The maintenance of the material of a boat is very important to ensure the safety of the material and also to be able to extend its useful life. Bearing in mind that they are materials with a lot of wear due to their continued use and being exposed to extreme conditions and occasions in terms of weather, cold sun, rain, etc.
The maintenance of the ropes could not be less important and this care starts from the moment you buy the ropes and prepare them for their first use. Being of the utmost importance when cutting the tail of the end of the spool to get the length that you are going to need, do not leave loose threads, or otherwise the end can fray.
Steps for rope maintenance
The ropes, mainly for sailboats, cruising, light sailing, require simple but effective maintenance steps to, above all, safeguard them from their great enemies, the sun and seawater.
- The ropes that are not used must be well rolled and dry, as well as stored in dry areas to avoid deterioration.
- To avoid the deterioration caused by the wind due to the possible blows of the halyards with the masts caused by gusts of wind. The halyards must be fixed at another point to avoid contact with the mast and thus avoid wear on the outer part of the rope.
- When the rope begins to show signs of wear, if you have enough rope length you should turn the rope around, preventing it from continuing to wear out at the same point on the rope.
For the mooring ropes you need more specific maintenance since the ropes support a greater load in their use and safety. They are ropes that in most cases tend to break due to continuous friction.
- It is important to use protectors for the rope in the detected area of friction, to avoid wear. Normally a wider diameter of the mooring is used, so that it passes through its interior without any type of friction.
- The use of damping springs, an easy but very useful solution to avoid strong pulls on the boat and thus cause wear on the rope.
How do I clean the salt off my ropes?
It is very common, even if you keep in mind the maintenance of the ropes, that there comes a day when your ropes are hard and it is difficult to handle the ropes, because they have accumulated salt.
The steps to follow to clean the salt from your ropes are:
- The ropes should be put for a few hours in a bucket with fresh water and neutral soap.
- Repeat the action of the rope in fresh water and mild soap several times, changing the water and soap.
- Remove the ropes from the water and let them dry in a ventilated space, preferably avoiding direct sunlight.
Remove dirt from the ropes
In boats it is quite common to have dirty ropes due to the accumulation of dust or verdigris. For this reason, the importance of a good continuous maintenance of the ropes, to avoid the accumulation of these dirt particles that deteriorate your ropes.
The practical and easy maintenance tips to remove dirt from your ropes are:
- In a bucket of clean fresh water, put the ends in a large amount of water to clean the dirt and help the dirt loosen up.
- Submerge the ropes in water with detergent and let the ropes rest for a few hours.
- Tidy up the tangled ropes, and brush vigorously to loosen the dirt adhered to the ropes.
- Rinse with plenty of clean water.
- And let the ends dry for several hours.
Do you need advice for the purchase of ropes? At Regatta Yacht Ropes we have a team of professionals with a wide selection of ropes at your disposal according to your needs.
