3/8" for everything? Including dock lines?
- Thread starter Jamesiv1
- Start date
It's a matter of safety and your comfort zone, vs price. Personally, I'd sleep better with the 1/2 inch dock lines. Three strand nylon is fine.
1/2 is probably fine but I've found that some larger lines are too big for some cleats. While they do fit, they are often difficult to get them firmly secured
We have some 3/8 and some 1/2 dock lines. All double-braid nylon - nylon for stretch, and double-braid because it doesn't tangle as easily as 3-strand, and my crew much prefers it.
We've settled on the 3/8 dock lines for normal usage - as others have said, they fit more easily in the cleats - even in my oversized 8" bow and stern cleats, and definitely in the standard 6" ones (which I reused as midship cleats). We carry a few 1/2" dock lines as backups, and we'd use them in really rough conditions. But most of the places we dock are well sheltered; if we moored at a marina that was exposed to chop, I'd probably want to use the 1/2", but I wouldn't want to leave the boat moored where she wasn't well sheltered anyway.
Our anchor rode is 1/2" NER 3-strand. If I ever replace it, it will be with 7/16" Novabraid. Nearly the same strength as our current 1/2", similar stretch (energy absorbtion), and easier to store in the bow (smaller diameter, and double-braid stacks tighter than 3-strand). The storage space matters in the Puget Sound, where the tidal range means we need to carry 250'+ of rode. Maybe not so much if you only need 100' or so.