> > Doug Lloyd wrote: > > As far as Input to Lotus, I met the R&R guy at the PT Symposium. I had some > > real concerns over the 50 foot tow rope that I used on the Storm Island tow > > for 6 hours (needed a better way to shorten it to 30 feet). The guy was > > more interested in a blond that was walking on the beach than hearing my > > input. Fine. My next purchase will be from Palm Equipment. I am in the process of designing a tow rope system consisting of a 15' one side, 50(?)' on the other with shock cord on both. the rationale for the 50' was to be long enough to span breakers. This represents quite a bit of bulk however, and if there are some good arguments for shortening the long one I woudl be very happy hearing it. thanks all -- : : Gabriel L Romeu : http://studiofurniture.com furniture from the workshop : http://members.xoom.com/gabrielR life as a tourist, daily journal : http://users.aol.com/romeugp paintings, photographs, etchings, objects *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Gabriel L Romeu wrote: > > > > > Doug Lloyd wrote: > > > As far as Input to Lotus, I met the R&R guy at the PT Symposium. I had some > > > real concerns over the 50 foot tow rope that I used on the Storm Island tow > > > for 6 hours (needed a better way to shorten it to 30 feet). The guy was > > > more interested in a blond that was walking on the beach than hearing my > > > input. Fine. My next purchase will be from Palm Equipment. > > I am in the process of designing a tow rope system consisting of a 15' > one side, 50(?)' on the other with shock cord on both. the rationale > for the 50' was to be long enough to span breakers. This represents > quite a bit of bulk however, and if there are some good arguments for > shortening the long one I woudl be very happy hearing it. > > thanks all I believe several suppliers do have a dual length rope set up with one end being on the short side for retrieval of an empty kayak or closer hauling and the other length being longer. I hope some one jumps in here. My memory is that the shorter one is 10-15 feet and the longer one about 35 to 50 feet. If you need to reduce bulk get rope of a smaller diameter. I think too much of the cord and bungee used in kayaking is much too thick and bulky. It is isn't as if one is rock climbing and has to deal with the extreme load forces of gravity in a fall. Surpisingly small diameter rope will do in kayaking. The same with carabiners used around kayaks. Paddlers tend to get them with rated load capacities more in line with rock climbing than with what one actually needs on the water. I am very conscious of this because of hefting folding kayak bags around. A half pound or so saved in weight of carabiners, bungee, deck lines, etc. is a half pound that one doesn't have to heft. ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Steve Cramer wrote: > > > the next loop, and so on. > > Excellent instructions. Now, how do you tie off the end so you can pull > with it? > > Steve You must have cheated and already knew how! :-) Easy, when ever you want to stop chaining, and want it to "hold"(not unravel), just pull the the "free" rope end all the way through. This is the way to lock the end of the rope, after chaining the whole length. Just put the last piece (the tip) through the last loop and pull the end. Now it can't unravel, and all you have to do to use it is pull the end back out of the loop and pull. To get it to unravel again, pull the free end back out. James *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
James Lofton wrote: > > Steve Cramer wrote: > > > > Excellent instructions. Now, how do you tie off the end so you can pull > > with it? > > You must have cheated and already knew how! :-) > > Easy, when ever you want to stop chaining, and want it to "hold"(not > unravel), just pull the the "free" rope end all the way through. > No, really, I always watched my climber friends do this and never figured it out. Thanks again for the clear directions. Steve *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> The same with carabiners used around kayaks. > Paddlers tend to get them with rated load capacities more in line with > rock climbing than with what one actually needs on the water. My first inclination was to ge a carbiner, that is, until I went to a boat store and noticed a brass clip which hook bends out a tiny bit from the catch so that you can clip something by just sliding it and hooking the other rope even if it is lying flush to the deck. Seemed to be a little better than a carbiner. -- : : Gabriel L Romeu : http://studiofurniture.com furniture from the workshop : http://members.xoom.com/gabrielR life as a tourist, daily journal : http://users.aol.com/romeugp paintings, photographs, etchings, objects *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
James Lofton wrote: > > Steve Cramer wrote: > > > > > the next loop, and so on. > > > > Excellent instructions. Now, how do you tie off the end so you can pull > > with it? > > > > Steve > > You must have cheated and already knew how! :-) > > Easy, when ever you want to stop chaining, and want it to "hold"(not > unravel), just pull the the "free" rope end all the way through. > > This is the way to lock the end of the rope, after chaining the whole > length. Just put the last piece (the tip) through the last loop and pull > the end. Now it can't unravel, and all you have to do to use it is pull > the end back out of the loop and pull. > > To get it to unravel again, pull the free end back out. > > James This is where the idea of an extra clip on the belt comes in- clip the loop where you would like it to stop and it will. unclip it to let it out again. -- : : Gabriel L Romeu : http://studiofurniture.com furniture from the workshop : http://members.xoom.com/gabrielR life as a tourist, daily journal : http://users.aol.com/romeugp paintings, photographs, etchings, objects *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Gabriel L Romeu wrote: > > > The same with carabiners used around kayaks. > > Paddlers tend to get them with rated load capacities more in line with > > rock climbing than with what one actually needs on the water. > > My first inclination was to ge a carbiner, that is, until I went to a > boat store and noticed a brass clip which hook bends out a tiny bit from > the catch so that you can clip something by just sliding it and hooking > the other rope even if it is lying flush to the deck. Seemed to be a > little better than a carbiner. > -- Given the rate at which carabiners corrode in salt water, a better solution is like Gabriel's. There are also stainless steel biners in marine supply stores (brand escapes me - made in France) that are very good. They are teardrop shaped, rather than oval or D shaped, and have a heavy wire gate. The line that is "permanently" attached to the biner has a separate hole to tie into, so the biner doesn't twist around. One significant advantage is that these stainless biners have no "hook" where the gate meets the biner to engage the wire. Thus lines can go through the gate smoothly. (All my accessory biners in aluminum have had these hooks cut/ground off 'cause they snag so much). Don't confuse these with the larger stainless biners that do have such a hook. The larger ones are circular in cross section, while the ones I like are teardrop in section as well as in overall shape. Down side is cost - they're twice what a climbing biner is (but they last much longer!) They're also somewhat heavier. Mike *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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