Old Rope

[jimi]

As a semi-retired rock climber I've got loads of retired climbing rope (9,10 & 11mm polyester braided rope) lying around the garage. Anybody got any experience of using this for sheets & running rigging. My main concern would be that climbing rope is designed to have a bit of stretch in it and presumably thats a bad thing for halyards etc.., However that should not be a problem for sheets?

Jim

 

[iangrant]

Might be good for climbing the mast ;-)

Seriously though, good for mooring warps!

Ian

 

[jimi]

... and as they're 50 metres long .... I'll only need the one! B-)

Jim

 

[castaway]

I bought a box of new coil ends of climbing rope some years back and have been using them ever since. Wonderful for warps with the stretch they have. I also have used them for Genoa/Main sheets. No good as halyards Im sure.

Odd thing was that I always had to be sure that knots were pulled very tight due to the shiny finish, otherwise they had a tendency to drop out....Just what u want on a climbing rope..

Nick

 

[Trevethan]

Are you looking for money for.....?


Couldn't let it pass I am afraid!

 

[chippie]

I thought that the 'waxy' nature of polyester made it unsuitable for sheets etc. as it wouldnt hold on the winches properly. In your experience is that not so?

 

[extravert]

I am a climber and a sailer. Climbing ropes are somewhat slippery when new, but the knots climbers use, which are very few, do not come undone even though they are slippery. As for slipping on winches, yes they might when they are new, but when they are old and ready to be relegated to a lower safety job like sailing, they are usually anything but shiny. Mine are all fluffy by this stage. I have used them for sheets on a previous smaller boat but for the current boat the diameter is too small. They are too stretchy for halyards, so they tend to get used for mooring lines. They are great for attaching to a harbour wall with a big tidal range because of their length and stretch.

 

[castaway]

Yes that was the same thing as my point about knots.... My rope was all new when I got it and the 'waxy' finish was a bit of a problem getting knots to stay in. I never had a problem with grip on the winches.. but I guess that this cud happen.

It definately improved with age

I suppose it comes down to how much money one is prepared to spend, and if I had a garage full of the stuff I would certainly use it, if the sizes were OK.

Regards Nick