Docking lines

[QueSeraSera]

Hi, wondering what size/type of rope that I should use for docking lines. I have a 13m houseboat.

Should I be using braided or stranded?
Can I buy with loops already made?
Do I need to worry about getting UV stabilised?

I was thinking about getting 2 20m lengths, 2 15m lengths, and 4 10m lengths.

I'm in South Australia, any good sources online?

Que Sera Sera

[Snore]

Braided lines look nice, but have less give. Some marinas require 3-strand dock lines because they have a little give. IMHO, I would use nothing but 3-strand- less stress on the boat at the home dock. I would carry braided for when you go elsewhere- looks more yachty! But get quality line from a major firm, nit cheap stuff from China.

Yes you can buy dock lines pre-spliced.

I wouldn’t worry about UV.

[JBP]

Braided or twist is mostly a personal preference, but they should be nylon! Polyester, dyneema, or other high performance lines are not good dock lines.

Your lengths seem fine. Maybe the 4
x10M could be shorter. 3-5M is easier to handle. For your boat, you probably want 16mm lines.

Sure, you can get them pre-made with eyes.

[Tupaia]

I personally like UV treated octoplait, multifilament spun polypropylene.

Soft and really nice to handle (kind to topsides)
Does not absorb water so never gets heavy.
Floats
Easily spliced
Doesn't kink and flakes readily
Has excellent strength and stretch properties
Long lasting
Cheap(ish)


An outfit called Australian Rope and Twine in WA used to manufacture it.

[JPA Cate]

Hello, Que Sera Sera,

Me, I would avoid the popular "green line" polypropylene line because it is so vulnerable to UV degradation, and pay the extra for the three strand nylon. Even it will have to be replaced over the life of the boat, but it has a nicer "hand" (the feel of it when you hold it), is stronger for a given diameter, and longer lived.

For our boat, we carry 4 dock lines, and two spring lines, one of which we use for "brakes". The boat has midships cleats as well as fore and aft. She displaces 12 tonnes, and as a sailboat, probably has less windage than your house/river boat. We use 16 mm nylon for all our lines. The lines are fairly interchangeable, the two springs are 15 m or so, and the dock lines, somewhat shorter. If you buy them a little longer they may still be useful if you have to re-splice them because one of the eyes got chafed--allow roughly 1 m per eye. So you could add enough to your lengths to allow for that. Ours only have an eye spliced into one end, because dock setups vary and we used to travel a lot and needed to be able to cope with varying docking situations.

Ann

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Hello, Que Sera Sera,

Me, I would avoid the popular "green line" polypropylene line because it is so vulnerable to UV degradation, and pay the extra for the three strand nylon. Even it will have to be replaced over the life of the boat, but it has a nicer "hand" (the feel of it when you hold it), is stronger for a given diameter, and longer lived.

Ann

Often the blue or green colour seen in Polypropylene is an indication that it has been treated with a UV blocker in the form of a pigment. There are many other forms of anti UV treatment that can be applied to both Polypropylene and Nylon.

In its natural state Nylon has the same poor UV resistance as Polypropylene which is why it is so important to be sure of the type, in the case of Nylon and what UV treatment has been applied, in the case of both materials.

[JPA Cate]

Tupaia,

We may just have to agree to disagree. The green line is commonly used on moorings here in Tasmania. Last year, when we had our mooring serviced (an annual thing, here), the green line looked pink or beige. Jim questioned it, saying it looked daggy. Nope, the mooring servicemen said, "She's good for another 2 years, mate."

Then at the end of September past, we got the call, "Your boat's broke it's mooring and is lying aground on Crooked Tree Point." The 55 min. trip from the house-sit to the boat was fraught with stress, wondering what we'd find, how we'd cope, etc.etc.

What we found was that that green line had broken. It was on "their" side of the mooring. Our boat was not damaged, or it would have been ever so much worse. Anyhow, we got her off (with help from nearby liveaboards and club members) and anchored her. And all is well. But besides the sleazy feel (which is justifiable if you're correct that that is a UV resistant coating), I've been trusting our nylon anchor line for years now (over 45), and I lack trust for the green line. Ymmv.

In general, we tend to oversize our line just a bit, because of the uv and chafe. Also, we avoid "silver line", which is recycled plastic bags: polyethylene.

Ann

[El Pinguino]

This is what I use
https://www.donaghys.com.au/marine/p...lines/dockline
Ignore the rest - buy the best!

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Tupaia,

We may just have to agree to disagree. The green line is commonly used on moorings here in Tasmania. Last year, when we had our mooring serviced (an annual thing, here), the green line looked pink or beige. Jim questioned it, saying it looked daggy. Nope, the mooring servicemen said, "She's good for another 2 years, mate."

Then at the end of September past, we got the call, "Your boat's broke it's mooring and is lying aground on Crooked Tree Point." The 55 min. trip from the house-sit to the boat was fraught with stress, wondering what we'd find, how we'd cope, etc.etc.

What we found was that that green line had broken. It was on "their" side of the mooring. Our boat was not damaged, or it would have been ever so much worse. Anyhow, we got her off (with help from nearby liveaboards and club members) and anchored her. And all is well. But besides the sleazy feel (which is justifiable if you're correct that that is a UV resistant coating), I've been trusting our nylon anchor line for years now (over 45), and I lack trust for the green line. Ymmv.

In general, we tend to oversize our line just a bit, because of the uv and chafe. Also, we avoid "silver line", which is recycled plastic bags: polyethylene.

Ann

No, I completely agree with your assessment. In the case of colour change this is an indication of chain degradation and useful in predicting immanent failure. I would also be very wary of the ubiquitous green/blue Polypropylene line. Not all but most spun multifilament PP is a much more sophisticated product and will have greater UV resistant treatments applied to it.

The misconception here is that Nylon is more UV resistant than Polypropylene, in its raw state it is not, both have very poor anti UV properties. There are also many treatments that can be applied in addition to pigmentation, absorption and chemical stabilisers. With the correct treatment Polypropylene is as durable as Nylon assuming that the Nylon has also been treated. There are also different grades of Nylon (6, 6/6, 12 and combinations thereof) that have better or lesser UV resistant properties but still need to be treated to achieve lasting durability.

Most so called Nylon rope is in fact a Polyamide / Polyimide mix that is far more UV resistant than raw Nylon. Nylon simply being its common name.

Your oversizing is also sensible as any rope, Nylon, PP, Wire, HMPE can fail prematurely due to all manner of use or misuse, overloading, knots, chafe etc.

[QueSeraSera]

Thanks everyone for your responses. This is what I settled on.



https://sydneyropesupplies.com.au/pr...-mooring-rope/