The evaluation of long-term marine overfinish stability on mooring ropes

Synthetic mooring ropes made with marine overfinish yarns are preferred for long-term moorings and other reliability-driven ocean engineering applications. By using the ropes re-claimed from the DeepStar Project in the Gulf of Mexico, a long-term study of SeaGard(R) marine overfinish on polyester has been initiated. Finish retention was analyzed by comparing an unused portion of the rope to a portion of the deployed rope. Results show little appreciable loss of the marine overfinish after more than two years of service. It is imperative to understand the methods for determining finish on yarn (FOY) levels, especially when dealing with marine overfinish components. Some of the difficulties in testing for the finish on yarn levels and alternative methods used are discussed.