How to Roll a Rope

Outside of the world of wakeboarding pros and show team waterskiers, not many know that there is a proper way to store a tow rope one would use for waterskiing, tubing or another water sport. But the truth of the matter is, taking proper care of your rope can extend its life, prevent tangles or knots and make it easier to store.

Instructions

    • 1

      Place the handle in your left hand. You will do most of the work with your right hand, even if you are left-handed. This is to prevent the rope from rolling backwards and knotting up when it is released.

    • 2

      Take about an arms-length of rope in your right hand and begin making loops. If you were to look at the whole thing from the side, it would look like a circle (the rope) in front of a triangle (the handle).

    • 3

      Continue to loop the rope and collect each layer in your left hand, along with the handle. If the rope begins to twist around or make figure-eights, twist it in the opposite direction with your right hand until it lays flat.

    • 4

      Stop making loops once you have about an arm-length of rope left. Secure the end of the rope under you thumb. Take the remaining piece, and thread it through the circle and around the bulk of the rope and the handle at least twice.

    • 5

      Bring the end of the rope to the front of the circle and thread it through the remaining portion of the rope. Pull tight. Now, if you were to look at it from the side, you would have a triangle in the back and a much-thicker circle in the front that will be hanging from a piece of rope on top.

    • 6

      If you have done everything correctly, you should be able to carry the rope from the portion on the top. Also, the rope will unroll easily if you pull out the couple loops that are wrapped around the bulk of the rope.