Vintage 3-Strand from New England Ropes

Photographs by Kent and Audrey Lewis

The Vintage 3-Strand has a soft feel and doesn't tend to kink while coiling.

The Penobscot 14, with its glued-lapstrake hull and small sprit rig, resembles a traditional workboat, so when we rigged ST. JACQUES we wanted rope that matched the vintage look and had a soft feel with the strength and performance of the newest technology. We tested several samples of P.O.S.H., Hempex, Vintage Sta-Set, and Vintage 3-Strand in different diameters acquired from R&W Ropes.The product we chose for ST. JACQUES was New England Ropes’ Vintage 3-Strand. It is a 100% polyester blend of spun and filament yarn that is UV stable. The spun yarn is made of softer, shorter lengths that are blended with the longer and stronger filament yarns. Vintage 3-Strand is available in nine different diameters ranging from 5/32″ up to 1″. Tensile strength of the line runs from 730 lbs for 5/32″ line up to 20,200 lbs for 1″, well in excess of the performance required by our small sprit rig. The line has low stretch properties, which make it acceptable for use in both running and standing rigging. The two colors available are Natural, a convincing hemp lookalike, and Noir, which looks like tarred line.