Shore Line

[hoppy]

In Greece it is common to drop anchor and run a line to the shore to prevent the boat from swinging, so I need to get at least 40 or 50 meters of rope.

On my old boat I used a flat roll up anchor line for this purpose, but that was a 22 ft motor boat and now I have a 40 ft yacht, so I need something stronger but not sure what.

I'm guessing I need a 3 strand polyester rope. 16mm seems to be a common "large" diameter in a few online stores I have looked at and I am wondering if that is going to strong enough or if it is overkill?

[David M]

Nylon is stretchier is polyester (Dacron). Nylon will stretch 40% before it parts. Generally speaking, Nylon is better because it does stretch creating less of a shock load on your anchor and boat. It is also more wear resistant.

For your 40 foot boat, I would consider buying a 300 foot spool of 3-strand 9/16 to 5/8 inch nylon. It's really easy to make an eye splice with 3-strand. If it's more than just a day visit, you may also want to add some chain at the anchor.

This ground tackle could also be used as a spare should you lose your ground tackle forward or if you ever want to anchor forward and aft.

[GordMay]

FWIW: 16 mm is approximately 0.63 inches, or just over 5/8"(25.4mm is one inch); which seems a good size for a 40 footer.

[hoppy]

Thank's

I already have a kedge anchor with 17m of 8mm chain and 35m rope for when I need an anchor as a shore line. So I just need the rope for when I have a tree or something to tie up to.

Strangely neither the Swedish or UK sites I was looking at had nylon anchor lines, only polyester, but I found another that has them.

I guess I will look to buy it locally (in Greece) but at least I now know what to ask for and have a price guide so I will know if the Greek chandler is trying to "take the piss"

[Jim Cate]

G'Day Hoppy,

IMO, for such a shore line the stretchyness of nylon is not a benefit, as it is in an anchor rode. When you are trying to maintain a position tied to a fixed object ashore, the smaller (but not negligible) stretch of dacron double braid would be better. Surging back and forth when in close company with neighbors can be awkward!

Cheers,

Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II lying NEwcastle, NSW, OZ southbound

[roverhi]

I don't know what your storage is like but you might consider brait (6-8 strand) nylon. It takes up a lot less space and is almost as easy to splice as 3 strand. It is also a lot more supple and easier to handle.

I would consider 1/2" or 12mm. It's plenty strong for the purpose, is also a lot easier to store and will work in the jaws of your self tailing winches Makes it a lot easier to pull your boat into position using the sheet winches. The lighter and easier to transport the line, the easier it will be to row the line to shore

[Hudson Force]

Be careful to select line of a known brand and quality if buying online. I bought a 300' length of three strand 5/8" nylon on ebay a year and a half ago. I was lured by the good price, but found it so loosely braided that fibers would snag and pull on nearly all the line touched. My mistake,- not to be repeated.

[swagman]

Liros are a reputable Greek rope maufacturer.

We always carried a long line for that end of the Med to hold us stern to as a shore line. Many coves were so deep you'd need to be close to shore to get your anchor in OK and other places you'd only be able to share a crowded bay by mooring in this way.

We found a light line could actually hold you in place as usually inshore breeze saw loading onto the anchor, and usually in any offshore wind you've have the protection in the lee of the shore.

We found we needed 200 foot for our 46 footer. We used 1" braid but it was well overkill.

Remember you'll want to double up the line so you can let it go and retrieve it from the boat - not much fun if its tied up ashore if you need to get away in a hurry.

Plus if you do use a heavy line also carry a lightweight floating lead line. Much easier to row that lead line ashore and run around a tree or whatever, then pull the proper line into place from the boat.

Plus worth making up a hose protected strop with a loop that you can drop over a big rock if you can't find a tree. The hose stops chafe. The loop is where you run your line.

Plus worth carrying a few metal spikes. We had shop bought versions but easy enough to cut some rebar and hammer that in, just in case of no trees / no boulders......

Enjoy
JOHN

[rustypirate]

If you are still going with Polyester you may want to consider using a 3" wide polyester webbing. They come in lengths up to 300' (91.5m), and are very easy to obtain as this is commonly used in the shipping industry for securing loads.

[hellosailor]

"3" wide polyester webbing."
IIRC polyester takes a lot of UV damage compared to nylon and other materials. It might be cheap enough to just use it and forget it, or perhaps in the shipping industry it is worn and tossed soon enough so as not to matter?
Tubular webbing (not flat) is way stronger, for any given material and size. I've seen both available as tow straps and tie-downs.

[estarzinger]

Originally Posted by hoppy

In Greece it is common to drop anchor and run a line to the shore to prevent the boat from swinging, so I need to get at least 40 or 50 meters of rope.

Actually polypropylene line is excellent for a shore line. It is much easier to dinghy ashore as it floats and it also will not (or be less likely to)wrap around your prop. It also does not absorb water the way nylon and Dacron do, so stays much lighter.

Shore lines are quite common in Chile and Polypropylene is the accepted answer there.

There is quite a difference in polypropylene line quality. The common yellow yachting stuff is terrible. The fishing chandlers sell quite nice stuff. We bought 200m of the stuff in a Cork (Ireland) fishing chandler just before heading to the far south.

As to sizing, we carry 18mm for a 47' boat. But that is sized for chafe resistance and is over strength when in good condition. But I also have a 200m piece of 12mm (polypro lobster pot line), for when we really want to be able to reach out and tie to something quite distant. It's always been strong enough. Honestly I would think 14mm would be strong enough for you, for a shore line.

The really trick stuff is spectra/dyneema line. It has all the advantages of poly pro (floats, does not absorb water) while also being far stronger and chafe resistant. But of course it is rather expensive.

In between polypropylene and spectra, there are a number of medium options used in the industrial world. Samson's ultra blue ( http://www.samsonrope.com/index.cfm?...rope=16&inst=1 ) and polysteel ( http://www.polysteel.ca/index2.php ) are examples.

None of these are as elastic as nylon, but that is not typically a high requirement for a shore line.

[hoppy]

I'm starting to think I will get the Ankarolina 70 and mount the reel on the pushpit for the space savings and convinience.

MarineStore: Ankarolina: 70 Metre x 35 mm Webbing

Then i will use it both for the stern anchor and tieing up to trees or rocks. I think I have onboard some chafe lines to protect both the tree and the Ankarolina.

[donradcliffe]

The Ankoralina spools and line are pretty common in the med. Now all you need is a young lady to swim ahore with it.

[DoubleWhisky]

Originally Posted by hoppy

I'm starting to think I will get the Ankarolina 70 and mount the reel on the pushpit for the space savings and convinience.

MarineStore: Ankarolina: 70 Metre x 35 mm Webbing

Then i will use it both for the stern anchor and tieing up to trees or rocks. I think I have onboard some chafe lines to protect both the tree and the Ankarolina.

Hello Hoppy

I had this thing on my previous 50 footer, and the line was O.K. in most of situations. However I found it being a little too short sometimes, and finished with 100 meters of 12 mm. polypropylene line as a backup.

Another issue with Ankarolina is that You can not have both ends on boat when mooring to the shore because of the chafe. So You will need a nice young lady to swim the end of the line to the boat also

Did You already return from Samos? Everything O.K. there?

Best regards

Tomasz

[hoppy]

Thomasz,

I had an Ankarolina on my Searay and many times used it to tie up to a tree and tended to bring the line back to the boat. I'm pretty sure that on perhaps 50% of the occasions when I tried to cast off from the boat it hooked onto something and I had to go ashore anyway.

I like the girl swimming idea, so that will be my mooring tactic.

I left Samos on Sunday morning. It was very cold there in single figures and there was a northerly gale coming down the hillside. The highest gust I saw was 41 knots. The boat was being blown around quite a bit. Even so, I had a comfortable night sleep.