What can I use for a dock line?
Nylon only The right rope for dock lines is plain old nylon. Nylon has three characteristics that make it ideal for dock lines. It is incredibly strong, it is very stretchy, and it is very good at resisting the harmful effects of sunlight.
What is a mooring pennant?
The mooring pennant, also referred to as a mooring pendant, is attached by shackle directly to the light chain that is attached to the bottom of the mooring ball. This line is what finally attaches your boat to the security of that anchor buried in the seabed.
What is an anchor thimble?
Adding in a “thimble,” a plastic or metal reinforcement, to the loop, reduces chafe and spreads the load on the line. A thimble will often be used for mooring pennants and anchor rode where a length of nylon line attaches to a chain with a shackle.
What is a spring line docking?
A forward spring line connects from a stern cleat on the vessel to a cleat on the dock at a minimum of half the vessels length towards the bow. This prevents aft movement. The opposite is to be applied to the aft spring line.
How strong should dock lines be?
Transient dock lines should be about 2/3 of the boat’s length when used on the bow and stern. Spring lines should be equal to your boat’s length.
What is soft Ungrounding?
Soft groundings may be described as any grounding that you can free your own boat, even if it takes a great deal of time, or wind, wave, or tide action to help you free the boat. Most soft groundings do not involve major damage, or result in leaks.
What is a pick up buoy?
Pick-up buoy is an effective smaller buoy for multiple use, which due to its design is easy to pull out of the water, when for example marking fishing net, equipment, etc. Or carrying the end-piece of the mooring-chain coming from an anchor or mooring buoy going up to secure the boat.
How do I choose the best Dock line splice and chafe protection?
Commonly, docks will have eyebolts, rings, or galvanized cleats where the dock lines are made fast. The type of hardware on the dock or piling determines the best type of dock line splice and chafe protection. For example, you may want to have an eye splice around a thimble, and a galvanized shackle when connecting to a ring or eyebolt.
What are the different types of rope construction for dock lines?
There are three main types of rope construction for dock lines: three-strand, double braid and Mega Braid. Three-strand line has a knobby finish, is easy to splice and is the most affordable.
What kind of line do you use for a boat dock?
Typical Dock Line Arrangement. The powerboat is using double bow and stern lines to keep the boat away from the dock. The sailboat is using spring lines to prevent fore and aft surging, while the bow and stern lines “locate” the boats.
What is a thimble splice used for?
The thimble splice is handy for connecting an anchor rode to anchor chain on your boat. Mark breaks down the process into a simple format that uses nylon line, electrical or plastic tape, waxed whipping twine, scissors, and a marlin spike or fid (if needed).