What's the point..?

[Babylon]

in washing halyards?

Is it to make them look nice, or to soften them, or just to go through the motions of mousing them and getting them down for an inspection, then up again?

Using non-bio powder and Napisan throughout, I soaked mine in tubs of warm water, rinsed them and changed the foul-smelling water and soaked them again overnight, then rinsed again and put them through a 40 degree wash and pre-wash in the machine. (I zip-tied old socks over the hard-eyes etc, but didn't use old pillowcases or coil the ropes as I reckoned an ever-changing tangled bundle would get all parts cleaner).

The white bits are still brilliant white, the grey bits are now a whiter shade of grey, and the green bits are a light shade of grey-green.

Is that enough?

I draw the line at physically scrubbing several nautical miles of braided line!

 

[Angele]

For me it is just to get the salt out of them, so they stop being stiff.

Over winter I took home most of my sheets, but only a couple of the mooring warps. Comparing the washed warps with the ones that had sat on the boat over winter - what a difference. Soft vs stiff. soft is much easier to handle.

I don't bother removing halyards that would require mousing. I'd rather spend the time at sea.

 

[mjcoon]

For me it is just to get the salt out of them, so they stop being stiff.

And even rain water has solid matter, even Saharan sand, recently. So washing may prolong life by removing causes of internal wear...

Mike.

 

[[70521]]

Gosh you have done a good job, I bung mine in the washing machine and hope I don't fill the kitchen with bubbles!

It is the stuff you can't see that does the damage.

 

[Tony Cross]

And even rain water has solid matter, even Saharan sand, recently. So washing may prolong life by removing causes of internal wear...

Mike.

Down here on Crete we gets lots of Saharan sand over the winter. I wash all our lines (except the ones I washed and stored in lockers before winter) mainly to get the sand out.

 

[Kelpie]

Will washing mooring warps make them less creaky?

 

[mjcoon]

Will washing mooring warps make them less creaky?

Not unless you use rather a lot of silicone fabric softener!

Mike.

 

[Tony Cross]

Will washing mooring warps make them less creaky?

No, but wrapping a plastic shopping bag (the throwaway type from supermarkets everywhere) around the cleat and line as you secure the line will make a big difference.

 

[Babylon]

Having whinged about doing the job, one thing that literally came out in the wash was a serious burst hernia in the furling heads'l halyard, exactly where it permanently sits over the sheave at the top of the mast. I wouldn't have noticed this weakness had it not been for it having been tossed about in the washing machine!

 

[Angele]

Having whinged about doing the job, one thing that literally came out in the wash was a serious burst hernia in the furling heads'l halyard, exactly where it permanently sits over the sheave at the top of the mast. I wouldn't have noticed this weakness had it not been for it having been tossed about in the washing machine!

When I fitted my haylards (and topping lift) they were all intentionally made longer than necessary. Then, at the start of every season I cut 4-6 inches off each one at the end that attaches to the sail/boom such that each season it is a different bit that chafes on the masthead sheave. That way you only ever have one season's worth of chafe on any bit of the rope.

It is on my list of recommissioning jobs for next weekend.

 

[Kelpie]

I guess you could end for end first, then chop off a bit. The sheave is unlikely to be exactly half way along the line.
If you end for end after you've chopped off all the excess, then you can only do it once.

 

[Poecheng]

I did similar to the OP but before the washing machine I dunked them in dilute Borocol and then left them for ages which gets out the long term "dirt" which is mould etc. Then after the wash I dunked them again so the Borocol soaked all the way through and then hung them to dry.

It was my mainsheet and it came up really clean, soft to handle and has remained really clean when I would have expected it to do otherwise having left it unused for many months. The Borocol prevents the organisms finding it a home and has a long term effect. Fully recommended and no effort (other than buying Borocol). It may be that dilute Patio Magic has the same effect.

Good luck