For those of you that carry a tow line or heaving line…
How do you repack the rope back into its bag (so it doesn’t end up as a huge knot when you need it) ?
- jam it in!
- fold it neatly.
- roll it up.
- other - please explain.
Hold the bag in one hand and
stuff the rope in with the other.
If you coil it up first and stuff it in you’ll make a big knot.
Practice throwing it and you’ll get practice restuffing it
Rope over your shoulder
Bag held in front
Feed rope in
Practice throwing again
In real life there is no time to reload the bag so dip it into the water to add weight and rethrow
drape the rope over your shoulder,
with the bag even with you stomach area. For smaller bags its possible to cram the rope in the bag by pulling down and pushing in with both hands while still holding the bag. For large diameter rope sometimes holding the bag in one hand and cramming with the other is easier.
Many throw bags are overstuffed with rope when you buy them so if your having trouble getting the last little bit in bag and using the cord lock, you might consider cutting a foot or so and retying the loop.
“Feed” it in
– Last Updated: Apr-23-15 10:56 PM EST –
If you "feed" the rope into the bag, it will not get jammed up or make a knot when it gets pulled out again. As you feed it in, keep laying it into various parts of the bag so the bag fills evenly from bottom to top. Laying the rope in place in a coiling action wastes all that space in the middle and you'll run out of room long before the whole rope is in.
It sounds like you are imagining what might go wrong. Just throw it and repack it a few times and all your worries will vanish. Edit: Opps, I was talking about throw ropes above. Forget the part about careful filling, but you STILL won't have to worry about accidental knotting.
daisy
Some of us daisy chain the line before stuffing. That way we can use it as a short tow rope … or let it unravel for a long tow rope.
Yes daisy chain
– Last Updated: Apr-23-15 11:44 PM EST –
Daisy chaining allows you to adjust the length of the rope quickly on the water. Gordon Browns DVD Sea Kayak Volume 2 shows how its done. You might find a youtube video on how to do it. Hard for me to explain. I also use a carabiner like Gordon Brown shows to make quick adjustments to length. That's the best way for a sea kayaker to have his tow belt set.
White water guys with throw bags are a different story.
Throw bags and tow belts
are very different, although I have seen some tow belts where the rope is removable and can be used as a small throw bag.
For throw bags, the rope is stuffed loosely in the bag. Practice is important not only for throwing, but also for swimming. Throws can be underhand, sidearm or overhand depending on the conditions - especially overhanging trees. Second throws are usually done by coiling the rope. Once the rope is received by the swimmer a single rescuer will need to brace/belay to keep from losing the rope or getting pulled downstream.
The swimmer receiving the rope should be on their back with the rope over the shoulder, across the chest and leaning away from the thrower. If you lean toward the thrower you will end up on your stomach with a face full of water. Never wrap the rope around any part of your body.
Good things to practice on warm summer days.
As dc9 said,
WW applications are a bit different, but I re-stuff exactly like guideboatguy. I also find it helps to shake the bag occasionally. As an old paddling friend/mentor says, “neatness does not count”.
I ds9 and it work well.
If the size of the bag allows, I get my
entire large hand inside, wrist flexed, and pull the rope in and past my hand with repeated wrist extensions. Draping the rope over my shoulders does help.
On a rope where the bag was too small to get my hand inside, I sewed an extension sleeve onto the lip of the bag.