Coiling the Unattached Rope

More details about the Coiling the Unattached Rope

Coiling Rope Unattached

Uses: A free, or unattached, rope (like a climbing rope) is best stored in a neat coil (ABOK # 3089, p 513). The coil should be well secured so that it will remain tidily coiled and can be used quickly and easily without tangles or twists.

Making the Coil: The animation above was made using small rope for convenience but the principle applies equally well to larger ropes. Start by leaving the end slightly longer than the coil - so it remains outside the coil to avoid tangles. To make a neat round coil, it helps to slightly twist the rope as you lay each turn in your hand. To avoid introducing multiple twists, twist every other turn in the opposite direction and lay that turn "under" the line rather than "over" it as shown in frame 3 above. These alternating over and under turns will avoid accumulating multiple twists in the rope.

Finishing the Coil: The coil is finished by winding the rope tightly round the coil - with a finger (or your hand for large ropes) still inside the coil to maintain the lay of the turns. The bight is passed through the coil where your fingers were to preserve this lay until you need to use the rope.

Alternative Techniques: Another popular technique for avoiding twists and tangle is the Figure 8 Coil: no twist is put in the rope as you form each turn. Instead each turn is laid as a figure eight. The resulting coil is not as neat but does maintain the rope in a readily used format - likely to run free without tangles. The coil is completed as above.

Using the Coil: After unwrapping, the coil should be laid on the ground with the end used to start the coil underneath; this end should have been "left outside the coil" at the beginning, and should remain outside the coil undisturbed even if the rope is allowed to run out rapidly. The end used to wrap the coil should release without twists or tangles. The reason that this method of uncoiling is recommended is that it has to be used to allow a halyard to run freely and practice makes perfect.

Precautions: Ideally, any rope which has been coiled should be closely observed as it is paid out to ensure there are no kinks or knots.