Laid ropes

The most common laid constructions are 3 and 4 strand ropes. For a typical design a good fibre strength and fatigue life will translate into acceptable properties in the rope. A laid rope will rotate under load, but the effect on the strength is limited.

cross lay 6-strand ropes

In this construction, 6 twisted strands are laid around a central twisted core (comparable to wire rope). 
A 6-strand rope will have a good strength and fatigue translation from the fibre. The ropes are very easy to run on to mooring winches and retain their shape as much as steel ropes.

8-strand plaited ropes

Plaited ropes are sometimes described as square braids. They are produced on a plaiting machine containing eight reels, each containing one strand.
4 ‘S’ and 4 ‘Z’ twisted strands result in a torque balanced construction.
Plaited ropes can be easily spliced and the twisted strands offer good resistance to abrasion.

12-strand Braided ropes

12-strand ropes consist of 6 ‘S’ and 6 ‘Z’ strands. Because of its round shape, the rope is very stable on the winch and offers a better abrasion resistance due to greater surface contact.
The rope does not rotate under load.

Ultraline ropes

The Ultraline® design as been developed to give a rope extra protection against wear and tear without changing the primary characteristics significantly. This has been achieved by braiding a cover over the load bearing cores. The cover is optimised for wear and abrasion resistance and the cores are optimised for strength.
The cover is a Bexcoline braid that provides dimensional stability to the rope structure and protects the cores from external damage. The cover braid does not contribute to the strength of the rope.

The most common is the parallel-strand design. Each of the strands or sub-ropes consists of a three-strand rope that will be produced in both right-hand lay and left-hand lay. The sub-ropes will be laid parallel to each other. The lay-up of the sub-ropes is such that the finished rope will have a torque-balanced construction. The three-strand core design is used because of its strength efficiency.

The second design is a plaited or braided core; The core element is an 8 or 12-strand rope oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis of the rope. This design is mostly used for applications where high tensile and bending forces are combined.

This design is a torque balanced rope and used because of its excellent
bending characteristics and easy spliceability.

The third design option is a 6-strand laid rope. The perfectly circular
design of the rope makes it easy to run on to mooring winches.