Anchor rope - slipping through gypsy

[ozscott]

Hi all - have a 710F free fall electric windlass for the anchor rode. It has always worked well but lately had started slipping where the 12mm silver/white rope is spliced into the 6mm short link chain. The rope is a little frayed and it only does it when the rope has been sitting in the water for a while (gets infused and swells a bit I think). It wont then pass the splice through the gypsy. The nylon gypsy was also a little worn on the rope/chain handling teeth.

I have now bought a stainess Gypsy for it and the manufacturer reccomends 12mm medium lay hard nylon rope to avoid slippage. I tried the existing 12mm white that I have and it slips when wet as with the nylon gypsy.

It looks like I will now have to buy the nylon anchor rope at about $150 for 100 metres. I cannot splice too well and I go my old rope spliced at Glascraft in the valley and they did a nice tight job.

Before I go and get the rope does anyone have any reccomendations for brand of rope - or doesnt it matter. It needs to be 3 strand medium lay hard nylon - I am told that, but I didnt know that you could get 'soft' anchor rope anyway.

Cheers
:)

[Roughasguts]

Ozscott, just wondering if you can spice in just were it slips, some thin nylon rope to give it more grip. Maybe only need to splice a foot or so in, and save the rest of your rope and money.

[ozscott]

...mate that is great thinking! I will have a look at that. You might well be onto somthing, because even though there would still have to be a splice rope to rope in that splice half of the bits of rope will be hard nylon and overall the splice will be smaller than the splice to the chain!

Cheers matey

[Chimo]

HI Ozscott

Further to what RAG was suggesting before you go out and buy new why don't you almost unsplice the connection to the 6mm chain and leaving the full 12 mm through the chain link reduce each of the three pieces that are there to be respliced by, say, half (ie cut half the strands off and retape the ends with elec tape) and then resplice the conection between the 12mm silver and the 6 mm chain.

Even if the 12 mm swells there should be plenty of room for it in the gypsy / teeth .

This would be worth a try I thing before you buy all new or even try to join nylon to the silver.

Good luck
Chimo

[ozscott]

thanks Chimo..do you mean reduce the strand thickness on the splice - if so wont that effect the strength which for silver is much less than nylon?

[Chimo]

I dont think so if you make sure the three strands at full size go thru the chain and then you reduce the strand thickness on the three. Even if you took half the thickness out you still have 1.5 silver rope thickness compared to the double you were trying to pass thru.

I seem to recall a thread on here a while ago and I think they might even have talked about this too and I think they were even more radical.

Maybe do a search and see what you can dig up.

Chimo

[ozscott]

Cheers Chimo will do some research - thanks mate

[Hoomooloo73]

Ozcott, If i were you I'd be taking it to someone who nows what they are doing, you wouldn't want to do it wrong, go to winch up your pick and find you've left your pick and chain on the bottom. Without mentioning names there is a small family business in brisbane, they are in the yellow pages, they have been in the game for a long time, from past experience, they know all there is to know. Prices are competitve too, they might even be able to fix your old rope, they used to be at colmslie but I believe they moved to tingalpa somewhere. Shouldn't be to hard to find them. Good Luck. Hoomooloo73

[ozscott]

Thanks matey - are they in effect professional splicers?

[ozscott]

I have had a chat to a few people. My old Silver rope is worn and frayed in parts so i ordered 100metres of nylon 3 strand for $144 and Glascraft Marine will do the tight splice for me between rope and chain and I will get them to do it so that it is tapered away from the chain. Apparantly the silver is no good because it slips and softens and gets slippery with age, whereas the nylon if anything hardens and will not jam the gypsy - and is naturally not as slippery, so really the whole rope should be nylon to give the winch a better life (and increase retrieval rate).

Cheers..PS...Will let you know how it goes.

Thanks again.

[Hoomooloo73]

Ozscott, sorry for the delayed reply, but to answer your question, yep they are professional splicers, last time I was in there they were splicing a tow line for the tugs at the mouth of the river, stuff was about as thick as your leg. They have done alot of work for me over the years with good service, they used to do Glascrafts splicing for them until one of their staff members learnt how to do it. Sounds like you've got it sorted out anyhow, next time you need some rope, look them up. Regards Hoomooloo73

[Chimo]

Hi Oz

Came across this and might be of some interest.

Cheers
Chimo
http://home.cogeco.ca/~mquill/chain_rope_splice.html

[ozscott]

Did a bit of a internet search and Emmett's ropes seems to be the go at Comsley - anyone heard of them or used them? I couldnt see a rope mob at Tingalpa H73.

Cheers Chimo - good site. I have a fid, but I am not as good at splicing nice and tight and neat with a taper as I would like. I would rather pay a pro $15-20 to get a great job. Splicing properly is somthing that I would like to get better at though - practice practice!

Cheers

[mickc]

Oszcott

I think they have moved from Colmslie to Ingleston road Tingalpa , just up and around the cnr from Tingalpa Landscapes

Mick