??dock lines??

[slamdry]

does anyone know how to make the nice pretty loops at the end of the dock lines??

[ThunderMarineDave]

Most boating store (WestMarine, etc) will have splicing services.

There are several online resources if you want to try it yourself:

http://www.machovec.com/rope/splicing/splicing.htm
http://www.lehighgroup.com/ropespliceeye.htm
http://www.aie.org.uk/aie_data/aie_knot_3splice.html

-David
THUNDER MARINE

[slamdry]

sweeeet, thank you!!!:)



wow that looks alot harder then it seems lol

[Cuda]

It's a whole lot easier to buy them. I bought a pair of nice floating lines, spliced with the boat name printed on the slice. I think it was from Top Knot.

[Donzigo]

I do it with both types of line; but, I can't think of a way to explain it toyou over the net...............

[Cuda]

My dad, a career Navy man, gave me a Blue Jacket's Manual a long time ago to show me how to do that, splice lines, and make a monkey's fist for throwing lines. He still has the book, but if you can find one, it's in there.:wink:

[DonziJon]

Most of the docklines I've seen on Donzi type boats are made with what is called "Yacht Braid". Pre-spliced docklines in various "Pretty" colors are available at most any place that sells boating stuff.

If you want to learn how to splice Yacht Braid, "Samson Cordage Works", Boston, MA. (Mfg. of the original Yacht Braid) have a little booklet called the Samson Splicing Manual. It shouldn't cost more than a couple of bucks. The simple thing to do is just buy Pre-Spliced dock lines.

The other type of line available is 3 strand Twisted line that looks old fashioned but can easilly be spliced without tools, and is easier to splice than "Braid", which require a couple of special tools to splice.

Whatever you do, always insist on "Nylon" for dock and anchor lines because you WANT it to Stretch under load. Stretch is particularly important when tying up to a "fixed" dock or pier in TIDAL Waters in case you didn't quite allow for "The TIDE" when you tied up in the first place. :bonk: John

[Cuda]

I also recomend the floating lines, for that line that get's ignored around the dock, to be sure it doesn't get into the prop. :(

[DonziJon]

Cuda brings up a good point. The "floating" lines are made of polypropylene. I used this material for many years for my dock lines on my 32' Sailboat..(choke).... tied up to a floating dock in a marina. The docklines were made up to be "permenently" attached to the "float", ..so when I came in, I just picked them up off the float and hooked them up to the cleats on the boat. They were NO stretch. I deemed this OK... because the length of each line had been predetermined to place the boat where I wanted it.

For "temporary" docking, I like Nylon and carried Nylon docklines on that boat.....AND.. on the Donzi.. Polypropylene does not do well in the sun and will become "bristly" and hard on your hands to handle after about two years if left out in the sun 24/7. All knowing..All seeing: :wink: John

[slamdry]

i already bought nylon lines, i was just looking for a easy way to make the loops in the ends of them. The boat wont ever be in the water for extended periods of time so im not really worried about the lines sinking, and i usually take them off then i go to go.

[Cuda]

i already bought nylon lines, i was just looking for a easy way to make the loops in the ends of them. The boat wont ever be in the water for extended periods of time so im not really worried about the lines sinking, and i usually take them off then i go to go.
They will sink as soon as they hit the water, normally seeking a prop to wrap themselves around. I think the Navy should devise a way to shoot them at other ships to disable them, due to their prop seeking nature.

[BaldEagle]

Buy a copy of "Chapmans" the boating bible, and you will have a reference book for most boating situations including knots, when to use them, and marlinespike.