If you want to learn to sail like a pro, you need to know how to keep your sailing rope in prime "fighting" shape. You see, every time you go sailing, those costly halyards, sheets, anchor rope rodes, and extra line in those sail-lockers goes into battle.

And it has a tough time against the five deadly enemies of all line--sunlight, dirt, salt, chafe, and shock! You can extend the life of any piece of marine rope and save tons of money in replacement costs if you do just five simple things on a regular basis.

1. Wash and Dry Before You Stow!

Did you realize that nylon line--like that used for docking lines or anchor lines--can lose up to 15% of its strength when wet? Or that wet line, stowed in a dark, dank sail locker presents a prime breeding ground for mold and mildew?

At the first opportunity, wash your anchor rode and cockpit sheets and halyards with fresh water. Get in there with a hose and spray it down. This will loosen up line-killing dirt and salt crystals.

Flake the line in alternate bites (loops) over a rail or your lifelines to dry it. Re-coil or stow the line after it has dried completely. This can add years of life to any line and it will stay supple for sailing or marine knots.

2. Keep Lines Under Tension

Halyards and Genoa or jib sheets must stay under constant tension to prevent fiber and strand breakdown. Lines that are too loose will shock and slack, which can weaken the line. Take care not to make lines too taut.

Some lines--docking and anchor lines--must have slack in order to perform their best. On the other hand, your super expensive sail halyards and sheets should be under tension. When sailing, re-tension your sheets and halyards once in a while to keep wear and tear under control.

3. Make Leads Straight and True

Straight leads give you the best fair leads. You might have heard the sailing term "fair lead", which means the direction a line travels form one point to another. The straighter you keep the line, the less wear and tear on the fibers.

Keep this in mind whenever you need to thread a sheet through a block, or lead a line from the mast back to your cockpit, or set up your Genoa furling line between bow and cockpit.

Keep acute bends that change the lead of the line by 60 to 90 degrees to an absolute minimum. The more bend you put into a line, the more stress this places on the apex of the bend. Use straighter fair leads to pump life-blood into your lines to save on repair and replacement costs.

4. End for End Lines Once a Season

One of the huge jobs on those square-rigged ships of old was to end-for-end line once a year. This monumental task involved thousands upon thousands of feet of rigging. But it worked and added years of life. After all, those big ships were at sea for years at a time, and the cost of line back then was astronomical.

Today, the small cruising sailboat or racing sailboat skipper can use this same ancient technique to add years of life to docking or anchor lines. And it's a lot simpler because you aren't dealing with several thousand feet.

Just make the dead end of the line the working end. Do this once a season. For example, you attach your anchor line's dead end to a ring bolt in your anchor locker or to a bow cleat. The working end attaches to your anchor. Once a season, switch them around. This end-for-end technique has been proven to extend the service life of anchor line by a whopping 50%!

5. Whip, Dip, or Tape Bitter Ends

The ends of your lines can fray and unwind like a snake on a palm tree. Prevent this with a temporary whipping, where you wrap sail twine around the end. Or, use an easier method with a two-inch piece of duct-tape. Wrap the tape tight, two to three times around the end. Use a sharp knife to cut through the center of the tape.

Or, make your own end-whipping dip. Dip at least 1/4" of the bitter end into super glue. Any of these techniques are guaranteed to stop fraying off at the pass and save you lots of money.

Learn to sail like a pro with these five super simple marine knots sailing tips. They will save you lots of money and add years of life to any line--wherever in the world you choose to go sailing!

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