When to change your rope?

[Horton]

A friend of mine recently skied with the R&D guys at D3. One of the things Paul or Will ( not sure who ) said to him was that he should change his rope more often. Not for safety but because if you ski with a rope for months it will no longer have any stretch. When you go to a tournament you get a fresh rope that has a ton of stretch.

[tsixam]

A new rope with some stretch is also much better for the elbows.

Tsixam

[Old MS Accout]

I start new and switch out at mid season. I agree with Will. 

[robscholl-OF]

I change my rope every year, but now you go me thinking.  As far as tournaments, if I am in charge of the ropes I make sure we ski them all a few sets ahead of time so there is not too much stretch.  I also only buy In Tow lines which seem to always have a little stretch the first set, but after that I don't even notice it.  I have skied on other manufactures ropes and it seems the stretch never goes away.  I finally bought one of the guys we ski with an InTow line because I got tired of skiing his rubber band.   OF 

 

[Horton]

I am kind of thinking that i want a extra stretchy rope to only use for a few sets before every tounement.

[scoke]

 

Switch sections are the worst.

 I broke one on Thursday full load running late from 4 to 5 ball at 28 off. Granted 28 off but rope breaking isnt pretty. spring skiing isn't as much fun as i'd like it to be.

 

 

[robscholl-OF]

I got rid of anything to do with a switch.  I run standard length line off the pylon now.  The only switch is the one my kids jump line is threaded through.  No more carabiner, no more wondering if I have the correct length rope, and if I don't, putting in the switch section.  I have seen two rope/handle failures in person.  One was one of the Straightline handles that have the removable/replaceable bar, the plastic end broke under load, and one old rope under full load.  Neither one was pretty and I was glad it was not me.  Being only 165 lbs has its blessings, because not only do I not load the line like the big guys, but Zero Off almost does not know I am back there....    Scoke I hope you are okay.  OF

[scoke]

 

It was a sweet crash into the spray line onto right shoulder/delt then trap area and just plowed water. not a bell ringer though! thanks for asking.

Interesting comments regarding the elbows as that was thursday and I broke out a brand new masterline rope on friday. Friday until this morning my right elbow, on the inside has been a bit tender. Not sure if it's a correlation or not.

[RichardDoane]

I've got a good, used "Brenda @ InTow" rope for sale.  $30. includes shipping to the 48 states. email richard@burienautorepair.com  It's my last years rope and still in good shape.  In fact, it's still probably wet from yesterday.

[jdarwin]

We use 4 different Masterline ropes throughout the summer (only ones we've found that last and are accurate for the longest period of time).  We use them in our tournaments and then for club practice.  The 4 ropes get a total of about 750 sets on them (about 170 per) and then they are trashed.  Not only do they get stiffer, they also get shorter.

[h2odawg79]

I promply change my rope after I've run out of things to blame my skiing on!

[RichardDoane]

I used to have the bad habit of holding onto things too long, and popping the handle at the boat crew.  It took a couple of close calls before I learned to just throw the handle when things have turned to poo instead of endangering my boat crew.

[Tuney]

What's a switch section?

[eleeski]

I replace the rope whenever I run over the rope and chop it in half.

Or when I want those pretty colorful sections to actually be pretty and colorful again.

Eric

[Tuney]

I've been using the same 3 ropes since I was a kid - they've lasted a solid 15 years. Last year I found out my main rope was much too short, so I went out and bought an 11 section rope. :)

[bmiller3536]

As far as popping the handle into the boat, just get a shock tube that will prevent the handle from ending up in the boat.

With replacing ropes, I always replace mine when I run out of excuses as to why I had a bad set.

[RichardDoane]

I've seen the handle fly into the boat even with a shock tube.  Back in the INT days, there was a guy who notoriously shot the handle at the boat almost every time he skied.  One afternoon we (the boat crew) had hidden some wakeboarding helmets in the towboat, and when it was his turn to ski, we put them on and everyone got a laugh.  I think it shamed him into being a smarter skier, because I don't recall dreading having to pull him for the rest of that season.

[Thomas Wayne]

 

Back in the day (70's) the guy who drove practice for Clint Knox ("Mike", IIRC) wore a motorcycle helmet for that purpose.

TW

[lkb]

The other thing is I have twice seen a handle pop rap the rope around the driver's neck.  

[Old MS Accout]

I was at the ranch when the handle took out the windshield of the MC. The boat had a shock tube. There was glass all over the place.  

[jdarwin]

It wasn't the windshield - it was the mirror - but a mess just the same.

[454SS]

Wow you guys have seen some handle pops I've never really experienced this maybe I just give up and let go earlier then most

[bmiller3536]

Maybe I should re-state that claim.....Get a shock tube and that will reduce the chances of the handle ending up in the boat to 1 in a million.

As far as the rope wrapping around the drivers neck, had that happen to me, My girlfriend just sat there as I tried to keep the rope from strangling me, back off the throttle and continue to steer the boat. All i got was a bad case of rope burn and the realization that maybe she did not like me as much as i thought...

[Steven]

I've gotten the 'ol rope wrap twice! I used to ski with a guy who could hold on to some amazing stuff! This guy is a friggin' gorilla! When he did let loose, the handle would blow by the boat sometimes. I got lucky and was able to get the rope off my neck or get my hand between the rope and my neck. Ended up with a rope burn once though! Good times!!!

[h2odawg79]

Or, He may have just been from Tennessee or Kentucky!?!?

[Roger]

It would appear that the answer to the original question is about 1 set ago. Today, my rope broke as I exited the 4 ball at 35 off. It broke right where the braid ends at the handle end (IE: the rope forms the loop for the handle and is woven/braided back into itself). I've probably used it for just over 2 years and usually retire them based on how the wear looks at the pylon loops. This one surprised me since I've never broken a Rocky rope before. No injury as I was just hooking up when it went and I didn't have much forward momentum yet. The handle went to the bottom of the lake, but we were able to recover it when we went back out and I used a mask to look for it. The handle was on the bottom with the remaining rope pointing straight up like a lake bottom weed.

[skidawg]

That was my mirror on the mc, I change ropes whenever my club members put knots in it!