14mm or 16mm mooring rope help

[nearlythere]

Hi all

 

Can I ask your opinions on which rope to get for a 57ft narrowboat, is 14mm sufficient? Or would 16mm be better? And is 10m long enough?

 

Thank you in advance

[spadefoot]

I'd get whichever thickness suits your hands better. The length is more dependant on what you're going to do with it & where you're going to cruise. Long enough is good, too short is not so good.

[nearlythere]

Thank you, we were looking at 10 metre lengths, would this be considered adequate?

[Sea Dog]

My boat is 57ft, my fore and aft lines are 10 m of 14mm. They're black so they don't look manky too quickly and, importantly,are soft and easy to handle and coil. Sometimes too long can be a nuisance too, but I've yet to have a problem with 10 mtrs (though I do have a couple of longer lines in my locker which came with the boat). Someone will be along shortly to say that you need 30 mtrs of 25mm and one day they may even be righ! Til then, I'd go with the 10mtrs of 14mm. Hope that helps.

[nearlythere]

Thank you, that is of great help.

[Guest]

My boat is 57' and I'm a single hander. Most of my ropes are 14mm. I have 2 centre lines which are about 13.5m and the stern line is 10m. However my bow line is 16mm and is about 5m long. It's a bit short if I'm honest but it was made by the guy who fitted my solar panels and he was of the view that any longer was not necessary. Being that bit thicker does make it really lovely to handle though.

[Wrinkley]

I have some 12mm and some 14mm. Normally I just use the 12mm as they are shorter (6mtr) but down on the River Wey we are having to rope the front and back in the locks so using our 14mm 10mtr lines and what a pain they are. So heavy to throw up. If I was a richman I would swap them for 12mm 10 mtr asap. Our boat is 60 ft.

[Bacchus]

My boat is 57ft, my fore and aft lines are 10 m of 14mm. They're black so they don't look manky too quickly and, importantly,are soft and easy to handle and coil. Sometimes too long can be a nuisance too, but I've yet to have a problem with 10 mtrs (though I do have a couple of longer lines in my locker which came with the boat). Someone will be along shortly to say that you need 30 mtrs of 25mm and one day they may even be righ! Til then, I'd go with the 10mtrs of 14mm. Hope that helps.

 

I'd go with this advice; the ease of handling shorter lines in everyday use, and a longer line or two on standby for the rare occasions when you might use them. They won't wear out in a locker.

 

The advice on cruisers is generally 1.5 times boat lenght, but that would get ridiculous on a narrow boat (it's ridiculous on cruisers imho), the fore and aft lines need to be long enough to hold both when single handed, with enough spare for a 6-8' drop in a lock. Then add a bit.

 

And, yes, go for at least 14mm.

[ditchcrawler]

I prefer thinner lines, I watched an old boatman on a pleasure boat, not a working boat weight 40 tons and his line were about a 1/4" coiled in his hand easily with a small coil so several turns, it seemed to make sense to me. When i moor on rings I like to take a lope of line through the ring and back to the T stud and then tie the end off to the T stud, this is easier with thinner lines.

[Alan Saunders]

I prefer thinner lines, I watched an old boatman on a pleasure boat, not a working boat weight 40 tons and his line were about a 1/4" coiled in his hand easily with a small coil so several turns, it seemed to make sense to me. When i moor on rings I like to take a lope of line through the ring and back to the T stud and then tie the end off to the T stud, this is easier with thinner lines.

And, done correctly you can slip all the turns from the deck.

 

A deep drafted boat could have the stern >2m from the bank, the pin >1m inland and a 45° angle makes 8.5m return length so, allowing for turns and knots, 10m is sensible minimum for a stern line.

 

The bow line may not need to be any longer as the shallower bow will probably be closer to the bank. But it is convenient on, say, a 40' boat that it reaches to the back of the boat. On a 70' boat this may be inconvenient.

 

Sometimes additional lengths are useful. If you have two centre lines and two stern lines with eye splices longer lines are quickly made with sheet bends.

[DHutch]

Slightly depends on the weight of the boat and strength of the fittings. I expect either would be fine, but 16 would be nicer to hold. The only risk with going too thick is if the strength of the fittings is less than that of the rope, there is a risk of them coming off while the rope is under load, and being catapulted towards the rope and great speed.

 

There are lots of other threads on the topic but our standard lines around around 12m for the front line, maybe 8m for the rear, and 16m for the centre. Which is aimed to be long enough for almost anything, while also being short enough not to be a pain to handle. A lot say the centre line should be sized to just miss the prop, but I find this too restrictive and in 20 years of boating the only line have had in the prop is the rear.

 

Polyester feels nicest, staple spun polyprop is also fine and floats, brand names include 'polyhemp' and the like.

 

 

Daniel

[ditchcrawler]

 

 

Sometimes additional lengths are useful. If you have two centre lines and two stern lines with eye splices longer lines are quickly made with sheet bends.

You will be confusing people now, they will be heading off to the bedroom