Rope care and other remarks concerning sailing ropes
Like with everything in life, you need to take care of ropes in order to get the best service from them. If you put effort and above all, understanding in what you do with your ropes, they will pay you back.
Another important issue is safety of people, cargo and the yacht's equipment, so it is really crucial that you understand very well this side of the preparation.
When it is dirty: Usually ropes get dirty, so it is a good a idea to clean them from time to time with cold water - but with moderate pressure. Never use steam - it may look neat, easy and fast but it will damage it. Wet rope or such, which has metal strands interweaved in it is dangerous near power lines - remember water and metal conduct electricity.
A good sailor should know what good care is: A wet rope should never be left in the open where it may freeze (or certain ropes are even subject to rot). When it gets dirty, especially when it is dragged on ground with mud for example, the fibres of the rope get filled with abrasive particles. They weaken it.
Another important issue when you deal with ropes is not to bend the rope around too small a object - because the tension accumulates and there is abrasion on the fibers/filaments. Always allow more room for the rope, beware the rough surfaces (pad them).
It is exclusively important to protect your ropes from chemicals - like alkalis, paints, acids, oils, fumes, etc.
The storage of the rope is absolutely significant and vital for the length of its life and the security you may expect from it.
"DRY" is the mantra. Always dry before storing. Rope is better off when it has no contacts with the floor of the room it is in.
The SELECTION of the most appropriate rope for the particular job is not an easy task.
The best choice is determined of course by size, quality and initial materials from which it is made. There is a factor scale - and you'd better allow a factor of at least 5 (five) to determine safe working load. The older the rope gets, the higher the factor should be.
"Monitoring" - always be on the alert. Check your ropes as often as possible. Better to engage in preventive rather than saving measures. First: while you are still ashore, inspect the whole rope from one end to the other. In normal positions, at water ropes should be checked every 30 days and twice daily if it is used to support scaffolding or other important (read: heavy) things.
A fact to know: Rope which is loaded over 75% of its breaking capacity is damaged irreversibly.
Mind that the rope should not be kinked (bended) because kinks can cause and in fact do cause in many cases rope failure.
Splice is a term meaning 'two connected ropes'. They can be connected in different manners. Most splices are stronger than a knot. Statistics: an average knot keeps up to 50% of the rope strength, while a carefully and properly made splice - up to 95%.
ROPE SLINGS. Small angles increase unnecessary additional rope pressure. Allow for sling angles. Actually, the breaking strength of rope is related on direct pull along a single length of rope. When slings, using two or more legs to carry the height, are properly employed, the rope's safe working load is substantially increased. However, the load factor on each leg of the sling is greatly increased when the sling angle becomes smaller. Therefore, the use of slings requires certain precautions as well as a knowledge/experience of safe working loads permissible. For best performance, sling angles should never be more than 90 degrees - rarely less than 45 degrees.
Advice: Avoid sudden strains on the rope because they may cause failure in generally strong ropes. This holds true especially for slings or tackle, where strain and power accumulate.
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