Essential Guide to Marine Rope Materials and Construction: How Ropes are Made

Understanding how ropes are made and used for running rigging will help you knot, splice and care for them better

To master the practical aspects of knotting and ropework, it is important to learn a little about the materials, tools and terminology used, as well as allowing you to converse with others about knots and ropes with confidence. Let’s start with brief notes on the materials used for making ropes and how stranded, braided and plaited ropes, are made up and marked.

Man-made fibres

Polyamide (PA) (Nylon)

Discovered in the 1930s by the Du Pont company. A very strong, smooth white rope that has the ability to stretch. Prone to going hard with age, Nylon ropes need UV protection and lose a little strength when wet.

Uses: Mooring lines, safety lines.

Polyester (PES/PET) (Dacron, Terylene, Vectran)

White fibres, retains its strength when wet and does not stretch like Nylon– particularly if pre-stretched. Hard wearing.

Uses: Halyards, static lines, control lines, general purpose.

Polypropylene (PP) (Hardy Hemp Marstron)

Used to make inexpensive ropes, and to make mock natural-fibre ropes. Also made up from split-film (blue). It floats and can be brightly coloured.

Uses: Water ski-ropes and lifelines.

Polyethylene (PE)

Made from white or coloured coarse fibres. Also floats. Polythene development has resulted in ropes being manufactured from High Modulus Polyethylene (HMPE), which is size for size as strong as steel wire rope.

Lightweight, water- resistant and low-stretch properties make it popular for use in sailing dinghies and high performance yachts, but beware, HMPE is weakened considerably by knots!

Polybenzoxazole (PBO) – (Zylon)

PBO has an extremely high tensile strength and can be used for standing rigging. Knots reduce the strength considerably, resulting in the need to terminate the ends
in either swages or around deadeyes.

Rope construction

Stranded

Left-Hand Laid: The strands are laid twisting to the left, sometimes referred to as ‘S’ laid.

Right-hand laid: As above, but laid to the right. Sometimes called ‘Z’ laid.

Hard Laid The strands are wound very tightly together, making the rope very stiff.

Soft Laid The strands are wound loosely together, making the rope soft and supple.

Four Strand Sometimes referred to as shroud-laid rope, more common on the Continent than in the UK. Has four strands and a single small strand core.

Cable Laid. Nine strands made up of 3×3 strand ropes and can be either right or left-hand laid.

Multiplait (8- or 12-strand) consists of 2 or 3 pairs of right-hand laid strands, plaited with 2 or 3 pairs of left-hand laid strands. Sometimes referred to as 8 plait, but not to be confused with 8-plait hollow braid ropes.

Article continues below…

Braided

Braid with loosely twisted core

Matt braid with 3-strand core

Braid on braid

Braid with Dyneema core

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The post Essential Guide to Marine Rope Materials and Construction: How Ropes are Made appeared first on Yachting Monthly.