What is the best way to clean dock lines (3-strans nylon)??

And how to make them 'softener??

Hanz

"Hanz Schmidt" wrote in message
...
What is the best way to clean dock lines (3-strans nylon)??

And how to make them 'softener??

Hanz


Sounds like a girly man question to me, Hanz. Worrying about soft and pretty
dock lines???

My advice. Go sailing and don't worry your pretty little head about them.
Sheeesh!

--
Gregory Hall

On Jul 20, 12:34*pm, Hanz Schmidt wrote:
What is the best way to clean dock lines (3-strans nylon)??

And how to make them 'softener??

Hanz


The short answer is DONT......

The correct answer is go to a cordage manufature's web site and read
it for yourself. Your line, if of high quality, will have a coating to
help reduce water retention... If you clean the line you may risk
removing the protective coating. THen the line soaks up water and the
breaking strength is reduced significantly.

Read the instructions..................

But if its cheep ****ty line I recomend a 3000 PSI power washer with
the most agresssive detergent.solvent you can find.
After spening an hour blowing down the line THEN you can throw it
away...............

Bob

"Hanz Schmidt" wrote in message
...
What is the best way to clean dock lines (3-strans nylon)??

And how to make them 'softener??

Hanz



Don't bother. You'll just ruin the line. They're not that expensive to
replace compared to the cost of damage if one or more breaks.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Hanz Schmidt" wrote
What is the best way to clean dock lines (3-strans nylon)??
And how to make them 'softener??

If the hardness is due to sun and age, there's nothing to do but replace
them. If they're just dirty, a good soak in some mild detergent solution
should do the trick. Sodium percarbonate (oxiclean) shouldn't harm the fiber
but stay away from chlorine bleach. The warnings to never wash rope are a
little over the top in my opinion. Climbers wash theirs, and they have a lot
on the line, so to speak.
http://www.cmi-gear.com/catalog/ropes/washer.asp
http://www.blueridgearboristsupplies...php?itemID=170

On Sun, 20 Jul 2008 13:42:52 -0700 (PDT), Bob
wrote:

On Jul 20, 12:34*pm, Hanz Schmidt wrote:
What is the best way to clean dock lines (3-strans nylon)??

And how to make them 'softener??

Hanz


The short answer is DONT......

The correct answer is go to a cordage manufature's web site and read
it for yourself. Your line, if of high quality, will have a coating to
help reduce water retention... If you clean the line you may risk
removing the protective coating. THen the line soaks up water and the
breaking strength is reduced significantly.

Read the instructions..................

But if its cheep ****ty line I recomend a 3000 PSI power washer with
the most agresssive detergent.solvent you can find.
After spening an hour blowing down the line THEN you can throw it
away...............

Bob


Following from: http://www.neropes.com/LineCare.aspx

(that is New england Ropes, by the way)

Dirt and Cleaning
Dirt and salt can cause premature wear. Frequently wash rope and
running rigging with fresh water. For a more thorough cleaning, soak
your rope in warm water mixed with a mild detergent. Add a small
amount of fabric softener to soften the rope. When possible, use a
front loading washing machine; otherwise, wash your rope in a mesh bag
or pillowcase to avoid tangling. Rinse thoroughly and hang to dry in
indirect sunlight.

Bruce-in-Bangkok
(correct Address is bpaige125atgmaildotcom)

wash your rope in a mesh bag

Definitely a good plan. Otherwise you end up with a knot of Gordian
proportion. That and the agitator will probably wind the line up tight
enough to put way too much stress on the fibers.

Bruce in Bangkok wrote in
:

When possible, use a
front loading washing machine;

Yep...brought home the lot and washed in my front loader Frigidaire with
the usual cheap detergent. Lines looked new and salt stiffness gone.

If you're squeemish about salt water in your $4000 super washer 5000, take
them to a laundromat without an attendant that has front loader commercial
machines.

DO REMEMBER TO TAKE ANY ANCHORS AND HEAVY TACKLE OFF THE LINES!

On Mon, 21 Jul 2008 04:41:26 +0000, Larry wrote:

Bruce in Bangkok wrote in
:

When possible, use a
front loading washing machine;

Yep...brought home the lot and washed in my front loader Frigidaire with
the usual cheap detergent. Lines looked new and salt stiffness gone.

If you're squeemish about salt water in your $4000 super washer 5000, take
them to a laundromat without an attendant that has front loader commercial
machines.

DO REMEMBER TO TAKE ANY ANCHORS AND HEAVY TACKLE OFF THE LINES!

I recently washed all the lines, except the cable to rope halyards, in
the home washing machine, actually I carried them home and my wife
washed them as I am not considered sophisticated enough to run the
washes and put in all the correct chemicals in the correct holes. But
I digress.

We washed each line separately and stuffed it into a mesh bag before
washing. The same dose of soap and fabric softener was used for each
line. Everything went well until we washed the spinnaker halyard,
about 90 ft. of 1/2 inch double braid. When that came out of the
washer threads from the inner braid were pulled out through the outer
braid in small loops about every 3 ft. for nearly the length of the
line. The size of the loops were all approximately the same size and
were equally spaced along the line.

Anybody got any idea what happened? I really don;t ant to be buying a
new piece of rope every time I wash it.

Bruce-in-Bangkok
(correct Address is bpaige125atgmaildotcom)

Larry wrote:

Bruce in Bangkok wrote in
:

When possible, use a
front loading washing machine;

Yep...brought home the lot and washed in my front loader Frigidaire with
the usual cheap detergent. Lines looked new and salt stiffness gone.

If you're squeemish about salt water in your $4000 super washer 5000, take
them to a laundromat without an attendant that has front loader commercial
machines.

DO REMEMBER TO TAKE ANY ANCHORS AND HEAVY TACKLE OFF THE LINES!

LOL

Our anchor is all chain on the primary rode, and we've never used the
alternate anchors that we have, so that should be 'like new'

Bob brings home the lines when we put the boat up in the winter, and
washes them in our washer. We have about 14 docklines that we use on
a regular basis plus some that are on the pin rails for use when we go
into another marina, so this takes him awhile. He usually dries them
on the front porch.