Coiling and stowing The clockwise coil
The basic manner for coiling a rope is to turn it clockwise or, as the process was once called — in the Northern Hemisphere — to turn it ‘with the sun’. With three-strand rope, or a braidline with a laid-up core, this remains as important now as ever it was, because the lay of the rope makes it want to turn that way. Force it against its will and you leave it with bad memories and in a filthy temper. For days after such treatment it will kink, and be generally unwilling to run sweetly. It is perfectly true to say that a braid-on-braid rope can be properly coiled in either direction. The trouble is, if you get into the habit of coiling against the sun, you will end up doing it with three-strand line and the wrath of the ancient gods will descend. Examiners in the Yachtmaster scheme notice anti-clockwise coilers out of the corners of their eyes, and anyone who commits the atrocity becomes a marked man with a lot of slack to make up.
Start with the end that’s made fast
Unless the rope is free, unattached and out of use, always coil from where it is made fast towards the loose end. Any kinks developed during the coiling process will then be shaken off. Coiling from the free end means that the kinks will be trapped, growing worse with the enlarging coil.
Coiling into the hand or onto the deck However you intend to coil, it pays to flake a rope clear of kinks and obstructions before you start.
To coil into the hand, right-handed people should hold the coil in the left hand and pile up the turns with the right, applying half a twist to each one with thumb and forefinger to keep them lying smoothly. Most left-handers simply reverse the technique, except that the knack of applying the half-twist is for some reason more awkward to master. If the rope is too hefty or too long to hold in one hand, coil it flat on the deck. Stand over the coil and, feeding the rope from your left hand into your right, spin it down into a flat coil. The turns should pile up on one another so that they can run without fouling.
50 | MANUAL OF SEAMANSHIP
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