Old but good triple strand line

[Fred]

I have a few hundred feet of triple strand line that is in good condition but is very stiff so splicing it is pretty impossible to put either a thinmble or eye splice in it. Does anyone have any good suggestions for old line like this? This was an anchor line and I am talking about the end that was never used so it just sat in the locker getting older. Fred

 

[red coles]

Old and stiff

Hello Fred; Sounds like your describing me. Anyway have heard you can soak old line in fabric softener. Don't know proportions. Try half bottle in 5 gal. water.  Good luck red

 

[steven f.]

decoration

I've seen old line used in peoples yards as decoration. They had the top of several pilings in the yard outlining a bed or garden of some type. The line was wrapped around the piles and even strung from one to the other to act as a visual fence. I've also seen one dock with old line wrapped around some of their pilings (above H20 line) as either a type of protection or just decorataive. These ideas are what you could do with the line just before you throw it out, I'm assuming that the line is no longer of any use on the boat.

 

[Don Alexander]

Stiff Line

Old Salts used to tow 'difficult' ropes astern for a couple of days. They just cleated the end and fed the rope out over the stern and left the sea to clean and freshen the line. This tended to unlay the twist a little and loosened up the lay.Nowadays I put mine (clandestinely) in the washing machine.I set it to 'hold' rather than spin at the end of its cycle, then push the button which will allow it to continue the cycle but switch off just as soon as the drum is dry and BEFORE the spin cycle starts.This way avoids huge unbalanced loads in the drum.good luck!!

 

[Vic]

Side loader best

to wash lines ... have used local coin op to wash really dirty dock lines ... didn't come out white but quite a bit cleaner and interestingly softer.

 

[Bob Camarena]

Tie before you wash

If you're going the washing machine route, tie the ends together first and put the line in a loose net cloth or net bag to eliminate tangles.

 

[Jack]

Try Boiling

Something to try if all else fails, For years radio control car racers have boiled nylon parts in water to soften the parts so they don't break on impact in a crash. You might try putting your rope in a container and fill it with water above the rope then bring it to a boil then let it cool while still in the water. The nylon obsorbs the water and softens it.Good Luck.