Old firehose for chafe protection

[dadster3]

I dunno. I have heard that the water does help to cool the lines and it seems to me that the rubber would provide a smoother, slicker surface that would be beneficial. I wouldn't remove the rubber, but I haven't used the hose as chaff protection yet. I just got some to use when the time comes. The person who put me on to fire hose says she puts a small hole in the end of the piece and uses it to tie the hose to the chock or whatever would cause chaff. That lets the line move freely inside the hose, so I should think that the rubber would be best left in place. The whole point is to eliminate chaff so it seems to me that w/o the rubber the line could chaff against the course fabric of the hose. Just my take.

[meridian28]

I would think you would want the hose to be secured to the line. When there is movement the outside fabric of the hose will rub against the chock.

[dadster3]

Yes, but that's sorta the point. The fire hose rubs against the chock or whatever instead of your line rubbing against it The woman who put me on to fire hose used it when securing her boat in a mangrove forest during Irma. The rub on the fire hose was visable on the surface, but not even close to actually damaging the outside of the hose. You want the line to move/stretch with the sea state. You line will be moving inside the fire hose against the wet rubber and the water will cool the line, so whatever friction there is should be minimal. In any case certainly not enough for the lines to fail, which I understand was the biggest cause of damage during Irma and Maria if the docks/moorings did not fail. Again, I haven't used fire hose. I just got a roll of it, but I've seen the photo evidence and it is impressive.


You don't know how much fire hose you will need if you secure it to the line. Securing a short piece of fire hose to the chock or whatever holds it in place The line stretches and moves inside it against a smooth wet surface instead of something hard like a metal deck fitting or fiberglass. Get some fire hose. It's free. Try it and see what works best for you.

[David M]

The most common sizes are 1 1/2", 1 3/4" and 2 1/2" inside diameters. There are also 1", 2" and 4" diameters. It can be single or double jacket. It can also be polyester (more durable) or nylon.

https://www.firerescuemagazine.com/a...selection.html