Neat finishing for a rope fender around a dinghy

[jdc]

I have put a thick rope around a rowing dinghy which I have been restoring, and while I'm pleased with it at the bows and along the sides, see pic:



the transom is a disgrace! How would you finish it off neatly? The cut out is needed because while I mostly row it, we do use the outboard, Again see pic:



I can splice 3-strand rope ok, so probably can learn to do fancier stuff but I'd be jolly grateful for ideas about what I'm trying to achieve!

 

[Refueler]

You need tube cap ends .... that are slightly smaller than the rope diameter ...

Such as plastic water pipe blanking caps etc. You could even get metal but then non-rusting.

Basically part fill cup with epoxy or similar ... screw it onto the rope end and let set. Careful to sort any ōverflow / drips etc.

 

[dunedin]

Very neat!
One option could be to taper the ropes at the ends. Remove one strand from each rope 20cm from the end, and a second strand 10 cm from the end. Would need some neat thin rope whipping at each stage of the taper. But would then taper neatly to where the outboat bracket is.
A few years back I bought a thick “garden rope” to use as a gunwale fender for Baltic post mooring - it was about £1/2m cheaper than buying a HalbergRassy that came with bumpers built in. I tapered that at each end (and in that case spliced into thin attachment ropes, but not needed in your case.)

 

[RunAgroundHard]

I guess the size of the rope is 3", but that doesn't matter, as you can buy black heat shrink in large diameters: click Large Diameter Heat Shrink
Then clamp in place with stainless saddle clamps each side of the outboard pad: Large Stainless Saddle Clamps

It is bit of an expensive option.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

A Turk's Head around each end would look good. You've already cut the rope to length, or I'd suggest a wall and crown stopper knot.

 

[Egret]

You may find you need to put a lashing between the two rope ends to keep the rope tight, behind the turks head - otherwise it will sag between the cable ties - mine has - onto eye bolts each side of the outboard pad if you want to use the outboard.

 

[jdc]

Many thanks for all your very helpful replies - I think I will try a hybrid of all of them.

I have ordered some heat-shrink tubes with cap ends - Heat Shrink End Cap size 106mm down to 45mm Diameter (55/ADH) Black. They come impregnated with heat meltable glue.

Then, when those are attached, I intend to do plain whippings over about the last 100 mm or so, leaving only about 10 to 20 mm of the plastic heat shrink protruding. This way, hopefully, it will look more 'authentic' since the hemp coloured twine will be mostly what one sees. About 4mm diameter twine seem about right for a 75mm dia rope? Maybe not a crown knot since it's already rather a fat rope unless I taper it, but I might experiment with decorative whippings.

On the dinghy, the iroko cap rail is attached to the fibreglass lip around the gunwale by stainless screws from below every 15 cm or so, and each screw passes through a stainless cable-tie mount - https://www.cef.co.uk/catalogue/products/4333356 - which also acts as a washer. The ties are threaded through the mounts and around only the inside one of the 3 strands of the rope, so are fairly well hidden from the outside (you can just see them in the photo). Fixing the rope every 15cm should make it reasonably strongly attached and not sag too much (I hope!).

I'll post a photo when it's done.

 

[Bouba]

Most Chandlers have these

 

[KevinV]

I wondered if that rubber stuff that you dip ropes in might be a neat solution?

 

[Neeves]

I wondered if that rubber stuff that you dip ropes in might be a neat solution?

If you apply to the rope end the rope will be ragged, fit will fray. Best applied to an unattached/cut/proceesed rope and then cut in the middle of the robber coating. Even better, apply over whipping. You can source heat shrink for rope, ends, that has a 4:1 shrinkage, can be coloured or transparent

For authentic look the rubber dipping stuff or heatshrink covers are very 20th century.

I like the idea of covering with some form of shrink cover (20th century) and then hiding the ends in Bouba's end caps, bronze?? To reduce costs - copper pipe.

Jonathan

 

[Stemar]

As a fully qualified idle git, I'd get some nice twine, whip the ends, and go sailing.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

If you apply to the rope end the rope will be ragged, fit will fray. Best applied to an unattached/cut/proceesed rope and then cut in the middle of the robber coating. Even better, apply over whipping. You can source heat shrink for rope, ends, that has a 4:1 shrinkage, can be coloured or transparent

For authentic look the rubber dipping stuff or heatshrink covers are very 20th century.

I like the idea of covering with some form of shrink cover (20th century) and then hiding the ends in Bouba's end caps, bronze?? To reduce costs - copper pipe.

Jonathan

The best way of getting a clean cut with rope of that thickness is to use a sharp axe on a chopping block, position the axe and then give it a sharp blow on the back of the axe head with a heavy hammer.

 

[Refueler]

The best way of getting a clean cut with rope of that thickness is to use a sharp axe on a chopping block, position the axe and then give it a sharp blow on the back of the axe head with a heavy hammer.

I have a Machete in the barn for it !!

 

[AntarcticPilot]

I have a Machete in the barn for it !!

That works, too! But the police in the UK tend to get a bit unhappy about things like machetes.