Chinese dock lines

I'm looking for new dock lines for my 38' trawler.
I think I need 5/8" braided lines
I wonder if there are any rules of thumb regarding the best length to buy
There are some cheap lines available on Amazon (about 1/2 price) but they are made in China
Ant reasons why they wouldn't work for me?

The Chinese lines will work, just not last as long as New England Rope. NER is probably the best available, but it isn't cheap.

For a 38' boat, I would recommend (4) 25 to 30' and (2) 40' lines as a minimum. There will be times that you will need more and or longer lines for special circumstances but the 6 lines will get you by in most cases. I would start there and then add mote as you see the need.

Purchase 2-300 feet of New England Rope 5/8 3 strand nylon. Learn to do your own eye splicing. (Easy to do) Make up the 6 lines as stated above. They will give you good stretch...IE cushion, hold up well, and coil nicely.

As to length, we carry six lines the length of the boat, for normal use, two bow, two stern and two spring. We. Als carry two lines 1.5 times the boat length “just in case”. We rarely use them, but when we need them, we need them.

IMHO, New England Rope is worth the money in the long run.

5/8 is a good size. I too prefer three strand but dont splice loops just simply use large bowlines. Much easier go get off piles if someone else's line gets put over yours and can be quickly adapted to many different situations.

I always use new england rope for it tight lay and overstress indicator strands.

I buy 3 strand in bulk and make up line with 3'-4' eyes.
Below is a picture of how I identify the length of the line.
Makes it easy to grab the right one out of a locker.

The top line is 30' the bottom line is 45'. A black ring for each 10 feet a red band for 5 more feet. I round off to 5'

Steve said:

I buy 3 strand in bulk and make up line with 3'-4' eyes.
Below is a picture of how I identify the length of the line.
Makes it easy to grab the right one out of a locker.

The top line is 30' the bottom line is 45'. A black ring for each 10 feet a red band for 5 more feet. I round off to 5'

Click to expand...

I think you meant the top is 45' and the bottom is 30'.

I like my spring lines to be one size smaller than my dock lines, so they have a little more action and I can tension them up easier. Also, if you have to tie to timbers instead of cleats the soft braided lines have a tendency to get splinters in the weave. My 2 cents...

FWIW, I have two sets of docklines. I have one set that stays on the home dock. They are sized for my boat and my dock. I use three strand for those. I then have braided line that I use for our traveling lines. I have a lot of those but generally use two that are about my boat length for breast lines and then one or two that are 1.5 x the boat length for springs as needed.

bayview said:

5/8 is a good size. I too prefer three strand but don`t splice loops just simply use large bowlines....

Click to expand...

I`ve done that too, but Insequent and another TFer recently posted that using a bowline reduces line strength by 15%. May not matter but worth knowing. Fortunately my partner has become a good splicer.
When I buy rope/line, I usually buy a whole roll. You get a better price,it`s handy to have, and like torches on a boat, you can`t have too much line available.

If I recall from my Boy Scout days, a Bowline reduces the line strength by 15% and a splice by 10%, so its not really that different in every day use. During hurricane prep that might matter, but I doubt you are anywhere near your lines working limit on a regular basis.

Easting said:

Purchase 2-300 feet of New England Rope 5/8 3 strand nylon. Learn to do your own eye splicing. (Easy to do) Make up the 6 lines as stated above. They will give you good stretch...IE cushion, hold up well, and coil nicely.

Click to expand...

This^
For my homeport docklines I add 3/4" reinforced water hose in the 3 strand loop for chafe protection. Still looking for something better.
I have 8 - 5/8" double braid lines for cruising. 4 @ 25', 2 @ 40', and 2 @ 50' just in case.

While down at the outstation docks on a stormy day, I noted a 45 Bayliner tied with new, black 5/8" braided lines that was in trouble. All of the lines were properly tied, in the right places, but several had an effective diameter of less than 1/2 where they went around the bull rail. None had actually parted. The owner had what appeared to be a 100' towline, made of 3/4" Samson Golden Braid. I was able to get it out of his cockpit and use it to add bow and stern lines, taking the strain from the black lines.

I had recently replaced my own docking lines with the nicer looking, new, all black lines, in 3/4", with my own slices to make up 4 longish lines. I am unhappy to have done so, now that I have experience with that particular kind of line being so unsuited to its intended use.
Next time I buy rope for new dock lines, it will be Samson Golden Braid, or New England Rope.

Keith, I know that black stuff. Looks smart, nice and soft to handle, but wears as fast as it is soft. Good for short term use only, IMO. Just last weekend we added a spare line to the boat next door, for similar reasons.

Hamilton Marine, Buy the 600 foot spool of Yale 8 brait. 8, 50 footers and 2, 100 footers. About 69 cents in bulk. If the upfront $ bothers you then keep 6 fifty’s and peddle the rest for about 1$ a foot. That $1 a foot is a bargain. You will love the 5/8 8 plat (brait].

I have no eye splices but use bowlines for the pier cleat, thereby the eye is the right size for each attachment. About 8000lb breaking strength 1800lb Working. Soft, easy on the hands and NO memory.

Those are my traveling lines. I use cheaper 3 stran at home slip.

Comodave said:

The Chinese lines will work, just not last as long as New England Rope. NER is probably the best available, but it isn't cheap.

Click to expand...

Do you have experience with using the Chinese lines - have you found them to be less abrasion-resistant - do they last half as long?

For docklines I don't see the advantage of trying to save money, but for keeping rolls of shoreline onboard (say multiple spools of 100m+) then the less expensive brands would be an advantage, especially if using the more expensive poly-prop floating lines.

Considering all the items formerly made in the US, now made in China and still carrying US brand names, I'd be surprised if much line is really American made.

Yale Corgade. Maine and North Carolina
Yale Cordage | About Us

New England Rope Fall River, Ma
https://www.neropes.com/en/

makobuilders said:

Do you have experience with using the Chinese lines - have you found them to be less abrasion-resistant - do they last half as long?

For docklines I don't see the advantage of trying to save money, but for keeping rolls of shoreline onboard (say multiple spools of 100m+) then the less expensive brands would be an advantage, especially if using the more expensive poly-prop floating lines.

Click to expand...

Not sure where it came from but I got a deal on some 1/2 inch golden braided lines. Very pretty. But stiff, didn’t coil worth a damn, impossible to splice, not sure about the longevity as I threw it out. New England Rope or Yale Cordage. Great American made products.

I had a buddy that owns a rope store last year buy a pallet of spiced loop ropes.
He did it because they were cheap and he wanted to offer it to his customers that always seemed to complain about prices
Looked great but they were not spliced just a couple of stiches of twine just to hold the loop behind the outside mesh ------pulled open with a slight tug.
He had more complains about boats drifting away at dock after that
You get what you pay for from China its just their way

cheap, soft, loose lay three strand will hockle when strain is released.
Dont use the cheap stuff.

I like three strand rope for docklines. It has nice stretch.
I sold Samson rope for about fifty years. Great rope.
In three strand you want a pre stretched or heat set rope. Only high end manufactures like Samson and New England do that. It will feel harder than non treated rope but it resists abrasion much better than soft ropes.

I brought in a line of Chinese rope because people want cheap crap. It really was crap but it sold.

The Chinese 1/2" rope had a breaking strength of 4200 pounds. The Samson 1/2" had a breaking strength of 6300 pounds.

I made docklines specifically for my home dock and left them there when I went out.

I had six docklines that I carried with me. They were each the length of the boat and had a 6 foot circumference eye spliced in one end. Since they were all the same length, I could just grab one and know it was long enough. The 6 foot circumference eye was big enough to drop over a piling. Having six gave me two bow lines, two stern lines and two spring lines. That's what worked for me.

Mule said:

Hamilton Marine, Buy the 600 foot spool of Yale 8 brait. 8, 50 footers and 2, 100 footers. About 69 cents in bulk. If the upfront $ bothers you then keep 6 fifty’s and peddle the rest for about 1$ a foot. That $1 a foot is a bargain. You will love the 5/8 8 plat (brait].

I have no eye splices but use bowlines for the pier cleat, thereby the eye is the right size for each attachment. About 8000lb breaking strength 1800lb Working. Soft, easy on the hands and NO memory.

Those are my traveling lines. I use cheaper 3 stran at home slip.

Click to expand...

Correction...1/2 inch 8 plat (brait)

Northern Spy said:

I think you meant the top is 45' and the bottom is 30'.

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No, looks right to me. Top is 30', bottom is 45'

Hmmmm. Maybe it's an orientation issue.

There appears to be the toe of a shoe at the bottom left of the picture I see.

Would you agree that the 3 strand is 45' and the braided is 30' ?

I see the toe at the top right. Yes, the 3 strand is 45'

I have bought all my dock lines from Miami Cordage. No complains at all.
They are a bit over size for my 34AT but during the hurricane I was happy to have them.
I have 2 bow lines 4 stern lines, 4 spring lines, fore and aft, plus another set for spares and during high winds or hurricanes.
If one has to double up all lines, it does help to have a second set. Makes the insurance company happy.
Personally, I like double braided lines with stout bowline knots.

Dan, with all those lines, I'd be more concerned with the reliability of the docks' cleats and the docks themselves.

markpierce said:

Dan, with all those lines, I'd be more concerned with the reliability of the docks' cleats and the docks themselves.

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Me too plus I am concerned about the reliability of the boat cleats too.
I want to be able to prove to my insurance company, I did my best.

Post #6
That picture was taken with my phone, when I copied it from my computer pictures it appeared as was as posted. When I clicked "preview post" it appeared flipped, so I corrected in preview, when it I clicked "post" it flipped back again so doesn't match the text.
In any case, the text is correct: "A black ring for each 10 feet a red band for 5 more feet. I round off to 5'."
Reminds me of backwards slides in a 35mm carousel!