@john.hartmangruber@gmail.com said:
How does paracord 1100 or 550 compare?
I’m pretty sure 550 would be fine.
@string said:
I know some big boat owners who will appreciate the 3 I ordered.
It isn’t surprising that someone named string has a collection of, well, string
I live in a pretty rural area. We do have a Home Depot, yes, but the rope selection isn’t great. And yes, I want it in purple.
@NotThePainter said:
So I order the 1/4" stuff from the link above. It was also huge, 1/3". I wrote off and they told me that rope diameter is measured under tension! Ok, I didn’t know that. The rope on my current bow/stern lines is 3/8" not under tension.Anyhow, we ordered some 550 paracord, we’ll see how that works out.
Let us know what you think about the 550 paracord. I realize the 1100 may be overkill but the larger diameter lines seem to be a bit easier to tie and undo a truckers hitch slip knot.
I can certainly tie a truckers hitch but the Thule carabiner/ratchets are so much easier to use…
I’ve bought all kinds of rope from HD.
Haven’t been real happy with any of it.
@string said:
I’ve bought all kinds of rope from HD.
Haven’t been real happy with any of it.
Most of mine comes from West Marine.
“Purple”… OK
@string said:
I’ve bought all kinds of rope from HD.
Haven’t been real happy with any of it.
I agree. It’s all just cheap utility stuff, and hardly Samson or New England Rope quality.
The paracord should be okay though.
Nite Ize CamJam. I was given a pair for Christmas, and I’m definitely a fan. It makes it very easy to snug up to a desired tension and holds it there. Then I still tie it off so that it won’t slip. Much the same as I do with the Thule ratchets. I believe the truckers hitch is said to reduce a rope’s load limit by 50 percent, which may or may not be a big deal, depending upon the original limit and the load. But if you’re using the same basic setup all the time, you also wear it quickly where you commonly snug up rope on rope. These CamJam things eliminate most of that, and I just find them quick and easy to work with. Handle one once, and you can see that while they’re not foolproof - someone could be enticed by quick and easiness into using it carelessly, it doesn’t take a genius either.
It’s always a treat to come upon something that works nicely for you.
Pretty cool. I must check them out.
NotthePainter: here you go (purple cordage). I have some of this 3 mm cord in orange – that’s what’s on this canoe on my Mazda. Outdoor gear shops sell this cordage in various sizes – some of it is strength rated to use with rock climbing protection devices so it is strong and knots well.
Willowleaf, Nice pic. I see you have some cord wrapped around the crossbars. Does it reduce the wind noise significantly or just a little?
I have the Yakima cor bars that aren’t as noisy as the square or round bars but would still like to reduce the noise level at highway speeds.
Yes, the cord wrap does eliminate a lot of the wind noise. It also helps me pick my generic grey blob-mobile out of the crowds of nearly identical vehicles in large parking lots (at least when there are no boats atop it.) Though what used to be bright orange cord has faded and needs to be replaced to perform that spotting function best.
Easy to do the wrapping and the Thule rubber caps jam on to hold the ends. Though I wish I could figure out a way to keep those caps from disappearing. Just bought what must have been my 5th package of them to replace a missing couple during the trip to Maine last month. I wish Thule sold them by the dozen.
By disappearing do you mean they fall off or someone taking them?
A quick once or twice around with some black Gorilla tape might solve both possible problems.
Tried the tape and it eventually sloughed off. I think they just get knocked off or fall out over time. Back when I had the long Thule bars on the lower roofed Volvo 740 I had to replace the black caps with bright orange rubber balls so I would quit poking myself in the eye and beaning myself on the noggin with the bar ends.
Actually if I root around in my old boxes of assorted industrial electrical parts and pieces I may have some extra large gauge black cable splice shrink tube and could try melting that over the caps and bars. The tube for 1000 MCM XHHW wire should fit.