Rope Amnesty - just how much do I really need to keep?

[Babylon]

I've recently got all the excess old rope off my boat for sorting and washing (rodes, warps, springs, halyards, sheets) and realise that I've simply been keeping too much for too long! Just how much spare rope (braided, 3-strand, octoplait) does one really need?

Two old nylon springs, one at its original 12m, the other cut at 2/3rd to give 8m and 4m - useful for all sorts of odd mooring situations etc.

Old 50m anchor rode cut in half to give two 25m lines - frequently used when on the outside of a deep raft to attach to the shore, however much longer than really ever needed (and I've certainly never been in an ocean storm needing to stream anything astern!!).

Old 14mm braided mainsheet now in two unequal lengths - useful for a quick lasso and other odd jobs (e.g. lashing tender).

Two old 16mm headsail sheets - kept but never had any use for!

Two or three old 10/12mm halyards - kept but never ever found a use for!

Etc.

How much redundant cordage do people carry - cluttering up the rope-locker - and what for?

 

[Tradewinds]

I have the same problem so am not the person to give you meaningful advice!!

 

[Neeves]

Silly boy.

Pick at random any of the cordage you have been storing and throw it out, be brave - destroy it and send it to land fill.

You will find a use for it within days.

More seriously -

Rope, specifically synthetic, rope going to land fill will last (in landfill) for decades. I think some ropes can be re-cycled (using the rope as a chemical feed stock) but can also be converted to door mats (and I assume a whole list of useful items). I recall Thinwater, I think, listing rope that can be re-cycled (though he is in America and the opportunity might not be available in the UK.

Your problem is not uncommon and in these environmentally aware days we should be - 're-birthing' items, like ropes - so I'm interested in the suggestions.

Jonathan

 

[geem]

I've recently got all the excess old rope off my boat for sorting and washing (rodes, warps, springs, halyards, sheets) and realise that I've simply been keeping too much for too long! Just how much spare rope (braided, 3-strand, octoplait) does one really need?

Two old nylon springs, one at its original 12m, the other cut at 2/3rd to give 8m and 4m - useful for all sorts of odd mooring situations etc.

Old 50m anchor rode cut in half to give two 25m lines - frequently used when on the outside of a deep raft to attach to the shore, however much longer than really ever needed (and I've certainly never been in an ocean storm needing to stream anything astern!!).

Old 14mm braided mainsheet now in two unequal lengths - useful for a quick lasso and other odd jobs (e.g. lashing tender).

Two old 16mm headsail sheets - kept but never had any use for!

Two or three old 10/12mm halyards - kept but never ever found a use for!

Etc.

How much redundant cordage do people carry - cluttering up the rope-locker - and what for?

We have probably got at least 10 times that cordage onboard.
We have a full set of mooring lines plus spare mainsheet, a couple of spare halyards, spare spinnaker sheets and spare genoa sheets. We also have a jordan series drogue at 120 metres, 100 metres of 3/4" nylon braid on braid. The granny bar on the ports side houses several lines. A pair of preventer for the genoa and a pair for the spinnaker pole plus some random shorter lengths that are always handy. In the bilge is a drum of lazy jack line.
We have a tropical storm heading our way tomorrow so we will be getting the 100m bag of 3/4" nylon rode out of the locker plus the Fortress FX55 out of the bilge and some chain and setting a second anchor. Winds are only forecast to 35kts now, although they were suggesting hurricane force at one point. You never know. We will rig the second anchor in a V just off the beach just in case. The wind will veer to the NE for a time so we will get a little bit of a lee shore for a while. I will sleep better knowing we are on 2 anchors

 

[MontyMariner]

I have the same problem so am not the person to give you meaningful advice!!

Same here!

 

[LittleSister]

Just how much spare rope . . . does one really need?

One needs an amount approaching infinity to overcome the tendency for every piece of spare rope to be either just slightly too short or vastly too long for whatever task is at hand. (I think it's something to do with the structure of the universe.)

Once you have a near infinite amount of spare rope, the problem becomes finding the particular piece of rope, among all the others, that you are sure you have that will be just right for the job.

 

[Refueler]

I reckon I could tie up a cruise liner with all the rope I have ... but having own pontoons at home - they actually do get used moving them around.

But I do often ask myself why so much !

 

[Stemar]

I carried a 30m lump of octoplait on my little Snapdragon, I used it twice, both times to tow someone out of trouble. I reckon if I've got room to store it, it might come in handy some time - when rafting up for lines ashore, doubling up my lines to sit out a storm -, or whatever. Old sheets may be past their best, but I've met a few impoverished yotties, for whom that slightly tatty sheet Madame didn't like was a Godsend. Same for mooring lines.

Towing in a Snapdragon? Yep. 28HP in 24ft made a surprisingly effective tug

 

[Refueler]

I carried a 30m lump of octoplait on my little Snapdragon, I used it twice, both times to tow someone out of trouble. I reckon if I've got room to store it, it might come in handy some time - when rafting up for lines ashore, doubling up my lines to sit out a storm -, or whatever. Old sheets may be past their best, but I've met a few impoverished yotties, for whom that slightly tatty sheet Madame didn't like was a Godsend. Same for mooring lines.

Towing in a Snapdragon? Yep. 28HP in 24ft made a surprisingly effective tug

I have a towing line also .... not 30m - but sufficient length .....

I have 43HP in 25ft

Photo from guy I'm towing :

Photo from my boat - note the bridle Y ....

 

[flaming]

You need a garage.... Lost count of the amount of rope I have hanging up in mine... Of course being somewhat more weight conscious than the average poster we keep hardly any excess on the boat. I have god knows how many spare warps, 2 fully made up spare halyards, at least 4 old sheets of various types, a load of mousing line, a whole reel of Dynema that we have no idea where it came from etc etc... I'm sure it will all come in handy one day....

 

[Wansworth]

A proper boat that you can say is ready for sea should have a good supply of assorted rope and twine and shackles and blocks,fender boards etc etc

 

[geem]

A proper boat that you can say is ready for sea should have a good supply of assorted rope and twine and shackles and blocks,fender boards etc etc

We reduced the amount of s/s shackles. We now carry lots of soft shackles. Lighter and lots of uses that shackles don't have

 

[Wansworth]

We reduced the amount of s/s shackles. We now carry lots of soft shackles. Lighter and lots of uses that shackles don't have

I have a fetish for shackles

 

[billyfish]

Keep it all....then get more...never enough

 

[Wansworth]

Keep it all....then get more...never enough

And buildup a good ditty bag with fids and sail needles and parms

 

[Bouba]

I hate throwing old rope out…and like everyone else here, when I go to a boat show I am drawn to the bloke selling rope (and shackles )

 

[Never Grumble]

I have stuck all my old rope in a big box in the garage.

 

[Stemar]

I have a fetish for shackles

I don't have a fetish, but I do have a box. Unfortunately it's getting to the point where I've got everything I could possibly want except the one I need right now

 

[William_H]

On my little boat there are spinnaker down haul and sheets not normally in use, when things go different. (emergency) Also rope used to secure tiller is availble for emergencies.These provide back up for mooring or towing. So the only spare rope I carry is light line to tie up reefing pendants. So I am ruthless in removing all spare rope that does not have a job. As with all sorts of other junk. Have a look at macrame designs for use of old rope as fender mat. ol'will

 

[MisterBaxter]

On the inland waterways you see some quite substantial rope fenders. I reckon one of them would soak up a fair length of unwanted rope.