching a deeper lock (Marlow, Boulters et al) a quick sheet-bend will resolve your problem; as the lock rises untie and remove the extension.
Simples.
TrueBlue
Well-Known Member
Umm - what about going downstream??