Ropes

[Speedo]

This might be a silly question, but I'll be picking up my new Honwave (second hand) on Wednesday and was wondering about mooring ropes. I can see by the pictures that it currently doesn't have any and as I am using this on rivers, they will be essential for launching and of course mooring for lunch!!

What do you all use, what length and where do I get them?

Thanks

[Mikefule]

Decent ropes are stronger, easier to tie and untie, and generally nicer to work with. You can get them from a chandlery/chandlers, sailing shop, or some other outdoor shops.

The two basic sorts are "twisted" and "braided". A twisted rope is made of thinner lines twisted together in a spiral. A braided rope is generally a bit more expensive, but nicer to handle and easier to tie or untie.

You will need:

1) A painter. That is the tope leading from the bow of the boat. If your boat has two D rings, one on each tube, rather than one D ring in the middle, you will need to make a Y shaped painter: 1 line to each of the D rings and 1 leading from the middle that you use to moor the boat. Make sure that the painter is not long enough to reach the propellor if the end falls overboard and the painter drags underneath the boat.

2) At least one spare length of line that you can use to tie to something on the side of the boat when you are mooring alongside something. Most of the time, you can keep this out of the way.

3) An anchor line, length of chain and anchor, unless you are certain that you are staying on slow shallow rivers within easy reach of the shore. You will probably want to anchor from time to time just to eat your picnic, laze in the sun, read, or swim, but the anchor is an important part of the safety equipment.

On the whole, the ropes won't need to be very strong, but thick ropes are easier to handle. Kite string would almost be strong enough on the river, but something about 8 mm or so thick is much nicer to use.

[Fenlander]

Agree re decent ropes. Mine are about 10yrs old and were expensive at the local river chandlers... but they are still soft... nice to handle.. and they flop... I like a rope that flops and stays put.

[Speedo]

Thank you, that's really helpful.

So many things to get when you start this hobby!!

[Speedo]

Originally Posted by Mikefule

Decent ropes are stronger, easier to tie and untie, and generally nicer to work with. You can get them from a chandlery/chandlers, sailing shop, or some other outdoor shops.

The two basic sorts are "twisted" and "braided". A twisted rope is made of thinner lines twisted together in a spiral. A braided rope is generally a bit more expensive, but nicer to handle and easier to tie or untie.

You will need:

1) A painter. That is the tope leading from the bow of the boat. If your boat has two D rings, one on each tube, rather than one D ring in the middle, you will need to make a Y shaped painter: 1 line to each of the D rings and 1 leading from the middle that you use to moor the boat. Make sure that the painter is not long enough to reach the propellor if the end falls overboard and the painter drags underneath the boat.

2) At least one spare length of line that you can use to tie to something on the side of the boat when you are mooring alongside something. Most of the time, you can keep this out of the way.

3) An anchor line, length of chain and anchor, unless you are certain that you are staying on slow shallow rivers within easy reach of the shore. You will probably want to anchor from time to time just to eat your picnic, laze in the sun, read, or swim, but the anchor is an important part of the safety equipment.

On the whole, the ropes won't need to be very strong, but thick ropes are easier to handle. Kite string would almost be strong enough on the river, but something about 8 mm or so thick is much nicer to use.

Would 5m be enough in your experience?

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Mikefule

That is the tope leading from the bow of the boat.

Hmmmm!
https://youtu.be/2I91DJZKRxs

[Mikefule]

Originally Posted by Speedo

Would 5m be enough in your experience?

My SIB is 3.1 metres.

I think my Y shaped painter uses approx 3 x 1.5 metres = 4.5 metres.

As a detachable general purpose line I have about 3-4 metres.

As an anchor line, 30-50 metres on the anchor, plus a spare wrapped coil of cheap polypropylene rope in case I need to anchor in deep water.

Simplification: the more anchor line you have out, the better the anchor will hold. Anywhere from 4 to 8 times the depth of water. I say "simplification" because if you anchor in a strong current, the long anchor line adds drag. If you only have wind to cope with, the more line the better, as long as you are sure you won't swing into something if the wind changes.

You can never have too much rope.

Learn the anchor bend, the round turn and two half hitches the clove hitch, the alpine butterfly loop, the sheetbend and the double sheetbend. Other knots are available, but I use these on every trip on the SIB. There are plenty of how to videos on YouTube, including my own channel "Mikefule".

[Chris Caton]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Hmmumm!
https://youtu.be/2I91DJZKRxs

[whiskylee]

Originally Posted by Mikefule

Decent ropes are stronger, easier to tie and untie, and generally nicer to work with. You can get them from a chandlery/chandlers, sailing shop, or some other outdoor shops.



The two basic sorts are "twisted" and "braided". A twisted rope is made of thinner lines twisted together in a spiral. A braided rope is generally a bit more expensive, but nicer to handle and easier to tie or untie.



You will need:



1) A painter. That is the tope leading from the bow of the boat. If your boat has two D rings, one on each tube, rather than one D ring in the middle, you will need to make a Y shaped painter: 1 line to each of the D rings and 1 leading from the middle that you use to moor the boat. Make sure that the painter is not long enough to reach the propellor if the end falls overboard and the painter drags underneath the boat.



2) At least one spare length of line that you can use to tie to something on the side of the boat when you are mooring alongside something. Most of the time, you can keep this out of the way.



3) An anchor line, length of chain and anchor, unless you are certain that you are staying on slow shallow rivers within easy reach of the shore. You will probably want to anchor from time to time just to eat your picnic, laze in the sun, read, or swim, but the anchor is an important part of the safety equipment.



On the whole, the ropes won't need to be very strong, but thick ropes are easier to handle. Kite string would almost be strong enough on the river, but something about 8 mm or so thick is much nicer to use.

Great advice Mike and I'm loving your YouTube videos. I'm off to make a Painter now & learn the Harmonica!

Cheers

[Mikefule]

Originally Posted by whiskylee

Great advice Mike and I'm loving your YouTube videos. I'm off to make a Painter now & learn the Harmonica!

Cheers

Thank you. Concertina, too, when you've made a start on harmonica.