Long shore lines

[Shorty]

I have a couple 200' 5/8" +/- 3 strand previous anchor rodes for use as shore lines. We deployed one in September as an insurance policy for the anchor, in a blow in Eastern Nova Scotia. Worked fine but heavy & bulky.
I read a suggestion a couple months ago about using smaller, high tech lines; greater strength, much lighter & less bulky. I picked up a couple 3/8" dyneema Endura Braid in a NE Ropes surplus sale that Hamilton has periodically. But now I wonder if the lack of stretch in these will make them unsuitable. Potentially shock loading the boat and the attachment point on shore. ????
I have seen, in the mags, voyaging boats with flat lines rolled on drums stowed very nicely. What are & where to get, these?

[CarstenWL]

I have seen, in the mags, voyaging boats with flat lines rolled on drums stowed very nicely. What are & where to get, these?

... typically webbing on a 'drum'. Used as a stern anchor line in Scandinavia often.

E.g. google "ankerolina" for pictures.

Regards,

Carsten

[DRS]

I would be concerned about abrasion on synthetic ropes used for a stern tie. We run them across the shore line (often rocky and covered with barnacles), around a tree or through a steel eye if available and back to the boat. I don't believe that is healthy for synthetic fibres.
We have a spool of 300 feet of 1/2 inch floating that we have used for many years and seems to do the trick.

[Shorty]

I was definitely thinking of chafe protection ashore

[sailormed]

Always carry 10 metres of light chain for the shore part of these mooring lines. Keep the synthetics in the water.

[Lepke]

Escort tugs use Kevlar lines to control a very large tanker that has lost steering, etc. The lines are about the size of your docking lines, but are very easily worn when exposed to chafing.

[Delancey]

Skip Novak prefers polypropylene.

Skip Novak's Storm Sailing Techniques Part 11: Tying to shore

[El Pinguino]

Ping Prefers Polyprop.....

12mm diam is plenty big enough for my nominal 8 tonne 39 foot boat.

Mine have been in near constant use now for 14 years.... I never use chain .... never had chafe issues.

Secure to trees with very big bowlines so the 'knot' itself is in the water - saves going ashore to untie. As the size if the bight is infinitely variable the chafe is always occuring on a different section of rope....

[El Pinguino]

and , yes, some anchorages can get breezy at times.....

[Orion Jim]

99.9 knots is nearly 115 MPH.....what's the backstory?

[El Pinguino]

Dunno... I slept through it

Tied up very close under the land.... I usually check in the morning to see what the overnight max was..... I can only assume that it was an isolated bullet at the masthead.... not uncommon...

[Benz]

Originally Posted by DRS

I would be concerned about abrasion on synthetic ropes used for a stern tie. We run them across the shore line (often rocky and covered with barnacles), around a tree or through a steel eye if available and back to the boat. I don't believe that is healthy for synthetic fibres.
We have a spool of 300 feet of 1/2 inch floating that we have used for many years and seems to do the trick.

Not to split fibers, but unless you're using hemp or sisal or one of those, all your lines are synthetic. Chafe is a problem for all sorts of line, natural and synthetic--it's just a shame to chafe up a super-expensive synthetic line rather than a super-cheap synthetic one. I have sacrificial bits of line I carry for areas where chafe is an issue, and often tie my good lines to them after they've been put in the chafe-y spots.

[valhalla360]

I'm not sure stretch is as big of an issue in this scenario.

If you go from 10% to 5% and it's a 100' from cleat to shore, that's still 5' of stretch.

It would be short dock lines where being a bit stretchy can be helpful to avoid shock loads.

[estarzinger]

you all need to distinguish between three cases here.

(1) In chile you are typically tied into very protected coves - with lots of wind possible but zero wave action on the boat. Often you are tied 'mid-distance' from shore. And there is a lot of kelp on the bottom, so you want a floating line, because a sinking one will drag huge amounts of kelp back to the boat. Polypropylene has been the historical popular choice - cheap and readily available in big coils are every fishing chandlery. Because the shock loads in this situation are minimal you can go with decently small diameter. On Hawk most of our polypro was 12mm, but we had a 600m 10mm piece to reach out to far points off the bow which still seemed quite strong enough. More recently there have been two developments for those with a bit more money - "bi-polymer olefin" fiber, which is about twice as 'durable' as polypro (samson ultra blue is an example) but with all of polypro's other desirable characteristics. And for those with bottomless pockets, dyneema is pretty good in all regards, except in small sizes it can be a bit more difficult to winch and handle (but no problem with a bit of technique practice) . . . . however it is bloody expensive, imho way way over kill for this application.

(2) In med moor situations, where you are typically tied quite close (dock line length) and may be exposed to some surge, the solution is often different . . . . one long floating line (same three options as above plus the webbing reel concept because it is compact and easy to handle) to help pull you into your space and then several nylon 'dock' (perhaps a bit longer than typical dock lines) for once you are in place and secured. The elasticity does help in this situation and you dont typically have to worry about the nylon sinking, or their weight/bulk (because they are shorter).

(3) High latitude in places other than chile, where you shore tie in much more exposed positions than in chile and can be exposed to reasonable size ice in the anchorage (Antarctic and greenland for instance). Here you do prefer some elasticity (because of exposure to water action) and you prefer sinking lines (so you can drop them under large floating ice). And thus people basically end up mostly using their spare nylon anchor rodes. I have seen one or two 'more clever' hybrid solutions (like floating line for much of the length, with a weight to sink it, and a snubber on end to provide the elasticity) but that is pretty rare.

[Shorty]

Thanks Evans and all others for the posts.
My situation is simple coastal cruising, Maine & Canada Maritimes, where we sometimes need to shelter from a blow. Infrequently tie to shore. Not high latitudes.
The NE Ropes Endura 12 dyneema 3/8" was $0.50/ft. Hamilton Marine periodically gets large loads of odd shanks from NE Ropes and sells cheap. Just not generally long lengths. I bought a couple of 100' lengths & will end to end brummel splice.
Delancey's suggestion of Skip Novak's video is a good one. I like his use of galvanized wire rope loops for securing around onshore rocks, then tie line to loop. Inexpensive & strong.