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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
