New rope advice 😡😡

[Ben]

Had the privilege of loosing my anchor at the weekend 😡😡 now got to renew rope chain and anchor .....i have 8 plat rope going through my Lewmar windlass on the boat at the moment (inherited with the boat) but have found sometimes when I'm on free fall from the bow anchor locker it has got bunched up and stops half way down also sometimes on the retrieve it bunches up and gets caught up in the locker .......so I'm going to go 3 strand my question is whats everyone using polly or nylon thers so many different views on it speaking to people today so thought I would ask the question on here ????? What I want out of it is to not bunch up in the anchor locker like the 8 plat as I don't feed it in by hand its feed in by the windlass ......whats your thoughts 🤔🤔🤔

[Maverick Martin]

Don't put so much rope in the locker as that is what probably causes bunching.  You need space for the rope to fall into the locker and not form a little mountain under the windlass, we have the same issue.

Multiplat is the best for coiling but expensive, Nylon is decent and what we currently have, poly is cheap and that's for a reason

[Steve S]

I use multiplat with a windlass, works great no tangles, one key difference, as the rope comes out through the windlass I lay out it out by hand. One finger on the retrieve button the other hand in the locker putting the rope in strips. There is 200m of rope plus 15m chain in the locker.

 

I don't think using 3 core is going to solve that problem of tangles it doesn't lay very well due to it's memory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mal Thomas]

I agree with Steve and would add, rope with a twisted strand always needs to be coiled in the same way to provide a memory, bit like stowing a hose, it goes away better if the hose goes away with the same twist or same handed person doing the retrieving. Discipline when putting the rope back in the locker is the key, whenever I have put it away badly in a choppy sea I nearly always have a loop that forms under the deck when releasing. Time consuming and tiresome but necessary. If the rope is stowed correctly it should look like a polo mint from above, then the chain can drop in the middle.

Most boats up to 7.5 mtr boats with vee lockers are not suited to the deep anchoring we do, therefore the rope does not have enough drop to coil itself as it comes in off the gypsy, hence we hand stow, especially a horizontal gypsy which the majority are.

The vertically dropping rope off a vertical  gypsy stows better in small lockers.  I fitted one on my last boat it was much better and the motor is not in the way either.

I coil the rope in the same way Steve does, where the rope is tied off to the bollard that is always slightly troublesome as it has been twisted. Plait has less memory and therefore better, but some gypsies do not like plait because it reduces in width as it stretches so gripping it can be an issues at full load, make sure it is compatible with your gypsy before purchase. 

I use nylon 3 strand and it is fine, poly is a poorer quality generally and used by commercial fisherman on pots etc and not as good for our type of use. 

I was listening to your troubles out at sea, seems like you were very unlucky, a string of loose pots or nets maybe to have drifted so far, it would not matter if you had tripped your anchor with cable ties in that situation.  I tend to turn my rope around after a couple of years to give it even wear.

I am sure you know all this Ben, the answer is for those members reading and taking on advice. The next choice is what type or pattern of anchor and how much chain.

[sparky]

Tried the 12mm rope that club supplied, multiplait I think, which was right size for gypsy .....but under load it stretched and would not work on retrieval of anchor.

[Steve S]

Multiplait doesn't work on all windlasses unfortunately, the manufactures spec normally state if it is compatible and what size.

 

I had an old Lewmar on Tigerfish that the multiplait kept jamming in, replaced it with a Lewmar CPX 1000w which  in the spec stated it was compatible and I've never had a jam since using the same rope and that includes regularly dragging the boat towards the anchor in fast tides.

 

[Jim]

I could just about hear some of the troubles on my radio Ben. 

All I can say is Bu**er !

 

Jim

 

[mw]

Hi Ben is it the pro fish you have if so I had the same problems mine had a 8mm gypsum i went down to a 6mm and used more chain before this I used 3 different ropes and they all got caught up and I had 24 inch drop in the rope locker

mark w

 

[sparky]

21 hours ago, Steve S said:

Multiplait doesn't work on all windlasses unfortunately, the manufactures spec normally state if it is compatible and what size.

 

I had an old Lewmar on Tigerfish that the multiplait kept jamming in, replaced it with a Lewmar CPX 1000w which  in the spec stated it was compatible and I've never had a jam since using the same rope and that includes regularly dragging the boat towards the anchor in fast tides.

 

Found that too , I checked that gypsy would work with 12mm multiplait, tried it and windlass pulled it in on pontoon.

Great, got chain spliced on, went fishing and it wouldn't  work under load.

 

 

[fisherman1055]

On 9/4/2020 at 12:07 PM, sparky said:

Found that too , I checked that gypsy would work with 12mm multiplait, tried it and windlass pulled it in on pontoon.

Great, got chain spliced on, went fishing and it wouldn't  work under load.

 

I have to drive forwards to help the gypsy pull 12mm multiplait when anchored in a current, wont pull it on its own unless slack water.