Cleaning idea...

[Jaycb]

Hi guys. Here's a great little tip...
I've been cleaning and oiling all of my Dart 15 "bits" over the weekend and thought of a great way to give all of the ropes (mainsheet, jib sheets, uphaul etc.... a good clean. I tied the loose ends to each other, then put everything in one of those net bags that peaple use to clean socks in the washing machine. I put the machine on a 40C wash with a non-bio gel tablet and there you have it - all the ropes lovely, clean and supple again

[KarlPountney]

I must admit that I've bunged my ropes in the washing machine before, but it really isn't recommended by rope manufacturers, especially braid-on-braid ropes. Also, where specialist rope washing services exist the machines used seem to be top-loaders. Recognition, probably, that a stray rope is a sure-fire way to strangle the misses' laundry slave to death.

Hand washing in warm water with a small amount of detergent is what you see on most rope suppliers support pages. However, in the climbing world you can get dedicated rope washers which attach to a garden hose. You feed the rope in one end and clean rope comes out the other. They're pretty expensive, but I found a few months back a DIY version which I've yet to have a go at making.

http://www.knick-knack.com/howto/climb/ ... asher.html

K.

[Robert]

Or just go for a sail when it's blowing old boots (inland water, of course) . . .