Braiding the lines before washing eliminates the tangle and only takes
a minute to do and undo. Whip the ends first!

Doug
s/v Callista

"Don Dando" wrote in message
. com...
Many folks say not to put lines in the washing machine but I find that
they
get clean and stay supple and comfortable to handle after being run
through
the machine. Any frayed ends will worsen, so if possible fix that before
washing the lines. (Allocate plenty of time to untie them! They really
get
knotted together)! If you have a mix of colored and white lines, I'd wash
each color separately.

Don Dando


"Lloyd Sumpter" wrote in message
news
Hi,

Spring Cleaning time for Far Cove! I usually replace the lines, but
this year money's a bit tight. They're perfectly servicable, just rather
green from the Wet Coast's winter wetness. What's a good/safe way to
clean
them? I heard an oxygen-based bleach like Oxy-Clean was good for sails -
how about dacron lines?

Same question for sail covers.

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36 - shiny engine, not so shiny lines.

I have cleaned pretty grundgy docklines and anchor rodes by laying them out
on my driveway and blasting them with a pressure washer while rolling them
back and forth under foot to get at the "bottom" of the lines. No soap was
needed and the lines looked close to new. My pressure washer is electric.
I imagine that using a higher-powered gas-powered pressure washer might
involve some risk of damage to the line fibers. All the lines I have done
this on have been 3-strand nylon. I have not tried it on braided line.
Your mileage may vary.