TWL: Rope
Am buying a Great Harbor 37 (23 tons), and need some advice on type of rope
everyone has on board. Specifically, size of rope, total length for anchor
lines, tie ups, towing, etc, nylon vs. poly, 3 strand nylon vs. braided,
what diameter, etc. Thanks in advance.
Doc Elk
need some advice on type of rope
everyone has on board. Specifically, size of rope, total length for
anchor
lines, tie ups, towing, etc, nylon vs. poly, 3 strand nylon vs. braided,
what diameter, etc. Thanks in advance.
Doc Elk,
Obviously everyone has there specific preferences for rope / line .
Nylon has stretch and is used for anchor rode and dock lines as the
stretch will absorb shock of
waves caused either by wind or wake - sometimes
additional chafe protection is needed where the line goes through the
chock - especially under conditions of stress i.e. lots of rocking at
either anchor due to wind or in a slip mostly due to wake - but sometimes
due to high wind situations -- even a piece of garden or the plastic hose
will protect a line passing through a chock ....0r over the usually ragged
edge of a dock board ...
Three Strand twisted line has most of the fibers on the interior of the line
so that the wear due to chafe is minimized - or at least considered as more
progressive and visible -- as opposed to braided line which is good for
running smoothly through blocks and such - but has the fibers of the outer
layer of line fully exposed to chafe through a chock or the usually raw
edge corner of the end of a dock board or the like ..
Line chafe at your dock edge can be minimized by installing
something as simple as a piece of PVC corner molding ( home depot ) or the
like . Where one expects to dock at concrete piers ( or locks ) sometimes
a length of chain is used - spliced to the end of line to take the higher
chafe at the edge of the concrete ..
Docklines and Anchor lines accumulate both salt and dirt - which will
enter the interior of the line and cut the fibers -- squirting them off
fairly regularly with the hose helps to minimize the problem -- washing them
thoroughly once a year , at least also helps prolong their useful life ..
Rain - seawater - washing etc- will leech out the lubricants used by
the mfg. in the production of the line and they will become stiffer with
age -- soaking them in fabric softener will somewhat replace the lubricants
also greatly extend their useful life ...
On our 36 ft Manatee - about the same size as your boat -- I carry
about 12 ft of 3/8 in chain on each of my bow anchors - a Delta and a Super
Max ( in addition to three other anchors stored below - 2 Danforths and a
Northhill - with an extra - appropriate 5/8 in anchor line and chain ) and
use at least 5/8 inch twisted Nylon line on the Delta and 3/4 twisted on
the Super Max -- it gives less worry --over time - about the residual line
strength - and is easier to handle when hauling the anchor - the Delta
carries 250 ft-- the Super Max - 300 ft - and there have been a few times
I'm glad I had it .
For docklines I usually use 1/2 twisted Nylon .
Make sure that you do not get talked into putting loops in the end of
ALL your dock lines - or you will have no way to adjust them when
conditions of very high or very low water occur - due to storms or storm
tides or simply the wind blowing the water out of the creek you may be
docked it -
Polyester ( Dacron ) line does not stretch and is useful for sailboat
halyards and flag halyards - or other places where line stretch would be a
problem.
Polypropylene line floats - and is also cheap - that makes it useful
for dinghy painters and the like - but it rapidly deteriorates in the sun -
becomes brittle and the outward fibers break to become sharp needles which
are at best unpleasant - at worst painful - to take out of your hand -- it
is useful if kept fresh - replaced regularly -- it does not stretch however
.
Recently there has been introduced a floating either nylon or
polyester line which I have not tried .
For a tow line I use the extra anchor line 200 ft of 5/8 in Nylon ....
Hope this helps a little
All the Best
Ken
m/v Mrs. Hudson
At 02:58 PM 2/7/01 -0800, you wrote:
<<Polypropylene line floats - and is also cheap -
that makes it useful
for dinghy painters and the like - but it rapidly
deteriorates in the sun -
becomes brittle and the outward fibers break to
become sharp needles which
are at best unpleasant - at worst painful>>
Stearns now makes a polyprop line that should solve most of the old
problems with it.
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At 04:10 PM 2/7/01 -0800, Ross Fleming wrote:
On Wed, 7 Feb 2001 14:58:40 -0800 (PST), Mark Richter
Richter-Pooh@rocketmail.com wrote:
<<Polypropylene line floats - and is also cheap -
that makes it useful
for dinghy painters and the like - but it rapidly
deteriorates in the sun -
becomes brittle and the outward fibers break to
become sharp needles which
I checked out the site. It says it is not UV stable.
I think it is quite a bit more expensive than the Stearns stuff.
not sure about that.
Mike
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<<Polypropylene line floats - and is also cheap -
that makes it useful
for dinghy painters and the like - but it rapidly
deteriorates in the sun -
becomes brittle and the outward fibers break to
become sharp needles which
are at best unpleasant - at worst painful>>
I recently came across a high-quality floating
polypropylene line for dinghy painters and such. It
has much finer fibers than the usual cheap poly line,
and holds up in sunlight much better. It is easy on
the hands, and is an all-around nice line that floats.
You can't get it at West or Defender, but it is
commonly found in Wal-Mart stores and some hardware
stores, not in the boating area, but in the hardware
dept, next to the clothesline. I think the 3/8"
diameter line was around $10/50 ft.
Mark RIchter, Winnie the Pooh
See you at TFest Ft. Myers
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Richter-Pooh@rocketmail.com writes:
a high-quality floating
polypropylene line for dinghy painters and such. It
has much finer fibers than the usual cheap poly line,
and holds up in sunlight much better.
Mark, our marina store sells a floating line which is polypropylene
inside with a covering of braided polyester(?) outside (red or
orange). The outer shell protects it from sunlight. Don't know what
it's called but works. Coils and runs just like ordinary braided
line.
Canadian law requires that one carries 50 ft of floating line with a
suitable throwing device attached. Many of us use that line -looks
good and lasts many seasons.
George of Scaramouche, he of no splinters... <grin>
On Wed, 7 Feb 2001 14:58:40 -0800 (PST), Mark Richter
Richter-Pooh@rocketmail.com wrote:
<<Polypropylene line floats - and is also cheap -
that makes it useful
for dinghy painters and the like - but it rapidly
deteriorates in the sun -
becomes brittle and the outward fibers break to
become sharp needles which
are at best unpleasant - at worst painful>>
Marlow Ropes also makes Marstron, a coreless 8plat polypropylene in
1/4", 5/16", and 3/8", which I have used quite a bit for control
lines on sailing dinghys. We have also used it for painters and tow
lines on the rescue boats at my yacht club. It remains soft/pliable
and is very comfortable to handle. Additionally it holds knots as
well as regular line. Check out
http://www.layline.com/store/prodinfo.asp?number=MAR38&variation=&aitem=25&mitem=67
for a photo and description of Marston.
Ross Fleming rossflem@serv.net
Seattle, WA