How do I coil my training rope for carrying around?
December 1, 2011 4:53 PM Subscribe
I just got this 1.5" by 50' twisted rope and I want to know how a seaworthy veteran might coil this thing up for transporting to and from the gym.
From what I can see most of the coils for a rope of this thickness are done without picking it up and carrying it around in mind.
The coils that are intended for carrying around on the other hand seem to be done with ropes that are thin and braided and thus don't have a preferred coiling direction.
I want to be able to coil this unwieldy beast up and tie it off so I can sling it over my shoulder for carrying without having it all come apart on me and dragging on the ground and without defying the natural clockwise coiling direction of this right-laid twisted rope.
If there is a video of someone handling a rope of this size I would love to see it...
From what I can see most of the coils for a rope of this thickness are done without picking it up and carrying it around in mind.
The coils that are intended for carrying around on the other hand seem to be done with ropes that are thin and braided and thus don't have a preferred coiling direction.
I want to be able to coil this unwieldy beast up and tie it off so I can sling it over my shoulder for carrying without having it all come apart on me and dragging on the ground and without defying the natural clockwise coiling direction of this right-laid twisted rope.
If there is a video of someone handling a rope of this size I would love to see it...
I don't know about seaworthy veterans, but rock climbers use a butterfly coil.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 5:06 PM on December 1, 2011
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 5:06 PM on December 1, 2011
this is a nice way to wrap ropes so they don't snag, unless you want something pretty.
posted by anadem at 5:11 PM on December 1, 2011
posted by anadem at 5:11 PM on December 1, 2011
With rope that thick, it's very difficult to coil it and then also secure it using itself - any knot that you tie is going to be huge, and will be hard to get the knot tight enough to remain snug during handling (it'll try and fall apart).
Your best approach will be coil it while laying on the ground, then use other, smaller pieces of line (or webbing) to tie around the coil. I'd use a piece of line or webbing about 4ft long and it into a loop, then girth hitch that loop around the rope coil. That will give you a convenient handle & sling to carry the coil with, and it's quick and easy to apply & remove.
The other replies so far all show good approach for thinner line, but don't work well for think rope.
posted by jpeacock at 5:18 PM on December 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
Your best approach will be coil it while laying on the ground, then use other, smaller pieces of line (or webbing) to tie around the coil. I'd use a piece of line or webbing about 4ft long and it into a loop, then girth hitch that loop around the rope coil. That will give you a convenient handle & sling to carry the coil with, and it's quick and easy to apply & remove.
The other replies so far all show good approach for thinner line, but don't work well for think rope.
posted by jpeacock at 5:18 PM on December 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
Sea-gasket coil is the way to go (though I had no idea that was the name of the technique). If you find the coil is too small to carry comfortably, wrap around one side of the coil only, rather than both.
posted by ssg at 5:19 PM on December 1, 2011
posted by ssg at 5:19 PM on December 1, 2011
That rope looks pretty similar in size to one of the ones we use raft guiding, though it may be a little bit thicker. When I coil it, I start the same way as Pantengliopoli's video, but when finishing it off, don't double it over ... only wrap the loose end around one thickness of the coil.
I didn't find any pictures with a quick google, but there's a trick to finishing it off tidily.
* Make a bight on the end of the rope you started the coil with,
* When you're ready to start wrapping with the other end, wrap a few times around the bight AND coil, then go through the bight.
* You can tighten it up by pulling the first end (that you used to form the bight), and carry it with the second.
The Butterfly coil is for climbing rope, which has a diameter of about 11mm. It would be really unwieldy for anything much thicker.
Anadem's video is basically showing how to form a simple crocheted chain with the rope ... this *might* work, and is fun to undo, but it'll be slower and more unwieldy than a proper coil.
posted by Metasyntactic at 5:31 PM on December 1, 2011
I didn't find any pictures with a quick google, but there's a trick to finishing it off tidily.
* Make a bight on the end of the rope you started the coil with,
* When you're ready to start wrapping with the other end, wrap a few times around the bight AND coil, then go through the bight.
* You can tighten it up by pulling the first end (that you used to form the bight), and carry it with the second.
The Butterfly coil is for climbing rope, which has a diameter of about 11mm. It would be really unwieldy for anything much thicker.
Anadem's video is basically showing how to form a simple crocheted chain with the rope ... this *might* work, and is fun to undo, but it'll be slower and more unwieldy than a proper coil.
posted by Metasyntactic at 5:31 PM on December 1, 2011
While the butterfly coil works well for climbing rope, climbing rope is a braided rope and thus you want a method of coiling that doesn't impart an overall twist to the rope. Your rope, however, is a twisted rope, so you will want to coil it working with the twist as shown in the beginning of the sea-gasket coil video linked above. If, as some people suggest, the rope is too thick to easily tie around the doubled-over coil of rope, I'd try Metasyntactic's suggestion for tying around just one side of the coil, or tie it with a short piece of thinner cord.
posted by JiBB at 5:41 PM on December 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by JiBB at 5:41 PM on December 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
Yarr! I wouldn't coil it. I'd do one of two things:
I'd fake it out (fig. 3-19) long-ways, then get some velcro wraps around the bundle to keep it that way and throw it over me shoulder, or
I'd flemish it flat (last photo on page), and have the sailmakers make me a big messenger bag to carry me rope in. Then I wouldn't have to knot it. Blue tarp-type lightweight material would be good.
posted by ctmf at 7:26 PM on December 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
I'd fake it out (fig. 3-19) long-ways, then get some velcro wraps around the bundle to keep it that way and throw it over me shoulder, or
I'd flemish it flat (last photo on page), and have the sailmakers make me a big messenger bag to carry me rope in. Then I wouldn't have to knot it. Blue tarp-type lightweight material would be good.
posted by ctmf at 7:26 PM on December 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks for the tips! I will post in here what I end up doing after experimenting with some of these suggestions!
posted by dino terror at 10:04 AM on December 2, 2011
posted by dino terror at 10:04 AM on December 2, 2011
Response by poster: OK, I decided to just wind it up sea gasket style without tying it off and slide it into a duffel bag for transport. Eventually I'd like to be able to coil it up nice and tight and compact for transport but for now this will be fine. If there was a really neat and tight coil like the flemish except not flat and wide like the flemish that would be keen.
posted by dino terror at 7:50 PM on December 2, 2011
posted by dino terror at 7:50 PM on December 2, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
Pardon the advertisements there, but it gets the idea across pretty well. If you practice your coiling you'll figure out how to naturally give it a half twist in the appropriate direction as you coil it so it becomes a nice, neat package.
You'll want a big bight at the end, since 1.5" rope is going to make for a large coil. You should be able to get it good and snug for transport that way.
posted by Pantengliopoli at 5:06 PM on December 1, 2011