Nylon winch rope vs sunlight

[IronYuppy]

I see that a few of you guys have switched to nylon line for your winches.

I noticed with my boat a few years ago that some nylon lines became faded and brittle over time, and I'm sure their tensile strength also deteriorated.

For those of you whose winches are exposed to constant sunlight, have you noticed any deterioration in the fabric of the line?

 

[e9999]

nylon?

 

[Hayes]

Don't have a synthetic winch rope to comment on, but I can say that nylon, and to a lesser extent polyester, are sensitive to UV light and can be compromised by lots of exposure (how much?).
I would think that the typical winch location on an 80 prevents constant direct exposure from sunlight, but I guess circumstances could vary.
I would also speculate that grit and grime would be the downfall of synthetic winch rope long before UV deterioration.

Hayes

 

[Scamper]

As haynes notes, nylon, is degraded by UV exposure, so it will get weak after time (at least the parts on the outer coil of the winch).

That said, I don't use a winch, but would imagine nylon to be one of the most dangerous materials to use on a winch. Nylon is capable of stretching to an extreme degree, and in doing so, stores an enormous amount of potential energy in the rope when stretched. If by chance that rope were to break during a recovery, anyone in the path of that rope (or those rope ends) could be in a world of hurt. Unlike cable, it will whip around like a rubber band.

I recall using a 3/4 inch nylon rope being used to tow a boat in my youth...the boat was in serious risk of sinking, and the rope streched and broke as the CG tried to pull it to shore. The damage to the boat when the end hit it was informative to say the least...

Maybe it's commonly used, dunno, but I'd prefer cable.

 

[ElJefe]

Just about all of the synthetic winch lines that I have ever seen have been HMPE of some sort or another rather than nylon. The polyethylene is MUCH more UV stable than nylon is. I have used HMPE lines (dyneema/spectra) offshore that have shown no degredation after several years in constant sun.

 

[GXO]

M-P rope is UV resistant.

 

[TiredIronGRB]

I would put garden hose on my winch before I would go back to steel wire.

 

[Uncle Ben]

I would put garden hose on my winch before I would go back to steel wire.

I will agree and back that statement 100%! Going back to heavy, flesh shredding wire rope would make as much sense as bias ply street tires on a sports car!

Keep the line covered and it will be happy for a long time!

 

[NW-sickboy]

As haynes notes, nylon, is degraded by UV exposure, so it will get weak after time (at least the parts on the outer coil of the winch).

That said, I don't use a winch, but would imagine nylon to be one of the most dangerous materials to use on a winch. Nylon is capable of stretching to an extreme degree, and in doing so, stores an enormous amount of potential energy in the rope when stretched. If by chance that rope were to break during a recovery, anyone in the path of that rope (or those rope ends) could be in a world of hurt. Unlike cable, it will whip around like a rubber band.

I recall using a 3/4 inch nylon rope being used to tow a boat in my youth...the boat was in serious risk of sinking, and the rope streched and broke as the CG tried to pull it to shore. The damage to the boat when the end hit it was informative to say the least...

Maybe it's commonly used, dunno, but I'd prefer cable.

fwiw synthetic winch line is infinitly safer to use than cable.

 

[tech_dog]

I've been researching this the last few days, and found one statement that an untreated synthetic rope can lose 1/2 its strength after 3 months in the sun.

I'm not sure I buy that, but even if it's true the synthetic winch ropes are treated for UV protection.

You've also got the potential issue with powering out and burning the line as well.

I just ordered a Viking combo line that uses high temp line for the first 17 feet, and amsteel for the rest. I put a heat protective sleeve on the start, upping the rating to 450 degrees. I also put a 10 foot line protector on the end so the final coils will not spend their lives in direct sunlight.

After reading all I could find, I figured this was as good a solution as anything.

 

[Scamper]

fwiw synthetic winch line is infinitly safer to use than cable.

Not debating the comment, but I wasn't commenting on new synthetics...just nylon as the poster mentioned. Maybe the new synthetics are better, but nylon is just not the best towing/recovery material IMO.

As far as safety is concerned, any material that stores potential energy (like nylon) will have a greater inherent danger vs an in-elastic material like steel. Bottom line is that they're both damn dangerous when things go wrong.