Series Land Rovers, Options

Rope:

If we're talking rope here, it must be said that if you use mm, then you are talking DIAMETER, but if you talk inches then it is CIRCUMFERENCE. So, a 3/4" rope will be rather small, about 6mm diameter actually, I think you meant a 2 1/4" rope. (I bet the average 4x4 shop don't know this, but a ship's chandler will) In days of old when the UK was Imperial and Kings & Queens were allowed to Bonk who or whatever they wanted, rope was measured by it's circumference, not it's diameter, it's much easier now were metric.

Rope Types:

HEMP / MANILA:- Since both these are made from natural materials, they tend to rot with age and their strength can be adversely affected with no visible signs of deterioration.NYLON / Terilyne:- Good strength but too springy/elastic, the outer covering will melt due to friction on the drum.Kevlar:- Excellent strength, no stretch, does have a synthetic outer so it will melt under heavy friction, when it snaps, it goes with a bang, suddenly.

Poly cotton/terilyne inner:- Like that used by Yachties for "sheets", High strength, low stretch, soft to handle, not cheap.

You need to by yachting rope by the name of MARLOW BRAID. The rope must be 20mm thick. It costs a small fortune here in SA but it is worth it. If that rope is un available you need a 20mm fine braided POLYPROPELENE rope. The reason is that it has something like a 1% stretch index. DO NOT USE STRETCHY ROPE ! (Unless you want to kill yourself and destroy your vehicle) The Marlow braid has a breaking strain of 12 Metric Tonnes !, the Poly Prop rope has a BS of 6 Metric tonnes. The latter is also half the price of the Marlow.(Brian "I got one and won't sell it for ...." Cotton South Africa)As far a rope...I'd suggest a dacron polyester rope designed as to be used as a sailboat halyard (Sampson makes a nice one). I use 9/16" that has >3% stretch at max load and a breaking strength of 9,000# +, three times the capabilities of the winch. As there are many ship chandlers in the area, the price is reasonable, about $.70 to $.85/foot. Aramid fibre rope is *much* stronger and *MUCH* more expensive. A goodly-sized snatch block makes self-recovery feasible.(Sandy Grice, Virginia)

Notes:

Never use wire on an ordinary capstan, wire should be greased to preserve it and it would not drive properly, it will not bend tightly enough if of large enough diameter for the capstan, the turns can bind or lock preventing you from releasing it, and it will quickly wear out the ridges on the drum. The main reason is safety, imagine a snapped cable with you standing in front holding the tail end!~@$%&* After a short while, wire will form into coils as it wraps round the drum, thus becoming awkward to handle and sprigs of wire will break, shredding your hands in the process. Also the friction of a rope round the drum is greater (3 turns) than you can get with wire, and far more handleable. BT & Elect. utilities only ever use rope (wire is strictly forbidden). BT cable pulling gangs use 16mm dia. poly covered kevlar stranded rope, SWL 3Tonnes, that should be enough for most people. You can notice that one of the Jolly Farmer types in the old Land-Rover sales video "Anything You Can Do" used the ca capstain winch with steel wire to winch small trees about. Hmmm!

Chef "Head Wound Harry" Bligh of the Ottawa Valley club related one episode with a capstan winch he had. He parked the Rover near a fire and with a loop of rope 'round the bollard, the Rover happily turned a side of beef on a spit all day long. Try *that* with a Warn.