Ropes & lines for a new rib

[DGS]

Hi Please could someone advise the recommended length & diameter and what type of rope, aswell as the number of ropes that I would need for a new 4.8m rib (I have anchor with line already). Thanks

[BogMonster]

I'm not sure there is a recommended length as it depends on where you tie up and what to and to a certain extent what attachments you have on your boat - some have remarkably few!

On my 5.8m I made up my own lines out of 10mm white nylon rope, bought in bulk and cut to length and spliced myself, 3 strand rope is easy to splice yourself and a skill worth learning. This has a breaking strain of 2000kg which is plenty and gives a bit of stretch if you find yourself bouncing around a bit.

I have seven main attachment points on the boat;

- Bow eye
- Two cleats on the tubes forward of the console
- Two cleats at the rear of the tubes
- Two cleats on the A frame

As I run around in mine with lines attached all the time, I have sized the painter and the two forward lines to be all just too short to reach and tangle in the prop if the loose end becomes detached and falls in the water when underway - I made them about each a foot too short so the painter on the bow eye is about 5 metres and the other two are about 4.5 I think.

They are secured when underway but this guards against the obvious possibility of one coming adrift and getting your prop tied to the front of the boat while underway and being unable to tilt the engine up to do anything about it!

Obviously you can't do this with the stern lines or they would be useless but being attached at the stern they are less likely to get sucked under the boat so those are about 5 metres on mine.

You may also wish to have a "tow line" in case of breakdown, in my case I would intend to use the anchor line which is 50m of the same rope, but I also carry about 20m of rope in the console just as an extra.

That's just what I've done, as I say I don't think there is any right or wrong answer but the bigger variety of ropes you carry the more likely you are to have the right one for the circumstances

[Max...]

I had a a painter as per BogMonster and carried a 5m and a 10m line (in 10mm prop). And the anchor rope of course.

[Hightower]

Long rope lengths are sometimes a pain in the arse when they're not needed so I keep lots of different lenghts from 3 meters to 12 meters, you can always join them together for longer runs. But if it's pontoons you usually tie up to the 3 meters ones will be fine unless you're rafting. My worse mooring is against the wall at Yarmouth when I might have to raft. You need two short warps for tying to the boat you're rafting to and two longer warps to run ashore.

Can't stress enough what a good Idea it is to Keep rope lengths short enough not to foul the prop

[LyamGalpin]

Both the bow and stern lines need to be 1.5 times the length of the boat. Diameter of the rope is up to you.

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[TonyC]

Originally Posted by LyamGalpin

Both the bow and stern lines need to be 1.5 times the length of the boat. Diameter of the rope is up to you.

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The Bow line should not be able to reach the propellor to prevent prop wrap. If you need a longer bow line for a particular job, lengthen it with one of Hightowers bits of spare rope.

[BogMonster]

Originally Posted by LyamGalpin

Both the bow and stern lines need to be 1.5 times the length of the boat. Diameter of the rope is up to you.

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So ... when you drop the bow line over the sharp end (which you will do at some point) and it whistles down the keel to the blunt end and does a dozen turns round the prop before the engine stalls, and you can neither reach the bow eye to cut it at that end, nor reach the prop to cut it off because it is under water and you can't tilt the engine 'cos it's attached by a by-now-very-tight rope to the bow eye, what are you going to do next? Apart from curse having a rope long enough to reach the prop

[Screaming04]

Painter shorter than boat length is great for dinks with kids operating but if you're trailering a large boat you need some length to get on the trailer. If you're worried about swallowing the bow line with your prop, make it fast or remove the bow line when not in use.

Is you're anchor rode shorter than your boat length as well?

[Hightower]

Originally Posted by Screaming04

Painter shorter than boat length is great for dinks with kids operating but if you're trailering a large boat you need some length to get on the trailer. If you're worried about swallowing the bow line with your prop, make it fast or remove the bow line when not in use.

Is you're anchor rode shorter than your boat length as well?

If you need a longer rope for boat handling when launching/recovering, why not attatch a temporary longer rope? Stops any accidents when the crew member forgets to cleat the long bow line

I launch and recover my RIB by trailer all the time single handed and my bow painter is only 5 meters long, I never have any problems.

My Anchor is safely stored in the anchor locker whilst underway, stop people falling on it.

[LyamGalpin]

Or you just use a bit of common sense and secure all lines once you've moved away.

Those lengths are the recommended lengths laid down by the RYA

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[biffer]

all of what the other's have said, the best advise i can give you is, if you can, have a line fixed at the helm, when you come onto a pontoon you can flick it over a bollard without leaving your station, once you've got that line on you can do what you like with the rest

[9D280]

I'm pretty much set up as per Bogmonster -

Painter 12mm three strand - stops about an inch short of the transom (and it doesn't matter how careful you are, it WILL go over the side at some point)

Two stern ropes fixed to the A- frame each about 2.5m, both floating rope. The theory is that it;s quick & easy alongside a pontoon or for a more permanent rafting, anything else like a high pier I dig out one of the longer ones) I also have a couple of sub 1m ropes one either side at the helm position. Ideal for a quick turn round a cleat alongside in a marina while I sort out the proper lines or a quick rafting for lunch.

I also carry 2x 10m, 2x 30m and a selection of sub 6m 10-ish nm lines. The 10/30 m ones for use as tow / mooring alongside piers etc when the "installed" ropes are too short. My theory is that I don't want miles of rope swiling around the bottom of the boat when they get used about once every third solstice, so when I need a long rope, I get it out. Also if you are towing, a towing bridle (short loop between the two eye/ U bolts on the transom) is a good idea. I have mine on a snap shackle, so it can be removed / installed easily.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Screaming04

Painter shorter than boat length is great for dinks with kids operating but if you're trailering a large boat you need some length to get on the trailer.

The OP has a 4.8m boat so not that large. However I can't really see why you need such a long painter for trailering. Half the people on here drive 75% of the way onto their trailer. The other half will get the bow on and then winch the rest of the way. My winch strap reaches beyond the length of the trailer. By the time I've attached the winch the painter (slightly shorter than the boat) will reach the front of the trailer.

If you're worried about swallowing the bow line with your prop, make it fast or remove the bow line when not in use.

A permanently installed painter is very useful - i'd support the suggestion that it should be short enough it never reaches the prop no matter what you do. A removable longer bow line is also a useful thing for some occasions - I don't see why they are being described as mutually exclusive.

Is you're anchor rode shorter than your boat length as well?

I think Bogmonster had some a good job of describing why a relatively short rope attached to your bow eye that reaches your prop is a bad idea. The issue with taughtness and difficulty accessing the bow eye don't apply to an anchor rope, but they are also much more likely to be properly stowed and if dropped over the side usually have a big heavy weight which kelps keep them clear of the prop.

Originally Posted by LyamGalpin

Or you just use a bit of common sense and secure all lines once you've moved away.

Those lengths are the recommended lengths laid down by the RYA

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Its too late once you have moved away though - it only takes a fumble with the painter when you are moving away to find yourself adrift and disabled if it is long enough to reach the prop. I've no idea if the RYA has actually made those recommendations or not (nor if they are bieng read in the correct context) - but why would you assume that everything the RYA says is right for every situation. I can see no disadvantage to the short painter plus longer removable ropes when required model used by many people here. As others have said there will be harbours where 1.5x 4.8m (as per OP) will not be long enough.

[BogMonster]

The RYA also recommend a boat should have a big stick in the middle with some bedding attached to it for propulsion

I launch and recover single handed onto a beach every time and don't have any problem with painter length so not sure why that is meant to be a problem.

I used to have a line attached at the helm for mooring as per Biffer, tied off to a lifeline, haven't got that on the new boat but I tend to have a line off the forward cleats within reach if coming alongside anything in windy conditions as you have to be quick when solo - a quick turn around something and then astern with full lock in the direction of the pontoon gets everything under control quickly.

[Ian M]

Originally Posted by Hightower

Can't stress enough what a good Idea it is to Keep rope lengths short enough not to foul the prop

Sounds like someone's been caught out eh?

[Ian M]

Just like to point out that the RYA are not the only organisation that states your painter should not be long enough that it can foul the prop - BSAC used to incorporate that recommendation in their boat handling syllabus (don't know whether it is still there, many years since I was involved with BSAC boat handling courses!)

[LyamGalpin]

Their only recommended lengths and their recommended as they are suitable lengths in case you need to be towed or have to tow a casualty vessel.

Like many of you again my lines are secured by the console so the helm can easily use them when required.

Floaty rope is a good choice.

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[Poly]

Originally Posted by Ian M

Just like to point out that the RYA are not the only organisation that states your painter should not be long enough that it can foul the prop - BSAC used to incorporate that recommendation in their boat handling syllabus (don't know whether it is still there, many years since I was involved with BSAC boat handling courses!)

Ian, LyamGalpin is actually suggesting the RYA say the opposite - that it should be 1.5x boat length.

Originally Posted by LyamGalpin

Their only recommended lengths and their recommended as they are suitable lengths in case you need to be towed or have to tow a casualty vessel.

Even 1.5x casualty vessel length is quite short except for a short tow, in relatively favourable conditions.

[SPR]

my definition of painter : a rope that is shorter than the boat when attached to the front if boat.

I think chewy or mollers on another thread suggested you can slip knot up a length of rope and use that as painter - a knotted rope this way is about 4 times shorter!

I believed they said the d class life boats do this ...

best of both worlds !

[Hightower]

Originally Posted by Ian M

Sounds like someone's been caught out eh?

Never done it myself. I've seen it happen to people who should have known better though