Have you ever stopped to consider some of the things on our modern yachts that we take for granted? Items that simply work when we want them to. Moving parts that don’t let us down. What about engines, for example? With one hand firmly gripping the largest piece of wood availabe, I can state honestly that I’ve only been disappointed by engines twice in the last 10 years, yet it’s not so long since that starting an auxiliary was a heart-in-mouth lottery. Those days are gone, thank heaven. And what about ropes? When did you last have a rope snap under load? Never? I suspected as much. Since the revolution in cordage led us away from natural products, rope technology has moved so far ahead that there is now literally something for everyone on the chandler’s shelf. Always assuming sensible prevention against chafe and being aware of ultraviolet degradation in some fibres,
