Boat Rope & Rigging Equipment

Boat Ropes and Garces

What is a rope?

Boat rope or rope element, it is an essential accessory to ensure the maneuvers necessary to operate a boat especially on board a sailboat. To choose the one that corresponds to the use you are going to make of it, it is necessary, first of all, to take into account the other parts of the vessel to check their adaptability to the whole marine vehicle. Secondly, you will need to consider the inherent characteristics of the boat rope such as the degree of resistance, elasticity and fittings. Once these functional parameters have been accurately examined, you can turn your attention to the aesthetic side. Manufacturers offer a wide variety of colors and patterns that can add a distinguished and original touch to your vessel. Don't forget to look at the safety equipment and offshore signage solutions available as well.

All commercially available ropes are adaptable and versatile. In other words, you have a wide selection of ropes designed for different purposes from which you will be able to choose. Decathlon offers a wide range of ropes, mooring lines, halyards, sheets and mooring lines for several types of activities including racing, cruising and fishing. You will find these nautical equipments made of high end textiles perfectly adapted to marine conditions.

Choosing a boat rope according to the material

The different types of ropes are listed according to their manufacturing material. There are then 5 main categories:

• Hemp: It is a fiber known for its resistance to harsh conditions at sea. That's why it's ideal for caulking; a process that consists of sealing a wooden boat by filling the space between the planks that tends to grow over time. The functional role of hemp rope is no longer relevant. Today, these fibers are only used for ornamental reasons.
• Nylon: Also called polyamide, this material is used both for mooring and for the manufacture of the mooring line. Composed of strong and absorbent fibers, nylon rope supports heavy loads and is perfectly adapted to the marine environment. However, it is not recommended in regions that are too sunny where temperatures are often high.
• Polypropylene: Stiff to the touch and shiny, polypropylene rope is prized for its aesthetic and ergonomic properties. As these ropes are relatively light, they can float on the surface and the risks of getting caught in the propeller are zero.
• The dyneema : Halyard, backstay, halyard, this material is ideal for making several types of marine ropes. If its use was exclusively reserved for boat racing, it has now become widespread to also impose itself in the world of pleasure boats. Note that these fibers are distinguished by their very low weight, their limited coefficient of elongation and, on the other hand, by their undeniable strength.
• The polyester: Polyester ropes dethrone all others. Resistance to sea salt, UV and having a flexibility almost unmatched, it is used for the manufacture of various ropes maneuvering boats, in this case the mooring and the halyard.

How to properly maintain your ropes.

The maintenance of a boat rope must take place from the moment you proceed to cut to length. Note that the fibers can only be welded after the ends have been properly sliced, heated and then welded. The first real threat to a boat rope is abrasion. To limit the risks of erosion common on a boat, you should think about protecting your moorings, and this is done by putting leather or textile over-sheathing elements on the hawsers. For boat halyard outlets, a check is especially necessary at the level of the sheets to avoid any rubbing of the protruding fittings.

Then, the maintenance of the ropes supposes a minute inspection in order to obtain an exhaustive evaluation allowing to take the adequate decisions. The safety of the boat and the crew on board is at stake! Thus, after each trip, all the ropes must be rinsed with fresh water, including the halyard, the sheet and the boat's garcette. For more precaution, remove the halyards during the winter and replace them with dyneema messengers for example. Finally, remember to wash the deck using a detergent specially designed for this purpose to keep your ropes intact. The maintenance of all your accessories is important, to carry it discover the Decathlon marine bags.

5 parameters to choose a boat halyard properly

Aside from the material, the choice of a boat halyard must take into account the following 5 criteria:

Tips for choosing a boat mooring line

To secure your boat's craft, it is recommended to use 4 mooring lines. The first 2 should have a length of 1.5 times the size of the boat, the other 2 only the length of the ship. In a more schematic way, if you have a boat that is 16 meters long, plan 2 ropes of 24 m and 2 of 16 m. To calculate the diameter of the mooring line, nothing could be simpler: add 4 to the length of the boat, which means that, for a 16 m vessel, you will ideally need to provide a mooring line type rope with a diameter of 20 mm.

As for the construction, you have the choice between a 3-strand mooring line corresponding to the most widespread mooring line. The 8-strand variant will be perfect for anchoring since it can be spliced onto a chain. Then there is the braided mooring line which, unlike the stranded rope, offers a refined but resistant line. The boat requires a rope with a relatively high elongation capacity to follow the movement of the water without too much stress. Go for a rope with an elongation percentage greater than 15%.