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

[38mess]

I have never bought a rope in 40 years of sailing. I have loads of good rope in my garage and quite a bit on the boat, new good quality stuff that came with the boat. So I guess I'm not one to ask, same with fenders, never bought one, just keep finding good ones at sea

 

[Babylon]

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

I like your ruthlessness... except that I rule out all recycling-craft activities!

Compared to some I clearly don't have that much excess, but I'm going to throw out one particularly nasty big old warp, and simply halve the collection of other spares I keep aboard (yes I've got a garage at home).

I've also acquired over the years a second spare boathook and two spare scrubbing brooms - they can jolly well go as well!

The final part of my cunning plan to clean up my nautical universe is to stow the relatively smaller - shorter, thinner - stuff separately to the biggies - that way they won't find their way to the inaccessible depths of the deep locker... there to hide and accumulate grime for the next decade.

 

[Babylon]

...same with fenders, never bought one, just keep finding good ones at sea

That explains the profusion of school-boats going round in circles looking for them!

 

[Frayed Knot]

After much agonising this spring I managed to dispense with several so-far surplus but servicable lines. I left them near the bins at the boatyard & they disappeared within hours. Hopefully they’ll benefit someone with a more limited budget but maybe end up at a boat jumble. Whatever, they’re gone, & not to landfill (yet)

 

[reeac]

When I reroofed my stables I stacked the new steel roofing on an old mainsail, tied it to the tractor using an old sheet and towed it all down my field to the stables. Nice blending of the nautical and the agricultural I thought.