Dock line noise

[Baker]

Those are some tough shells

Yes they are!!!! I guess that is why they are so damn noisy!!!!

 

[CPseudonym]

It's that or the males mistakenly think the boat is a female

 

[jwnall]

I
Other weird sounds...shrimp mating!!!! If you don't know this sound it will drive you crazy....just a continuous clicking sound. It actually drives me crazy...but I know what it is and know it is not part of the boat.

Oh . . . OK. Well, the story about it being shrimp eating stuff off the bottom was told to me by a grizzled old sea-dog that I met later on during the cruise. But hey, what do grizzled old sea-dogs know about sex?

 

[BruceK]

The strangest sound I ever heard on a boat was when we first began the cruising life, and were anchored at DeSoto Point, on the south side of Tampa bay. It was a weird noise. Sounded like something crunching!

...Seems that there are little shrimp that swim up and munch on the growth on the bottom of the boat.

[Quote from Baker] I don't think they are munching. They are having sex...read my previous post!!
In that case it seems wrong to watch, or even listen.
I have seen a single shrimp/prawn nibbling the back of the transom of a moored boat. Ignoring the onanastic, I`d say it was eating.

 

[rwidman]

Shrimp eat more often than they have sex. Just like married men.

 

[goboatnow]

Not to change the subject away from shrimp and sex, but the soap on the lines really helped with the squeaking lines. The noise was coming from the lines where they stretch while passing through the hawse holes. Two days now and all is quiet.

Thanks for the suggestions and now back to shrimp and sex.....

 

[BandB]

But I must say they are quiet and the boat doesn't jerk around in the slip when somebody ignores the no wake zone in marina .

I like what you said there. Wake is a fact of life. It's going to happen. I prefer to prepare for it and then when it does happen, I don't find myself stewing over it.

 

[River Cruiser]

In freshwater after dark the carp will suck the slime off the hull and dock floats and it sounds like someone banging on the hull with a hammer. It's not a problem the 1st couple of years after new paint but after that there is enough growth it's like a buffet, it has woke me up from sound asleep. For the last few years I've had the bottom done every 2 years so it hasn't been a problem, some of the boats around me haven't had paint in several years and sitting on the dock at night you can hear them banging away.


Sent from my iPad using Trawler Forum

 

[loafs and fishes]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpheidae Pistol shrimp. Not necessarily eating or having sex. Just something they do from time to time. If you're near a colony, the sound is pretty constant. Kind of like when you first pour milk into a bowl of Rice Crispies. I have a rather large one in my aquarium and sometimes it makes a sound that sounds like a window breaking!

(just wanted to get the thread back off track)

 

[clynn]

I can't hear my dock lines at all from my office. While I'm sure it's somewhat annoying for you, enjoy that problem

 

[User915]

My dock lines

I'm using those

 

[User915]

And that too

With shock absorbers, everything so fine.

 

[Pgitug]

Mclube Sailkote is a dry lube that racing sailors use on their lines so there is less resistance going thru the blocks. Works well to quite dock lines. Works great to lube the tracks of sliding pilot house doors. Again, it is a dry lube that does not attract dirt.

 

[Moonfish]

Sitting here in a pretty surgy Marina in Ensenada, and getting tired of all the noise my dock lines are making. Anyone have any secrets for reducing the creaking and squeaking of dock lines? Getting them wet works - until they dry.

Cheers!

Sorry to come into this so late, but we pretty much alleviated all dock line noise (primarily the rubbing, creaking sounds through the hawse holes) by using chafe protection. First we used Spirol Chafe Guards, and they worked really well for almost three years. But they eventually wore through at the sharper angles exiting the hawse holes. I think they would be great and last a lot longer with less than a 270-degree angle for wear.

Now we are trying out Chafe Pro. We've been using the "Yacht Series" for more than a year and they are holding up really well. Hoping they last a few more years...

Yacht Series - Chafe-Pro | Don't Dock Without It | Removable Chafe Gear Chafe-Pro | Don't Dock Without It | Removable Chafe Gear

 

[cool beans]

The other night my dock lines were driving me up a wall and I remembered this thread I tried WD40 as a quick fix and it worked great! I don't think it's just the chafe around the chocks (I have line protectors), but just that the whole line is creaking. . .things are stiff as wire, probably time to soak and wash

There was a direct correlation between length of line treated with WD40, and reduction in noise. . .

 

[dhays]

The other night my dock lines were driving me up a wall and I remembered this thread I tried WD40 as a quick fix and it worked great! I don't think it's just the chafe around the chocks (I have line protectors), but just that the whole line is creaking. . .things are stiff as wire, probably time to soak and wash

There was a direct correlation between length of line treated with WD40, and reduction in noise. . .

I'm glad it worked well for you to quiet your lines. I wouldn't use WD40 on the lines however as it will attract dirt. I am also unsure of how it will effect the material of the dock lines.

SailKote as was mentioned above works well and is just plain handy to have on board as it is a dry lubricant and is safe for the materials one has on board.

 

[Islanddreamer]

Saw this thread last weekend with gale force winds Friday night through Saturday. Sprayed a mixture of blue Dawn detergent and water on the hawse pipes and cleats. Problem solved and slept soundly. Still quiet a week later.

Thanks.
mike

 

[cappy208]

Reading the line care and usage part of chapmans (or any line manufacturer) will say to NOT put chemicals, soaps or additives on plastic lines. It shortens their life. It may 'quiet the squeak' now. But your boat may end up floating down the river.

The chocks and cleats need chafe gear on them and longer leads. The squeaking is the line 'micro rubbing' in very short cycles on, over and around the fittings. Although as mentioned there are dozens of other noise contributors aboard. A line that is squeaking is not long enough to accomplish what the line was designed to do in the first place (stretch 20 to 50% of it's length to absorb shock under load). A line made fast on the boat a distance away from a chock (or turning point) will have more travel allowing more squeaks (chafe).

The shown line snubbers are trying to 'make the line longer' which alleviates the squeak.

Although everyone likes to buy the fancy braided, double braid, plaited lines. Nothing beats plain old three strand Nylon for silence and stretch.

 

[dhays]

The shown line snubbers are trying to 'make the line longer' which alleviates the squeak.

Although everyone likes to buy the fancy braided, double braid, plaited lines. Nothing beats plain old three strand Nylon for silence and stretch.

I have never used one of the commercial snubbers but have often thought they could be a great idea. I have just been too cheap to spend the money.

For my traveling lines (the ones I keep on the boat to use when away from our home dock) I use premade double braid lines. For my home dock lines I have always just bought 3 strand nylon in bulk and made up my own. A whole lot less expensive.

 

[Islanddreamer]

I have 3/4" double braided lines that weren't inexpensive, but looking at the some of the chafe guards, it wouldn't be much more expensive to replace the lines. I look at my lines every few days anyway and would see a visible deterioration that would necessitate replacement. The size of line was a little overkill, but they've been fine for me. I don't soap them constantly, so we should be fine.

 

[psneeld]

While Cappy makes a good point...I have seen lines soaked in all kinds of crap and still work for almost ever..comes with the assistance towing territory.


A little diluted dish detergent is not going to do much...well diluted within a couple of days will wash harmfiul grit out of it that is worse than the detergent I would guess.


The breaking strength of the average dockline is probably 5X what they ever see except for a hurricane...so just make sure you have a set of storm line if necessary...the other can be used for the normal nights sleep.

 

[DHeckrotte]

Some people pay for recordings of creaking, lapping and splashing, and pine for the opportunity to be on a boat. Just sayin'.

 

[Islanddreamer]

Maybe I need to let the lines dry out and begin to record....

 

[DHeckrotte]

Man! I'd be careful what I slathered on dock lines!

WD-40 is a pretty darned good solvent, and is intended to creep into things, same as penetrating fluids. Dish detergent is a pretty good solvent. Soap is a pretty good solvent. Glycerine (sold for various lubricative uses, like K-Y jelly) is only slippery when wet, what is it when dry? And time plus damp is helpful with slow solvents.

Clean, salt-free dock lines will last longer. The salt crystallizes and is abrasive, both internally within the line and against the chock. I can only imagine what various soaps turn in to given time and drying; some certainly have abrasives in the mix.

I think adequate chafe consideration would be the best prevention for noise. Nice, smooth, slippery chocks and short runs from chock to cleat.

https://www.steamshipmutual.com/Risk-Alerts/RA07MooringLineCareMaintenance.pdf

 

[Don1500]

That gentle sound puts me to sleep at night. I have learned every squeak and squawk, bong, bang, and chirp my boat makes and if I don't recognize a sound, even in my sleep I wake up to investigate. Have found my anchor dragging, a small electrical fire, a broken dock line, and even some midnight marauders (Actual people coming to board my boat while at anchor) this way.

 

[Don1500]

With shock absorbers, everything so fine.

OH, that will squeak! But there are rubber versions.

 

[NightCrawler]

LOL. I spent an hour in the basement trying to find an electrical arc, which is exactly what them dang shrimps sound like. Until i remembered reading about them here. . .

 

[Don1500]

LOL. I spent an hour in the basement trying to find an electrical arc, which is exactly what them dang shrimps sound like. Until i remembered reading about them here. . .

Can't forget the shrimp!

 

[Pgitug]

I found these to be one of the best chafe guards. Easy to place over the lines, the velco is placed so that it does not fray your line and they are quite and cheap.

 

[MVDarlin]

Which marina, Coral or Cruise port? Use bicycle tire innertubes for snubbers. Fold once.