RE: catalina27-talk: Dock line size?

[Phil Agur]

I actually prefer 3/8” 3-strand lines however I tie 8 connections to the boat.     I use 4ea 35 ft spliced dock lines and feed the bitter end of each through a rubber snubber until the snubber is near the eye. Each eye goes on a deck cleat then loosely down to the nearest dock cleat. The tail of each then becomes a spring line to position the boat fore aft in the slip.   Since spring lines never see a shock load then can handle more boat than you would expect. The use of snubbers prevents any shock load on the bow and stern lines.   I’ve never used braided dock lines since they can transmit far too much load. I want stretchy line keeping her in position not low stretch doing damage. A good friend (a racer) always tries to recycle his low stretch lines like old halyards as dock lines but he’s repairing cleats almost every year.   Phil Agur                    s/v Wing Tip Commodore,             Call Sign WCW3485 IC27/270A                   MMSI 366901790 www.catalina27.org      Vessel Doc# 1039809 -----Original Message----- From: catalina27-talk@memberclicks.com [mailto:catalina27-talk@memberclicks.com] On Behalf Of James Calleran Sent: Saturday, April 22, 2006 4:58 PM To: catalina27-talk@memberclicks.com Subject: catalina27-talk: Dock line size?   Here's one I haven't seen before.  Anyone use 3/8" nylon 3-strand for dock lines?  Would these be adequate while the boat is nestled in the bosom of a 32x12 foot slip? One of the popular rope manufacturer's website calculates 7/16" when I put in the weight and length of the C17.  That's hard to find in "made up" dock lines, so, I've been using 1/2 inch.  The reason for my interest in the smaller line is that 1/2" line really fills up the cleats; the 3/8" line would sit well inside the horns of the cleats. Thanks for your thoughts. Jim Calleran, BayBird, C27 #2784 Mathews Yacht Club, VA Celebrate Earth Day everyday! Discover 10 things you can do to help slow climate change. Yahoo! Earth Day