Elliott Digger Derrick, Operation & Maintenance Manual, Page: 147 / 376

Synthetic Rope Usage EEC-0060 V1.2
Synthetic Rope Usage,
Inspection, and Retirement
Removing Rope from a Reel or Coil
Synthetic-fiber ropes are normally shipped on reels for maximum protection while
in transit. The rope should be removed from the reel by pulling it off the top while the
reel is free to rotate. This can be accomplished by passing a pipe through the center of
the reel and jacking it up until the reel is free from the deck. Rope should never be taken
from a reel lying on its side. If the rope is supplied on a coil, it should always be uncoiled
from the inside so that the first turn comes off the bottom in a counter-clockwise
direction.
Rope Storage: Coiling, Flaking and Bagging
Great care must be taken in the stowage and proper coiling of 3-strand ropes to
prevent the natural built-in twist of the line from developing kinks and hockles. Braided
ropes, on the other hand, have no built-in twist and are far more resistant to kinking.
Even if kinks do develop, they cannot develop further into hockles.
Eye Splices
The standard eye splice cannot be pulled out under tension; however, it can be
pulled out by hand when the winch line is in a relaxed state. To prevent such tampering,
it is recommended that lock stitching or tight seizing be applied to the base or throat of
the splice.
Lock stitching may also prove advantageous on some splices to prevent no-load
opening due to mishandling. The material required is one fid length of nylon whipping
twine approximately the same size diameter as the strands in the rope you are lock
stitching. The strands cut from the rope you are lock stitching may also be used, but
whipping twine is preferable.
Eye splices at the end of winch lines (if not put in at the factory) should be done
in strict accordance with the steps and procedures outlined. These splicing methods can
be easily learned and executed by line crews and shop personnel.