Ski Rope breakage

Ski Rope breakage

Subject: Re: Slalom ski rope and handles

>I've been skiing recreational for over 15 years and during those years
>I've gone through a rope nearly on a yearly basis; is this normal or

This is pretty normal. The more short line skiers use the ropes the more you break. At a club north of Toronto where most skiers are shortline skiers and they are a full time ski club they average a rope a month or so.

A couple of tips to help save your ropes:

  1. Keep them out of the sun when not in use. The sun kills them fast. Both the rope and the rubber on the handle.
  2. Keep them clean. Sand and grit cut fibres.
  3. Watch that they don't rub on things as skiers ski. May not be possible to avoid in all boats but try.
  4. If you tend to break them where the rope wraps the pylon, wrap it a different way. Instead of the usual "rope through itself" approach try just wrapping the loop twice around the knob.
  5. If your ropes tend to break about a foot from the shortening loops then it might be because a hot knife was used in manufacture. The hot knife leaves hard and sometimes sharp lumps at the melted rope end. These are "inside" the line when a splice is made and can cut the line from the inside out. You can pull the end out, cut the hot melt part off with a sharp knife and tuck it back in.
tj