Thread: Synthetic winch rope - life span

Same "quick flick" shows numerous orange mooring lines, having trouble loading pic from my Gallery (medium image icon seems to be missing), Regards Frank.

Originally Posted by Bushie

Quick flick through google images suggests things have changed Frank.


Martyn

I'm in the State Emergency Services our rope has a life span of 10 years and then must be thrown out regardless of condition. I hate it as it seems wasteful but them the rules

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one of the inspection criterea fo synth slings and lines is fadbing of the rope. If the rope is not coloured evenly or is excessively faded its to be turfed.

Originally Posted by Tank

Well I worked in shipbuilding and repair for over 20 years and have seen every colour including orange mooring lines, Regards Frank.

I don't doubt you Frank. I've seen every colour line as well I just haven't seen an orange Ship's Mooring line. Neither have I heard of any line made a specific colour to be UV proof. In the Spectrum, Orange is closer to Infra red than it is to Ultra Violet, so it would be more likely to absorb UV than reflect it.
Ships, especially Tankers, are beginning to use the new super lines which come in different colours, mostly blue. At 20 mill they are good for more than 60 Ton. They also last for many years, mooring after mooring. The same stuff is used for the winch ropes you can buy today. They are not easily cut,(I stated earlier that they were. That was wrong.) as I found out when I wrapped one around my prop. Keep it clean and it should last a long time. UHMWP fibre rope is highly resistant but not impervious to all of the nasties that affect synthetic fibres.
Cheers Billy.
Some pics of a typical day at the office.

Sorry Frank. This ship came in at 18:00 Hrs 10/6/15., IE earlier this evening, sporting brand new head lines.

They say it takes a big man to admit he was wrong.

In that case it probably takes an even bigger man to post the evidence that shows he was wrong.

Well done! It's good to see that you are more interested in the truth than in merely winning an argument.

Thanks vnx205. My Dad used to say "You're not often right Billy, but your wrong this time."

Originally Posted by cuppabillytea

I don't doubt you Frank. I've seen every colour line as well I just haven't seen an orange Ship's Mooring line. Neither have I heard of any line made a specific colour to be UV proof. In the Spectrum, Orange is closer to Infra red than it is to Ultra Violet, so it would be more likely to absorb UV than reflect it.
Ships, especially Tankers, are beginning to use the new super lines which come in different colours, mostly blue. At 20 mill they are good for more than 60 Ton. They also last for many years, mooring after mooring. The same stuff is used for the winch ropes you can buy today. They are not easily cut,(I stated earlier that they were. That was wrong.) as I found out when I wrapped one around my prop. Keep it clean and it should last a long time. UHMWP fibre rope is highly resistant but not impervious to all of the nasties that affect synthetic fibres.
Cheers Billy.
Some pics of a typical day at the office.

G'day, cuppabillytea,
Sort of off topic, but your tug pictures look like they are of one of the former Harbour Lighterage tugs?
Leveret or Fern Bay?
I grew up playing on them and later working on them, I knew them from the mid 70's until the Harbour Lighterage business was shut down and the tugs sold off at auction.

I have worked on most of them...
leveret, Fern Bay, Betts Bay, White Bay, Utah, Sydport, Throsby, George H Weyerhauser, Mort Bay, Seaport, Van, Valiant, and many others over the years.

But when the company shut down I went overseas to the UK to work at Land Rover and my Life then took a different direction......

My father also spent 37 years working for HL on the same tugs and he was the last employee when the company finally shut.

Regards,
Mike.