Ropes & lines for a new rib

[DGS]

Hi Please could someone advise the recommended length & diameter and what type of rope, aswell as the number of ropes that I would need for a new 4.8m rib (I have anchor with line already). Thanks

[BogMonster]

I'm not sure there is a recommended length as it depends on where you tie up and what to and to a certain extent what attachments you have on your boat - some have remarkably few!

On my 5.8m I made up my own lines out of 10mm white nylon rope, bought in bulk and cut to length and spliced myself, 3 strand rope is easy to splice yourself and a skill worth learning. This has a breaking strain of 2000kg which is plenty and gives a bit of stretch if you find yourself bouncing around a bit.

I have seven main attachment points on the boat;

- Bow eye
- Two cleats on the tubes forward of the console
- Two cleats at the rear of the tubes
- Two cleats on the A frame

As I run around in mine with lines attached all the time, I have sized the painter and the two forward lines to be all just too short to reach and tangle in the prop if the loose end becomes detached and falls in the water when underway - I made them about each a foot too short so the painter on the bow eye is about 5 metres and the other two are about 4.5 I think.

They are secured when underway but this guards against the obvious possibility of one coming adrift and getting your prop tied to the front of the boat while underway and being unable to tilt the engine up to do anything about it!

Obviously you can't do this with the stern lines or they would be useless but being attached at the stern they are less likely to get sucked under the boat so those are about 5 metres on mine.

You may also wish to have a "tow line" in case of breakdown, in my case I would intend to use the anchor line which is 50m of the same rope, but I also carry about 20m of rope in the console just as an extra.

That's just what I've done, as I say I don't think there is any right or wrong answer but the bigger variety of ropes you carry the more likely you are to have the right one for the circumstances

[Max...]

I had a a painter as per BogMonster and carried a 5m and a 10m line (in 10mm prop). And the anchor rope of course.

[Hightower]

Long rope lengths are sometimes a pain in the arse when they're not needed so I keep lots of different lenghts from 3 meters to 12 meters, you can always join them together for longer runs. But if it's pontoons you usually tie up to the 3 meters ones will be fine unless you're rafting. My worse mooring is against the wall at Yarmouth when I might have to raft. You need two short warps for tying to the boat you're rafting to and two longer warps to run ashore.

Can't stress enough what a good Idea it is to Keep rope lengths short enough not to foul the prop

[LyamGalpin]

Both the bow and stern lines need to be 1.5 times the length of the boat. Diameter of the rope is up to you.

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[TonyC]

Originally Posted by LyamGalpin

Both the bow and stern lines need to be 1.5 times the length of the boat. Diameter of the rope is up to you.

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The Bow line should not be able to reach the propellor to prevent prop wrap. If you need a longer bow line for a particular job, lengthen it with one of Hightowers bits of spare rope.

[BogMonster]

Originally Posted by LyamGalpin

Both the bow and stern lines need to be 1.5 times the length of the boat. Diameter of the rope is up to you.

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So ... when you drop the bow line over the sharp end (which you will do at some point) and it whistles down the keel to the blunt end and does a dozen turns round the prop before the engine stalls, and you can neither reach the bow eye to cut it at that end, nor reach the prop to cut it off because it is under water and you can't tilt the engine 'cos it's attached by a by-now-very-tight rope to the bow eye, what are you going to do next? Apart from curse having a rope long enough to reach the prop

[Screaming04]

Painter shorter than boat length is great for dinks with kids operating but if you're trailering a large boat you need some length to get on the trailer. If you're worried about swallowing the bow line with your prop, make it fast or remove the bow line when not in use.

Is you're anchor rode shorter than your boat length as well?

[Hightower]

Originally Posted by Screaming04

Painter shorter than boat length is great for dinks with kids operating but if you're trailering a large boat you need some length to get on the trailer. If you're worried about swallowing the bow line with your prop, make it fast or remove the bow line when not in use.

Is you're anchor rode shorter than your boat length as well?

If you need a longer rope for boat handling when launching/recovering, why not attatch a temporary longer rope? Stops any accidents when the crew member forgets to cleat the long bow line

I launch and recover my RIB by trailer all the time single handed and my bow painter is only 5 meters long, I never have any problems.

My Anchor is safely stored in the anchor locker whilst underway, stop people falling on it.

[LyamGalpin]

Or you just use a bit of common sense and secure all lines once you've moved away.

Those lengths are the recommended lengths laid down by the RYA

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