Coated nylon anchor rode for windlass?

[sv_sharky]

Hey all, my nylon anchor rode looks to be in fantastic condition, but at 30 years old I'm still looking at replacing it. I see the West marine new England rope is about twice the price, but says it's been coated to work better in a windlass.

Is this something mandatory for use in an electric windlass? My windlass manual says 3 strand nylon, but doesn't mention needing to be coated.
thanks!

[SailingHarmonie]

Your existing line is not coated, or if it once was certainly is no more. Does it work satisfactorily in your windlass?

Isn't that all you need to know?

[sv_sharky]

Originally Posted by SailingHarmonie

Your existing line is not coated, or if it once was certainly is no more. Does it work satisfactorily in your windlass?

Isn't that all you need to know?

It doesn't look very used, and I wouldn't have the slightest clue as to know the chemical properties of any of that let alone how long they last etc thus my question.

Current rode works great. I googled but it seems rare that people post about actually buying new nylon rode

[GordMay]

Does any one have any idea what New England Rope’s proprietary “Marine-Tech coating” is?
They claim it " increases the rope’s wet strength and improves its fiber-to-fiber abrasion."

[GordMay]

Yale cordage offers “Maxijacket” [& ‘Maxijacket High Performance’ (HP)], a water-based urethane, premixed with color pigment for hand application.

Samson Rope’s “Pro-Gard for Nylon”: Samson has integrated the use of Pro-Gard marine finish for specific braided nylon products to ensure maximum working strength and service life. As a result of using Pro-Gard, nylon rope maintains full Work Load Limit while wet.

[Benz]

The experts tell us that Nylon has a shelf life, so that even an unused rope 30 years old will be significantly weaker than a new unused rope.

Of course, those experts are the people selling rope...

When manufacturers coat nylon rope to prevent water absorption, they usually coat the yarns before spinning or braiding the rope so the coating is all over the inside parts as well. So even if a line has worn on the outside somewhat, there's still coating on the inside which helps prevent the fibers chafing on each other and extends the life.

The coatings you can buy aftermarket are usually water-based polyurethanes, such as Maxijacket and Armourcoat. They do an admirable job of protecting and extending life. There is also a silicone coating for making things slicker.
I don't know what coating is used for NER's 3-strand, but that's not the only consideration: twist, lay, and quality control vary wildly across manufacturers, and in my experience NER 3-strand is far and away better than cheaper brands. Even at full WM retail, I'd buy New England before I bought some off-brand at half the price.