Rope long term storage?

E

ean_p

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 Dec 2001
Messages
3,010
Location
Humber
Visit site
What is the shelf life of modern Polyester and Nylon rope please and what is the best way to store said rope long term...coiled and laid flat or coiled and hung from a well rounded hook / rail?
 
As far as I’m aware, UV is the biggest danger to most modern lines. Polypropylene degrades very quickly in sunlight. The lines you mentioned are much less affected by UV but I guess must be eventually. After that it’s dirt/salt (causes abrasion to the fibres internally when they’re in use) and physical damage by rodents in my experience.

Avoid the above and the lines might outlive you?

Clean and hung up or rolled on a drum or laid flat? Not sure it makes any difference.

I await other comments with interest.
 
To which lines do you refer....?

Most lines will be left in situ, halyard, furling lines. topping lift, vang etc - the only lines you are likely to take off are sheets and they are more likely to wear though abrasion in use. If you are worried about your sheets then you will be more worried, or should be more worried, about your sails and if you are considering storing the lines - I recommend you prioritise the sails first. If we know we will not use our cat for a prolonged period we take the sails off (except for the main which is stored in a boom cover - (that does suffer) - and the sheets are simply coiled and stored in the same bag - nothing special.

We will take the sails home, Make sure they are dry and roll them, not flake, and store them rolled - like a long sausage. The main is big and heavy - not the thing to take home - easily.

Jonathan
 
Neeves said:
To which lines do you refer....?

Most lines will be left in situ, halyard, furling lines. topping lift, vang etc - the only lines you are likely to take off are sheets and they are more likely to wear though abrasion in use. If you are worried about your sheets then you will be more worried, or should be more worried, about your sails and if you are considering storing the lines - I recommend you prioritise the sails first. If we know we will not use our cat for a prolonged period we take the sails off (except for the main which is stored in a boom cover - (that does suffer) - and the sheets are simply coiled and stored in the same bag - nothing special.

We will take the sails home, Make sure they are dry and roll them, not flake, and store them rolled - like a long sausage. The main is big and heavy - not the thing to take home - easily.

Jonathan
Click to expand...

Thanks for the comments N, but I'm quite well aware of the 'short' term storage of sails and running rigging etc....what I need is good advice on the 'long' term storage and longevity of rope of various materials that may run to 10 or more years
 
Polyester mooring lines seem to deteriorate with time, becoming stiff and squeaky. Ours spend most of their time coiled in the cockpit locker in the dark. I wouldn't have thought that storage conditions would make much difference, though high temperatures might speed up any chemical changes in the fibre.
 
ean_p said:
what I need is good advice on the 'long' term storage and longevity of rope of various materials that may run to 10 or more years
Click to expand...

I‘m not an industrial chemist, but I’d expect a decade or three to be nothing to polyester rope stored out of the sun and away from any chemical fumes.

Pete
 
I have a couple of nylon ropes that I purchased when I was 16 years old. (That is 1963 to you) & I still have them on my boat as spare lines for emergency tying up etc. They are kept in bags, with all my other ones, in an aft locker during the season. In the winter they are transferred to the sail loft at home. I have a number of ropes that are 20 +years old but they only reach that age because I do not expose them to UV rays more than necessary.
 
I have tested climbing ropes up to 30 years old but stored well. No changes. Avoid...
  • UV
  • acid
  • bleach
  • heat
  • abrasion. Storing on a hook won't matter (one of my oldest test ropes was), unless the hook is on a boat and is moving.
 
The only issue I have with long term storage of old ropes is that they breed when I'm not looking. I stash away a couple of odd lengths in a dark recess at the back of the garage just in case they might be useful one day. A decade later I rediscover them, and now there's a whole multi-generational family of the critters, most looking quite despicable.
 
AngusMcDoon said:
The only issue I have with long term storage of old ropes is that they breed when I'm not looking. I stash away a couple of odd lengths in a dark recess at the back of the garage just in case they might be useful one day. A decade later I rediscover them, and now there's a whole multi-generational family of the critters, most looking quite despicable.
Click to expand...
Turn on the lights first. In the dark, they attack.
 
ean_p said:
Thanks for the comments N, but I'm quite well aware of the 'short' term storage of sails and running rigging etc....what I need is good advice on the 'long' term storage and longevity of rope of various materials that may run to 10 or more years
Click to expand...
You did not mention 10 years - and you are the first person I can think of that thinks that far ahead. Why are you not planning to use your ropes for 10 years - a 10 year contract to work in Antarctica - maybe.

In Oz we generally sail 365 and in the UK maybe 250 ish so not using ropes for 10 years is unusual to say the least.

Wash them gently, dry them carefully and stick them in a bag and store in the loft - I would think they will then last longer than 10 years.

Seems pretty simple to me.

Jonathan
 
Thanks for the many replies guys (including yours N ! ), it all makes for encouraging reading especially the tests by Thinwater. All good stuff with no negatives and no caveats, so many thanks again!
 
When I bought Jissel, 18 years ago, there was a big lump of 16mm octoplait aboard. I had no immediate use for it, so it lived in a cockpit locker. When I bought Jazzcat, it seemed too potentially useful to leave behind, so it came with me. It's been used twice in that time, once to pull a mobo off the mud at East Head, the other to do the same thing at Hardway. I've no idea if it still has its original strength, as I've no way to test it, but it looks fine. I guess I'll find out one day but, for now, it just sits there waiting to be called upon.

It's shown no signs of wanting to reproduce, but that may be because it was lonely on Jissel, with no other octoplait in the locker. On Jazzcat, I rather hope it does - I could use some more mooring lines :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

B
Halberg Rassey 31
2 3 4
Replies
71
Views
2K
ashtead
ashtead

Share this page

Top