Quote:
Originally Posted by arisatx
Evans:
You use spectra for your lines to shore? Are there less expensive alternatives you'd recommend? I saw a photo of the setup on s/v Polaris with 200m Dyneema on Easyroll reels:
|
Most boats use polypropylene for shore lines, and we have three of those (100m x 18mm). There is a wide variety of polypropylene quality - the yellow stuff
sold for 'yachting' and 'water skiing' tends to be real crap, but there is some quite nice stuff
sold into
commercial fishing. We got our two lines in a Cork (Ireland)
commercial Chandler.
Recently there has been a 'new'
rope development - bi-polymer olefin -30% to 35% higher in strength and wear life than the equivalent polypropylene construction. It's something I would look at if
buying new shore lines - as you could downsize them a little compared to polypro and make them easier to handle and stow. But I have not yet gotten a firsthand report on how well they hold up over the long time. Most of the
rope manufacturers have a product like this, but
Samson seems to be one of the leaders
Samson-The Strongest Name in Rope, ULTRA BLUE-8
Spectra is perfect for the shore line application, and give you by far the most line for a given
storage space, but it has always felt to be like 'overkill' for the application.
Deck spools are nice, if you are really using the lines 'all the time'. But we like to be able to have our decks (and pushpit) clear and clean when sailing, so we stow our shore lines in tall skinny mesh bags - which we then drop into the laz. The 'tall skinny' shape allows the rope to run out without tangling or kinking. The mesh allows the rope to dry/drain. And we have a light wire hoop sewn into the mouth to hold it open while stuffing the line back in.