Page 85 - Bob Holtzman "The Field Guide to Knots How to Identify.."

Coiling for Storage

To avoid tangles, rope must be secured in coils for storage and
transportation. Coiled ropes are easier to carry and much faster to access

and use than tangled ones.

Laid rope coils well in only one direction, and if coiled wrong produces twists
and kinks. The vast majority of laid rope has a right-hand twist, known as Z-laid.
To determine the lay of a rope, hold a section vertically: if the strands twist
upward from left to right, it is Z-laid; if they twist upward from right to left, it is
the opposite: a left-hand twist, known as S-laid.

Coil Z-laid rope clockwise and S-laid rope counterclockwise. With each length
of rope that you gather into a loop, give it a full 360-degree twist away from you
around its own axis before adding it to the coil.

Most braided rope coils equally well in either direction, but should always be
coiled in the same direction, as the fibers may take a “set” after lengthy storage
and resist being coiled the other way. Some braided ropes, however, have laid
cores that want to coil in only one direction (usually clockwise), and others
naturally take to being coiled in figure 8s.

Climbing ropes have permanently attached end labels that show their length, and
this is a great idea for all stored rope. Add labels or tags that indicate length,
along with any other characteristics not immediately apparent (e.g., fiber type,
working load, previous use), to your stored ropes so that you can reliably select
the right one for the job without having to uncoil and measure it.

In addition to the coiling methods on the following pages, one more simple
method of securing a coil bears mention: stopping it. To stop a coil, use short
lengths of twine or other small stuff; make two round turns around the coil near
one of the rope’s ends (or around both ends if they overlap near each other on
the circumference of the coil). Tie the small stuff with a Slipped Square Knot,

Constrictor Knot, or Packer’s Knot. Tie similar knots at a minimum of two
(preferably three) other points equally spaced on the circumference of the coil.

81