ROPEWORK 5


The trick is to use long mooring lines – within reason the longer the better. When the tide starts to fall, very short lines will come under tension almost immediately, whereas longer lines will be less affected. There are two reasons for this. When run to bollards some distance away, the angle of the mooring lines change less as the boat drops. Secondly, the extra length means there will be more stretch available – particularly so with nylon lines.


It also helps if you can secure the lines as close above the high water mark as possible. Some quays have rings for just this purpose.


ROPE HANDLING


In his hilarious account of a trip up the Thames in the 1880s, Jerome K Jerome – author of Three Men in a Boat – wrote ‘I firmly believe that if you took an average tow-line and stretched it straight across the middle of a field, and then turned your back on it for thirty seconds, when you looked round again you would find it had got itself altogether in a heap…’.


How true – not just of tow-lines but of ropes in general. Indispensable though they certainly are, they’re inclined to be unruly. The only way to keep them tamed is to stow them away properly in the first place.


Coiling


A tradition born of practical experience is that ropes should be coiled in a clockwise direction – that’s to say clockwise when coiling with your right hand into your left. This arises from the construction of 3-strand ropes which have a tendency to kink if coiled the other way. Actually there’s no reason why braided ropes shouldn’t be coiled anti-clockwise, but it’s better to get into the habit of following the convention so it becomes second nature to you. Since it requires only modest dexterity, left-handed folk are advised to do the job right-handed. With each turn you make, it’s important to give the rope a slight twist between thumb and forefinger to allow it to lie comfortably against the proceeding turns. If the rope is in use – perhaps a mooring line – start at the point where it’s made fast. If you start at the free end, kinks will develop as you near the cleat.


Of course, large ropes are too heavy to be coiled into your hand. These should be coiled onto the deck – again clockwise with a little twist to ease the way.


RYA Seamanship for Sea Anglers


41


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