How much spare line?

[El Pinguino]

I carry 8 nylon docklines.... 4 *new* and 4 old... each is one and a half times boat length.

Regarding other stuff.... pretty much a spare everything.. usually the retired ones... comes to rather a lot in total.

Plus 2 full coils and 2 half coils of polyprop shore lines.

All comes back to what you are doing and where you are doing it.

[jkindredpdx]

Raindog mentioned navigating locks. You might read up the requirements before throwing too much line away.

[model 10]

Originally Posted by jkindredpdx

Raindog mentioned navigating locks. You might read up the requirements before throwing too much line away.

Went through the Panama Canal once. I needed 4 125' lines. I've never had that much spare line.
The whole line thing down there is a joke. As small boat sailors we could manage without lines. Getting around in a tight little marina with wind etc.. is much more difficult than moving through the locks down there.

[Schooner Chandlery]

My husband is a hoarder and I like having a lot of line aboard. Therefore, we've got more than needed.

A schooner has a lot of rigging. Plus, several of our wood spars have 3/16" or 1/4" three strand line lashing the foot of the sail in place--or lashing mast hoops to the sails. That gives excuse to have more than the usual amount of line.

Setting aside the anchor rodes we actually use, we carry a 600' reel of 7/8" polytron (floating) anchor line for shore ties. We've never used it. The reel resides on the monkey rail, covered in sunbrella, though.

In addition to the spare halyards (used for the fisherman if rigged) already in place on fore and mainmast, we also carry a 600' spool of New England Rope 3 strand polyester 1/2" line the same as much of our running rigging. We have 400' of 5/8" VLS polyester that is our intended kedge anchor rode but it can be used in the rig. 200' of 1/4" braid, 200' each of 3/16" and 1/4" 3 strand polyester, 200' of 1/4" dyneema that used to occasionally get pulled into use as a stern anchor/shore tie. A couple spools of the micro dyneema SpyderLine that works great for lashings, 3 spools of various sizes of the tarred polyester marline. A locker full of mooring lines (14) including one that is 150' long. Two 50' lengths of 5/8" VLS polyester (actually 3 strand arborist line by Sampson called Pro-master, we bought a 600' reel and this is the leftovers from our use of it on main & jib halyard and jib sheets...) that sometimes get tied into place to act as breast lines. Maybe six old running rigging bits that we've kept. They are 1/2" x various (75' to 150') lengths. They never get used, but we've got the room for them.

We have a LOT of spare line aboard. But then again, we have a lot of line IN the rig of our schooner.

Fair winds,
Brenda

[UNCIVILIZED]

This is ONLY running rigging on deck mind you, without spares, lashings, loops, linne shackles, etc.. Nor does it include; dock lines, warps, anchor lines, or any others.
And given say, a 40'er with a tall mast, call the halyards 150' each (Code 0's are double that), jib sheets 75' each, kite sheets & guys 100'+ each, & you can do a SWAG on the math for the others:

Main Halyard
Trysail Halyard/Spare Main Halyard (or Alternative Boom Topping Lift)
Trysail Tack Pennant
Cunningham
Outhaul
Flattener (Mainsail)
Clew Reef #1 - #3 (4)
Tack Reef #1 – #3 (4)
Baby Stay Tensioner
Jib Halyards – P/S (or Primary & Solent)
Kite Halyards – P/S (or Primary & Code)
Topping Lift (Kites/Whisker Poles) - 2 (for 2-pole spinnaker jibes)
Boom Topping Lift
Solent Halyard
Staysail halyard
Jib Downhaul
Solent/Staysail Tensioner (Deck Level)
Solent/Staysail Sail Downhaul
Code 0 Halyards - P/S
Code 0 Tensioner (Deck Level)
Jib Furling Line
Code 0 Furling Line
Foreguy – P/S
Jib Sheet #1 P/S
Jib Sheet #2 P/S
Jib Twing P/S (Alternately, Barber Haulers)
Jib Traveler/Car Adjuster P/S
Afterguy P/S
Spin Sheet #1 P/S
Spin Sheet #2 P/S (Alternatively, Reachers, Codes, etc.), & or Changing Sheet
Running Back/Checks Stay – P/S
Runner Tails - P/S
Preventer – P/S
Main Sheet (P/S)
Main Sheet Traveler - P/S
Trysail Sheets - P/S

AKA: Only amateurs ask "how much".

[barnakiel]

As a side dish in the thinking game: what is the failure rate of your running rigging?

In our present boat that got extensively sailed offshore, the rate was ... 0%.

Sheets can be run end for end and halyards can be shortened, etc.

If you running rigging is sound, you need only very little spare. And as you do not know what will fail, make sure the spare is something as universal as possible.

b.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

As a side dish in the thinking game: what is the failure rate of your running rigging?

In our present boat that got extensively sailed offshore, the rate was ... 0%.

Sheets can be run end for end and halyards can be shortened, etc.

If you running rigging is sound, you need only very little spare. And as you do not know what will fail, make sure the spare is something as universal as possible.

b.

Gee! You mean you don't need to tow a barge for all those lines?

[jkindredpdx]

Sorry for the thread semi-hijack I've never been through locks, but expect to take my 35ft sailboat through some dams soon. How many lines, what length, and how large of an end loop is required?

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

As a side dish in the thinking game: what is the failure rate of your running rigging?

In our present boat that got extensively sailed offshore, the rate was ... 0%.

Sheets can be run end for end and halyards can be shortened, etc.

If you running rigging is sound, you need only very little spare. And as you do not know what will fail, make sure the spare is something as universal as possible.

b.

There is a wear rate on running rigging. For example, Spinnaker Guys can get severely chafed where they pass through pole jaws, even with built in chafing gear. And even with care after every race, I've seen spinnaker guys destroyed in the course of a week long regatta.
The same's true of many other lines, & not just on racing yachts. Just walk around, & look at halyards where they exit @ mast sheaves, or get locked into line clutch jaws.
Chafe & wear is a factor, without a doublt.

Also, I always buy lines for my personal running rigging extra long. Ditto for those on boat on which I'm crewing/taking care of. However, many such lines have spliced in end hardware. Some of which lines, due to the loads which they carry, or their composition, are more than a bit tricky to re-splice. If such is possible at all (SIC).

Plus I personally know (the owner) of one notable rig shop, owned by arguably, the best known riggers on the planet, who will often flat out refuse to try & re-splice used lines, due to the difficulties involved.
And in some shops, such is SOP, unless they personally know the boat, it's crew, & have worked on their lines before/made them up to begin with.

[Schooner Chandlery]

Agree that splicing used lines can be difficult. More so with braid than 3 strand. Sometimes replacing a sheave or block to a different size/brand can go far to increase the longevity of a particular line as well.

Our gaff vang is our only line that really experiences excessive wear. We're about to replace its sheave with a much larger one to see if that will help a bit.

[Raythesailor]

I have never thrown a rope away in my life !
Just sad, my wife goes crazy when I look in rubbish skips in boat yards !

There is no sailor like an old sailor. As I said, sad.

Happy sailing

[Paul J. Nolan]

One thing's for sure; get rid of that line you've been toting around unused for seven years and before the end of the season, you'll encounter a situation where you wished you still had it.

Paul

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Paul J. Nolan

One thing's for sure; get rid of that line you've been toting around unused for seven years and before the end of the season, you'll encounter a situation where you wished you still had it.

Paul

Amen!

[zeehag]

one never knows when one may NEED desperately a goood long line to use as a shroud or stay whille underway. one never knows when one might neeed to replace a sheet or halyard.
surprisingly they do not last a long time..except on my boat! lol i have had to replace halyard in mazatlan. i have had to replace jibsheets in cedros island village. i have had to use all my spare lines at one time in barra de navidad.. i have needed more than i had in la cruz..
ok so how much line is too much?? ha ha ha ha
one can never have too much line on board ever, good luck in your decision.
of course ifyou only cruise from west marine to west marine, youhave no problem with being in an isolated place and requiring a line to repair temporarily some snapped shroud or a ruptured halyard--remember when they were slapping your mast???? lol that causes rupture .....
many many reasons to carry way too much line, and all are actual and real. they happen. even to brand new boats.