Dock line noise.
- Thread starter Neil Spooner
- Start date
I’ve had that problem with my stern lines if the wind is coming from that way, since I sleep in the aft cabin. When I remember I spray them with some water from the dock hose before bed. Wetting around the cleat and on the loop around the piling seems to lubricate the fibers well enough that they don’t creak.
Same question came up on this thread: Do your docklines squeak? I finally solved it! | Sailboat Owners Forums. This article discusses how to take the squeak out of dock lines: Taking the chafe, jerk, and squeak out of dock lines - Blog - SailsGoal.
That was an interesting article but nothing I hadn't seen before. I would like to see a study on ways to lubricate the fibers in the line itself and if the application affects strength and durability.
I have often wondered if it would be a good idea to soak my docklines in a bucket of water that contains liquid auto-wax. Or maybe fabric softener. My thinking is that the wax would both lubricate the fibers as well as keep water (and salt and grime) out of the line. But like most things.... it is best to do a controlled test. Maybe the next time I get new dock lines, I will soak one and leave the other raw.
I have often wondered if it would be a good idea to soak my docklines in a bucket of water that contains liquid auto-wax. Or maybe fabric softener. My thinking is that the wax would both lubricate the fibers as well as keep water (and salt and grime) out of the line. But like most things.... it is best to do a controlled test. Maybe the next time I get new dock lines, I will soak one and leave the other raw.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,159
How about just buying a length of line, say a 3/8" 3 twist nylon and put it on a floating dock for your testing. Wave action from passing boats would provide the testing action you desire. 2 feet is all you would require.
Or have your students explore the challenge to come up with a coating from their Chemistry Lab that would provide the desired results.
Then you could get a grant and have no costs involved.
Or have your students explore the challenge to come up with a coating from their Chemistry Lab that would provide the desired results.
Then you could get a grant and have no costs involved.
After literally 51 years as a liveaboard, I'd give anything to hear docklines creaking again. I never realized how noisy it is ashore. There's the birds at dawn, emergency vehicle sirens day & night, the neighbors enjoying a warm afternoon with their screaming kids in their back yards and almost constant local construction both commercial and private.
Sometimes, you don't appreciate things until you lose them.
Sometimes, you don't appreciate things until you lose them.
The most effective treatment is Nic Wax water replant treatment. It soaks, replaces the spinning lubes, and does not wash out. It does not make the rope waterproof, but it does reduce water absorption, keeping them lighter and helping them dry faster (fabric softener makes them dry slower).
But forget the wash-in instructions:
Ice climbers use it on climbing ropes every few years to prevent freezing.
But forget the wash-in instructions:
- Must be dry for maximum penetration.
- 3-4 ounces in a 5-gallon bucket.
- Soak for 15 minutes, agitate and flip, then soak another 15 minutes.
- Drip and air dry.
- Use the dregs for another rope, canvas or whatever, adding a little treatment each time as needed. Used in this way, very little is wasted.
Ice climbers use it on climbing ropes every few years to prevent freezing.
I wrap the fender in bath towel and it's line and dock lines where they rub against the hull also wrap in wash towels. Pour dish washing soap and water on the towels. No squicking all night.
Who doesn't love a good grant? Write it well and you should be able to justify the cost of the test boat too. Say, something in the fifty foot range, because this problem is most important to live-aboard and a daysailer wouldn't have the same pull on the lines. Maybe you'll need a small test fleet for that double blind study with baseline and control boats.
The blinded part has to be the administration's knowledge that these boats exist, or they might effect the experiment's validity by saying "no".
-Will
thinwater, this sounds like a great product that I could use annually. However, given that there are some 25 Nikwax products would you be so kind to narrow down the specific product that you recommend for treating dock lines. I did look on the Nikwax website but did not see any that are labelled "Nikwax Noisy Sailboat Dock Line Proof".
If it's the result of friction on the hull, try a few drops of liquid hand soap (I'm hoping a little less environmently harmful) on the lines for lubrication. Also works well for squeeking fenders.
Nikwax Polar Proof. They used to market climbing rope-specific product call Rope Proof, but I'm sure it was very low volume. This is the same product.thinwater, this sounds like a great product that I could use annually. However, given that there are some 25 Nikwax products would you be so kind to narrow down the specific product that you recommend for treating dock lines. I did look on the Nikwax website but did not see any that are labelled "Nikwax Noisy Sailboat Dock Line Proof".
This stuff will last a good year, rain and shine.
Obviously, at some point the ropes are past their useful life. My last boat was a cruising cat, we spent a lot of time on bulkheads (which are good for squeaking lines!), and really, somewhere past 5 years, they are just done. They've worked hard enough, long enough.
Neighbor in the slip next to me in Ventura had creaky/squeaky docklines. I often took the liberty of spraying (saturating) them with soapy water where wrapped at the dock cleat and/or where they passed over the chock. Quieted them down during my time aboard. I do the same for mine when there is creaking.
Whereas I agree, and empathize with you over the loss of the lifestyle you clearly loved, I am surprised by your remark about birds, and by intimation marine life. Around the California islands and even elsewhere, I’ve been awakened often by the sound of screeching gulls at dawn, and repeatedly during a night by the sounds of bellowing sea lions, etc. You don’t even have to be offshore. Breakwaters in some places double as virtual rookery sites for sea lions that sound off all night long. Perhaps these sounds of nature should not be placed in the category of noise, but it’s hardly “quiet” in those settings. Regarding actual “noise”, we still have the generators, and motorized vessels such as the PWC’s about, plus early morning work-out squads bellowing stroke, stroke, etc., passing within feet of aft cabin berth at 0600. But yes, it is definitely very noisy in urban neighborhoods.
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