Mooring lines question

[SamanthaTabs]

I'd like your views and advice on this please, thanks in advance.

I'm off in search of some new rope today, what we've got at the moment is 3 plait (18mm and 20mm).

My issue is it's too thick and, when needing a longer line, it's heavy if I've got to lasso a cleat or bolder.

Before parting with the Boss mans hard earned cash please tell me what you use :encouragement:

Unrelated but funny ditty from yesterday. Med moored next to another cat, I had several "discussions" with the people on that boat as they wanted us to move. Why? Oh deary me, our fenders were touching theirs....
Huh????

 

[Max K]

I assume you mean "3 strand" as "3 plait" would be rather thin!

For stern lines to the quay, I wouldn't want to go thinner than 18mm and we have multiplait 18mm and braided 20mm made-up lines, with eyes spliced in one end especially for this purpose. Now, when it comes to taking lines ashore in an anchorage, a much lighter rope can be used as the only purpose of such a line it to prevent swing. For this we use a 12mm floating line which is entirely satisfactory and easy to deploy from the dinghy - we don't do swimming ashore with rope in teeth!

Max.

.

 

[SamanthaTabs]

Yes, that's what I meant. Thank you!

 

[sailaboutvic]

I'd like your views and advice on this please, thanks in advance.

I'm off in search of some new rope today, what we've got at the moment is 3 plait (18mm and 20mm).

My issue is it's too thick and, when needing a longer line, it's heavy if I've got to lasso a cleat or bolder.

Before parting with the Boss mans hard earned cash please tell me what you use :encouragement:

Unrelated but funny ditty from yesterday. Med moored next to another cat, I had several "discussions" with the people on that boat as they wanted us to move. Why? Oh deary me, our fenders were touching theirs....
Huh????

How dare you have your fenders touching another boat , where do you think you are , in northern Europe .? Some people , next you be wanting a up of sugars

 

[charles_reed]

Depends, doesn't it, on the size and weight of boat. I use 14mm braid dockline - needs protection from chafe, but has plenty of hysteresis, which is essential on mooring line.
I've also used 12mm octoplait.
I would rule out braid-on-braid or any of the low-stretch ropes. Cheapest of all is three strand nylon.
12mm up to 6 tons, 14mm to 12 tons, 16mm for heavier boats as the lower quartile.
It is quite pathetic to see some of the old pieces of reject rope used by many.
Best chafe protection, eau gasifée, PE bottles, nothing compares with them.

 

[Carmel2]

Are the fender bothers Americans? They don't like it one bit.

 

[Glyka]

Glyka is 10.25m, 7tonnes approx (on holidays - full of water, diesel, supplies etc.). I have 14mm 3strand with an eye on my permanent mooring but I always use 12mm 3strand in ports, usually two-way (I don't know the word for it).

As the others have said never use braid-on-braid low stretch lines (you want the higher stretch possible hence the 3strand and relatively thin rope).

Added bonuses: a thin line is a) easier to tie b) cheaper to replace when you see severe chafe.

 

[SamanthaTabs]

Are the fender bothers Americans? They don't like it one bit.

Austrian and well known by harbour masters in this area for avoiding payment :ambivalence:

Please squish the insect Carmel2

 

[Carmel2]

Please squish the insect Carmel2

It must be at your end, nothing to see here.

 

[TonyMS]

We use old halyards and sheets. But, we always have long lines. Tie to the quay with lines from the stern (if bow-to), and bow lines running across the boat ( a catamaran) to bollards some distance from the boat.

This way, we don't have a problem with snatch, and the lines are plenty strong enough for a temporary stay.

 

[steve yates]

Oh bloody hell, I just videoed that insect on my iPhone, wondering how the hell that got there!,,

Very clever

 

[Carmel2]

Its the first Windows 10 bug.

 

[colind3782]

After having a line break in a disastrous Tramontana storm causing lots of damage, I now use 20mm Nylon as that's the biggest that will fit through the fairleads.

OTT? Probably, but I now sleep well when I'm 1000 miles away in the UK.

 

[vyv_cox]

We have used braid on braid nylon for many years, bought from Barry at Boatropes. Ours is 16 mm, far too thick from a strength point of view for a 7 ton boat, but superb for handling if I need to pull hard. It has proved to be excellent stuff, doesn't tangle and chafe resistant. Only problem has been its size, for which I recently increased the size of the stern cleats.

 

[jimbaerselman]

If you're in a surge prone berth, optimum mooring arrangements are to let your boat wander as much as possible - without hitting anything solid. And the heavier your boat, the more important this is. So you set up slack "limit" lines which come taut just before the bump. 18mm nylon is more than strong enough for 15 tons. If the boat's going to be untended for a month or two, chafe is handled by shore ends which are hard eyes, shackled to chain loops.

Next, to make a soft ride, you set up thin nylon lines (8mm or 10mm) in parallel with your "limit" lines. For +/- 1m of wander, these lines need to have 10m free length. They should be just slack when the boat is centered. This ensures the boat's average position is centered, but free to wander.

Fiddling is needed to get long enough light lines. So, stern to, you'd cross light stern spring lines (port goes to stbd and vice versa) to allow more lateral freedom - and then worry about chafe protection if you can't fiddle a height difference. Or you may take stern lines to a midships cleat.

Whatever, the spring you get from 5m of light nylon line - 50 cm - is far more than the spring you get from rubber bungees or stainless steel springs - which rarely give as much as 20cm. And far cheaper!