Rope Question

[IowaCraig]

So I just bought my first boat a few weeks ago and I'm in the process of putting all the necessary detritus together. How do you guys keep the ropes all neat and orderly without having a MASSIVE spagetti monster on the boat?

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Rope Question

You could go to a Walmart or hardware store and buy a plastic extension cord holder......light and cheap

 

[colbyt]

Re: Rope Question

I haven't dealt with that just yet. For those that won't wind between two spaced cleats I am consider buying some of those cheap plastic electrical cord storage devices that look like an H with 2 crossbars.

Edit: I hate when others type faster than me so I will add that the ultimate repetitive slip knot is the most tangle free way to store any cord or rope.

 

[JimS123]

Re: Rope Question

Simple. We don't use rope of any kind on the boat! We only use line.

OK, sorry for the smart$$ remark. But to be a boatman you gotta get the jargon straight.

I always have 4 Dock Lines attached, to be ready for docking in any spot. The eye is always on the deck cleat and the rest is coiled up and stowed. The bow lines under the bow seats and the aft lines under the side coaming.

Tow lines, ski tow lines, etc. are coiled up neatly and held together with velcro. They are stowed under a seat. Each in separate seats.

The anchor is kept in the fowrad anchor locker in a cheap plastic sink pan. The bitter end is tied to a cleat underneath and then coiled in the pan with the anchor finally on top. When I retreive the anchor I always recoil it again from the top and place the anchor and chain on top of the coil. It always goes in or out with ease.

 

[fixnfly]

Re: Rope Question

In the boat section of Walmart they sell a product by kwik teck called "wrap it up." It is velcro and nylon and it wraps around the line to keep it neat. usually comes in a 3 pack, about 5 bucks. Wayfair.com sells it too, just use the search bar and type wrap it up.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Rope Question

I just coil the lines with a hanging loop and keep them fairly neat inside a locker. One thing I do that's saved us some time and confusion... I keep lines of several different lengths aboard, so I buy different colors/types depending on length. My 20'ers are 3-strand white, my 30'ers are braided white and gold.

I can reach into the locker and grab the right one just by feel, or I can tell Linda to "put a white at the stern and bow. Ready a gold for the spring line."

My .02

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Rope Question

Often line does not tangle if it's piled loosely rather than coiled, which is why anchor line is just dumped in the locker; coiling a line tight around your elbow is a good way to get tangles.

While you always want to have line on board for various situations, whether you keep it out or stowed depends too much on individual use. I have one that I leave my dock lines on the dock and seldom deploy the lines I carry on board. Others I keep just one bow and one stern on the cleat; they should be at least as long as the boat.

For lines I keep on the cleat, if it has a spliced eye I put it through the cleat's eye (hole) then around the "ears" and still have a usuable cleat. For straight line, I tie a bowline (that's a knot) through the cleat eye and have the cleat available.

I keep a ski line in its plastic bag.

On my boats that don't have an anchor locker, I coil the line then wrap it with the bitter end, but when I know I'm going to be anchornig to the marsh bank, I leave 10-15' out of the wrap to use without unwrapping the whole thing.

 

[Thalasso]

Re: Rope Question

I have a reel Bayco 150 ft. 16/3 Cord Reel that i bought from HomeDepot that i use for when i go through locks.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Rope Question

Good Seamanship include Marlinespike Seamanship.

Animated Knots has instructions for stowing Attached and Un-Attached line.

We'll make a Boatswain's Mate out of you yet!

 

[Jonnybbad]

Re: Rope Question

I have a few 20ft long lines I use to tie up my 18 footer. I coil them in large coils. I hold one end while stretching my arms all the way apart and coil that full arm span length. That make the coil about three feet long when flattened. I then flatten the coil and tie the whole thing into a big overhand knot.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Rope Question

Capt. Steve shows you how. :joyous:

 

[Blujay96]

Re: Rope Question

There is a product called winedystick that works great. Winedy Stik

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Rope Question

Some type of ropes resist tangling, I use a type called dock line , it dosnt tangle much at all.

 

[bekosh]

Re: Rope Question

For storing my dock lines, I use a Chain Sinnet or Monkey Braid . Keeps the lines from tangling up with each other. I also use it to tidy up my lines when tied up at the dock.

 

[dls322]

Re: Rope Question

The anchor is kept in the fowrad anchor locker in a cheap plastic sink pan.

Thats a good idea, i might try that this year

 

[IowaCraig]

Re: Rope Question

Thanks guys! I'm hoping to get everything together soon so we can actually go out and enjoy the boat this summer. Now we just have to get some weather that is nice enough to do so! Snowing and 30+ mph wind today.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Rope Question

I have a bow anchor locker with a through hull drain, my anchor has 20' of chain and then 150' of rode which is tied at its end to the factory installed point within the locker, so in between the tie point in the anchor locker and the anchor I have somewhere around 160' of rode/chain, for me its pretty simple, just feed it into the locker in layers, it will come out just fine, never had an issue.

My ski/Inflatable ropes are all rolled up and secure independently with velcro straps you can get at the computer store under a seat in the bow area.

 

[Ned L]

Re: Rope Question

No to be 'smart' about it, but if you learn any one of the simple ways to properly coil line they will not end up in a tangle. It is a simple useful skill.