A tale of two rodes

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IH82BL8

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Feb 6, 2013
437
Hunter 31 Deale, MD
My boat came with two complete sets of what appear to be identical ground tackle, except that one rode is fairly pliable and the other is very stiff--in fact I'm sure I could not belay a cleat with it. Do you think it's just clogged with salt or did the previous owner buy the wrong line? It looks clean, I guess it's possible that it's been bleached. If I soak it in fresh water, should I add something to lubricate the fibers?

Thanks.
 
P

Pat

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Jun 7, 2004
1,250
Oday 272LE Ninnescah Yacht Club, Wichita, Ks.
I have had success washing lines in the clothes washer and also I do add fabric softener to the final rinse.. I do not dry them with hot air, rather set them on a lower dryer temperature. pat
 
NotCook

NotCook

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Dec 29, 2008
806
Treworgy 65' LOA Custom Steel Pilothouse Staysail Ketch St. Croix, Virgin Islands
It sounds like a line that has been over stressed and overheated and the fibers fused together. If so, they are brittle and no longer have their rated strength.
 
zeehag

zeehag

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Mar 26, 2009
3,198
1976 formosa 41 yankee clipper santa barbara. ca.(not there)
try rinsing it off...was probably just not rinsed after use. all my 3 strand get stiff, and i rinse em somewhat annually.
takes more than a small amount of water to rid the line of salt from use
 
ggrizzard

ggrizzard

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May 27, 2004
2,059
Hunter 30_74-83 Ponce Inlet FL
Er, you say it's clean, white and stiff?
Sound like it's new to me.
 
Dan Johnson

Dan Johnson

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Oct 14, 2005
2,191
1983 Hunter H34 North East, MD
Stiff rode...

Lay the stiff rode out on your driveway when it gets warmer and use a pressure washer to get all the gunk out of the twists (assuming its 3 strand). Roll it back and forth with your foot as you work down the length (will probably need to be "weaved" up and down the drive due to length). Doesn't need to be soapy, just clean rinse water.
 
centerline

centerline

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Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
NotCook said:
It sounds like a line that has been over stressed and overheated and the fibers fused together. If so, they are brittle and no longer have their rated strength.
Click to expand
not likely...
a rode that is in the water and overstressed will show no signs of damage other than possible broken fibers.... the water keeps it cool and lubricated so it wont fuse or become stiff...

if its perfectly dry it may just be dried salt in the fibers, which can cause extreme stiffness sometimes. soaking it will tell if its salt in the rope, as it will become limp again when wet.
if its new it shouldnt be so stiff that it would be a question, as new rope looks and feels like new rope.

but if the previous owner went cheap and bought crab line for it, or some other hard-lay type of rope, then it needs to be discarded and replaced with a proper line...
 
Ron20324

Ron20324

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Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
Just this week I washed some the boom lines and jib sheets in a washing machine with just a bit of detergent. The washer filled, agitated for 3 minutes, then I stopped the machine for thirty minutes to soak the lines. Then the another several minutes to agitate then advanced the dial to drain/rinse/spin. I took 2 cycles like this before I was happy they were clean enough. The water was DIRTy- and probably salty, too, but I figured it all came out. I would not suggest heated drying, but and extra spin cycle will get more water out of the lines. I dried them in the condo at room temprerature.
 
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