charlieannear Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 Evenin' All Now that I've got my rope (thanks Paul), and my first splice was successful (woohoo!), I'll need to start dividing up my reel. Star Turn doesn't have any ropes on board at the moment, so my questions are: What ropes do I need? How long should they be? Also, how long a piece of rope do you guys have attached to your fenders? C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazy fred Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 well if you like watching them float behind the boat about 6 mtrs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afishionado Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 Evenin' All Now that I've got my rope (thanks Paul), and my first splice was successful (woohoo!), I'll need to start dividing up my reel. Star Turn doesn't have any ropes on board at the moment, so my questions are: What ropes do I need? How long should they be? Also, how long a piece of rope do you guys have attached to your fenders? C. What ropes do I need? The minimum would be A bow rope (what the Yanks call a dock rope) this should not be longer than the distance between the bow fixing point and the O/B. The thinking behind this is, if it falls over board and trails in the water there is no danger of it fouling the prop. I usualy have this rope fixed at the bow and then the working end brought round the cockpit and dropped in next to the helmsman seat where it can be picked up instantly A stern rope the same length which should be kept coiled inside the boat ready for instant use. Next a couple of longer ropes about 12M long with a Turks head (or monkeyfist) on one end These will be your 'Heaving Ropes' which could be used say to heave over to another boat to pull it alongside. The Monkey fist is a knot tied around a lump of lead which is the end you throw. These ropes can be also used as 'springs' which are used if mooring up at a quay or pontoon for a length of time. IMO all these need to be about 10mm diameter I also favour a light 6mm or 8mm rope about 18m long tied directly to a small folding anchor. I call this 'The Lunch Hook' it is ideal to use on a family day for short term anchoring in relativly shallow water. It's also good for dropping off the stern if you are running ashore for a picnic. Drop it pay the rope out and if you have judged it properly the nose will be just ashore with a nice little anchor astern ready to pull you off when it's time to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newboy Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 The answer is never. It doesn't matter what you carry, the chance is that when you really want a particular piece of rope, it's always back at home in the garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 well if you like watching them float behind the boat about 6 mtrs I guess I asked for that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlieannear Posted March 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 Evenin' All Now that I've got my rope (thanks Paul), and my first splice was successful (woohoo!), I'll need to start dividing up my reel. Star Turn doesn't have any ropes on board at the moment, so my questions are: What ropes do I need? How long should they be? Also, how long a piece of rope do you guys have attached to your fenders? C. What ropes do I need? The minimum would be A bow rope (what the Yanks call a dock rope) this should not be longer than the distance between the bow fixing point and the O/B. The thinking behind this is, if it falls over board and trails in the water there is no danger of it fouling the prop. I usualy have this rope fixed at the bow and then the working end brought round the cockpit and dropped in next to the helmsman seat where it can be picked up instantly A stern rope the same length which should be kept coiled inside the boat ready for instant use. Next a couple of longer ropes about 12M long with a Turks head (or monkeyfist) on one end These will be your 'Heaving Ropes' which could be used say to heave over to another boat to pull it alongside. The Monkey fist is a knot tied around a lump of lead which is the end you throw. These ropes can be also used as 'springs' which are used if mooring up at a quay or pontoon for a length of time. IMO all these need to be about 10mm diameter I also favour a light 6mm or 8mm rope about 18m long tied directly to a small folding anchor. I call this 'The Lunch Hook' it is ideal to use on a family day for short term anchoring in relativly shallow water. It's also good for dropping off the stern if you are running ashore for a picnic. Drop it pay the rope out and if you have judged it properly the nose will be just ashore with a nice little anchor astern ready to pull you off when it's time to go. Thanks Mike, I didn't think it would take long for this to be answered! That last guest post was me by the way... Before anyone else says it, if the bow rope shouldn't reach the o/b, then by the same logic the stern rope must be very short! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afishionado Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 Quote......Before anyone else says it, if the bow rope shouldn't reach the o/b, then by the same logic the stern rope must be very short! Oh didn't I say ..When using the stern rope, move the engine to the bow Actualy you made a very good point, on my own boat I coil the stearn rope and in a final turn it is locked in this hank and I hook the working end inboard so it cant be left loose when not in use. However this is one of the skipper/helmsmans duties. To look around before moving off from anywhere (dock, drift whatever) to see that no rope is trailing. Also a pet hate of mine which is motoring with a bunch of fenders hanging round the boat. Euk! Mad Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBettle Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 Also a pet hate of mine which is motoring with a bunch of fenders hanging round the boat. Euk! Mad Mike Yep I hate that too. Looks terribly unprofessional having fenders bashing around over the side as a boat steams past. ...mind you, I often forget, usually when I am running a sea trial or similar and trying to act like I know what I am doing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swainiac Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 Mike, is there really a need for a Monkey head or a Turks fist or anything when throwing a rope?? If I'm lobbing a rope skywards to go over a lower limb of a tree, to assist climbing, all thats needed is to form a small ball at the end of the line, about three turns around the fist does this nicely, then wrap a few more turns of the standing line around this bunch of three turns, then coil enough rope after this ball to reach your intended target. A well coiled rope flows freely through the air, and is aimed far far more accurately. The joy of this is that should the rope snag, the bundle on the end is still free flowing and will unwrap itself, not snagging you can also stow the rope with a free running end. All my climbing ropes are stowed "Gasket coil" so should i put a turks head on the end, it is no longer free running. From a safety aspect, any ropes that snag are next to useless, as snagging needs to be undone prior to use. I dread to think what may have been the outcome should I not have hit the target first launch when Charlie came to Dave' and my rescue in the Swash after the engine died. Clean ropes, neat coiling and accurate throwing meant that the towing line hit Charlies deck first lob, saving valuable time when we were drifting towards the chop!!! Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueboatdriver Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 I think a monkey's fist is necessary when mooring a large vessel as you often have to get the rope ashore from a bit of a distance and the weight of the monkey's fist would help the light rope carry into the wind much easier. I would say it's slightly overkill on our size boats though Simon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBettle Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 Back in the olden days when I was a lad working on t'container ships we used to use a throwing line with a monkey's fist to get the main lines to shore or to the tug. Mind you, those little boats were 300 metres long so it might be a tad overkill on Charlie's Shetland... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueboatdriver Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 Some of the tugs carry a line attached to a rocket don't they? You can just picture that mounted in the bow; it would look just like a Whaling ship. Popular in the Marina.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afishionado Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 Quote.......Mike, is there really a need for a Monkey head or a Turks fist or anything when throwing a rope?? Oh yes indeedy. I always aim for the head. The site of 15m of 10mm unsnaking as it hurtles at 50mph straight towards their eyes does wonders in concentrating the shore side crew mind. Which reminds me of a story........ About 27 years ago when Carol and I had just got together and she was new to boats, we were being led by a boat yard owner to the new drying moorings we had just rented. He was in a little launch and we were in our new yacht, as we reached the end of the creek in Chicester Harbour he indicated the bouy we were to pick up. We glided towards the bouy and I cut the engine but I realised my drift forward would be a tad short so I said to Carol nip up forward and grab the bouy with the boat hook please. Off she shot and gracefully tripping over a deck fitting she fell forward hurling the boat hook straight at Mr Wilson the yard owner who was sitting in his dinghy waiting to take us back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not a word was said by him or I, he just rowed the dighy back to me and handed me the boat hook which had landed at his feet. We did make it on the second attempt Mad Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swainiac Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Where can one purchase said rocket launcher?? Sounds ace fun!!! Lazy Arborists, or those with pose embedded inside, are using catapults and mono, with a small marble sized weight for launching over a tree, taking the climbing line to the very top of the canopy, I guess this could/is used in boating circles for extreme distance. I still dissagree with the monkey fist stuff, the extra weight is added by turns around the loop, and neat coiling assists line flow. Also, is difficult getting hold of monkeys these days with all these spotty oiks lobbying the use of monkeys in cosmetic/medical science research. What the hell would they do when they catch mikey dispatching a colobus purely to stuff a ope down the soggy end of its wrist? No wonder Anita Roddick flogged body shop!!! Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afishionado Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Rich regales us with.... What the hell would they do when they catch mikey dispatching a colobus purely to stuff a ope down the soggy end of its wrist? Nice one Rich LOL! So far though, no one has mentioned having a large shaggy Labrador type dog that swims the line ashore through the breakers as they do in Newfoundland As a topical note the Newfoundland breed originated in Poole back in the 17th Century when Large boats used to leave Poole bound for Newfoundland and the NE coast of America. The big salting down vessels carried stacks of flat bottomed, flat sided rowing boats stacked one inside the other. These were used by a crew of 2 or 3 to row out and lay the long lines. The design of these small craft can be seen today in the Poole Canoe. The dogs by the way were used to swim a man and a line ashore through the breakers so the smaller boats could be pulled rapidly ashore. Mad Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueboatdriver Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Mad ' Do you have any more "Shaggy Dog" stories? ..........I hope I don't regret asking for more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swainiac Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Don't you just love Mikeys anecdotes!!! He's got plenty more tucked away, from way back when men were men and women were glad of it!!!! Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazy fred Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 well i think for storage purposes i think about 80-100 pieces 1 mtr long , then when you come to moor or anchor up you access the situation and splice the amount you need together this must be better than having a neat coil all spliced up in the rope locker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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