Stavanger, Monday

                                   Climbing rope

When considering ropes for halyard, it is easy to fall in the Bermuda rig trap where everything is to be very taut. Junk rig is something different so I think Paul McKay’s idea sounds good. After all he has tried it too.

If I were offered cheap climbing rope to use on a boat of Johanna’s size, I certainly would consider it. Used for a sheet some stretch would not hurt at all. Even as a halyard I think it may work well. After all, most people could hoist Johanna’s sail by hand using the 5-part halyard. Under sailing load I doubt if the halyard force will exceed 50kg force or at least not 100kg. That would mean 250-500kg force on the yard which sounds a lot. A pulling force of 50-100 kg is not more than 5 – 10% of the rope’s breaking strength so the stretch should be moderate. When choosing rope for a halyard I would be more interested in how easily the rope will run through the blocks. A stiff rope makes hoisting a lot harder and the sail will also be less willing to come down by its own weight. The one place where a low-stretch rope would be my choice would be for boltrope, in particular the one running along the leech.

Arne

Hi Barry

Yes, those Defender cam cleats are exactly what I was thinking of and I'm glad to see they are still available.  The old ones were made of Tufnol: these I see are off aluminium and will undoubtedly have dissimilar metals in them, so would probably need more regular maintenance, but the price is very, very reasonable.  Shame that they'd probably cost about the same in postage out of USA.

My smaller lines are being secured on some small, bronze jamming cleats that I picked up in a second hand shop.  They are effective, but I guess I'd have to admit that I was also tempted to give my little ship some handsome hardware, too!

Today's project is to fit the running luff hauling parrel that everyone's been telling me to fit.  I've got the string and the blocks and the fresh overnight breeze is dying away, so I suppose I'd better get out there and get to work.

PS I've also come across climbers' rope.  Lovely stuff, but have rarely been able to lay hands on it.

Paul McKay wrote: Climbing rope is identical to the rope we use for rigging and comes in various thicknesses.

I always thought it was made of stretchier fibers like nylon rather than low-stretch ones like polyester, and would make a good dock line, but not so good for rigging.

Fellow Junkies, I pass on a tip from 20 years ago regarding rigging. Climbing rope is identical to the rope we use for rigging and comes in various thicknesses. They used to come in 200 foot lengths. (60 metres) Once a climber has had a fall (and been saved by his rope) their advice is not to use it again but buy new rope. Therefore all climbers who are not adrenalin freaks will have some old rope to sell. This rope is perfectly good for our purposes (pre-stretched!) and will last for years. I know, I still have some from 20 years ago. Find a climbing club and post a note looking for used ropes. Offer them a reasonable price and who knows, you could start your next business selling cheaper rigging and mooring ropes. 

Annie Hill wrote: I followed the thread and she is looking good. 

I reckon you are going for the right size in sheets, etc - essentially one size up from PJR.

Generally I'd agree with your man (on the Wooden Boat Forum) who said go for cleats, but with that slippery stuff you often need an extra turn.  Rope clutches are expensive and cheap ones have handles sticking out that could rip a toe off.  Those old-fashioned jammers with two sprung jaws are good - especially for  three-strand - if you could track them down.

Thanks Annie. The sprung jaw style rope jammers are easy to get and I did look at them. I've just bought 3 rope clutches, two of them Spinlocs for only $80...normally around $90 each new. These ones have non snag style handles when closed.
Well off to the physio for my last visit.