Guy Hardy asked: > Any tips for the uninitiated? Ron Jones replied: > Nice long centre rope.
Iain Street commented > But not long enough to go round the propellor :-) I keep hearing this mantra that "No rope should be long enough to reach the prop" which IMHO is a load of old tosh. In 20 years boating (the last seven of which have mostly been fairly intensive single handing), I've never had (or even heard of) a boat's rope actually getting caught on the prop. Even if the rope did get caught all you will end up with is some combination of a broken or damaged rope, a stalled engine and a trip down the weed hatch to clear the blade. I suppose there is some theoretical risk of being crushed between the boat and the rope as it tightens, but if you're into worrying about risks that small you should probably not go anywhere near a boat . How long is Gamebird's centre rope? Given that Gamebird is 26' long, I guess it must be around 15'. Not much use in a deep lock. :-) Arun's centre rope is somewhere around 50 - 60' long, which allows me plenty of scope for using it with inconveniently placed bollards in deep broad locks and in other unusual situations such as Beeston Iron lock on the Shroppie. Terry Streeter NB Arun - Wendover Arm
