Thickness of Dock lines

Zach312

Zach312

Active Member
SILVER Sponsor
Jan 23, 2011
825
Nashville, TN
Boat Info
2008 Sea Ray 47 Sedan Bridge
Engines
Cummins QSC-600
For a 40 ft sundancer. Do I need 1/2 inch of 5/8 inch thick dock lines.

Once slip neighbor swears anything over 1/2 inch is over kill the other insists that 5/8ths is needed.

Have 3 lines per side.

Thanks
 
Agree, I have new lines on my dining room table, and I got 5/8 for our 44 ft boat. I believe 1/2 in can cover up to high 30 ft boats. I would think 1/2 in would theoretically work for larger boats, but nice to have a FS.
 
From a strength and weight capacity standpoint I think the 1/2 lines are fine (I studied the info on the packaging pretty carefully!) Personally I prefer the look and feel of the 5/8" braided lines - that what we have on our 420. We had a mix of 1/2" and 5/8" lines on our 360 and when we bought the bigger boat I went to all 5/8" lines and the bigger 10" x 26" Big B fenders. Both look so much better on the larger boats.
 
When i bought the boat they gave me a set of 3/4... I thought it was over kill and I bought some additional 5/8...

Now the 5/8 look dinky... Should have stuck with the 3/4... They look awesome.. Beefy and cool.. Go with 3/4 you will be happy..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
One issue to consider if you have to go through locks and have to throw lines to get a cleat. We had 5/8" lines when we got our boat and recently purchased an extra set of 1/2" lines for going through the Ballard locks. Our 5/8" lines are heavy and even heavier when (if?) you miss the wall and they get wet. I actually injured my right shoulder when having to throw heavy, wet 5/8" lines at the locks a few weeks ago. It's just now getting back to normal. Irritating because the injury affected both my boating and my tennis game! :)

To be fair, the 1/2" lines fit our bow cleat much better than the 5/8".

Sandy
 
The dealer provided me with 5/8" lines and 10"x26" fenders when I bought my 280DA and they felt right for that boat. I can't imagine anything smaller for a bigger boat.
 
Sandy: forgot to mention we have a pair of 1/2" x 50' lines we had custom made for the locks. You're right that 5/8" is too much for that.
 
La Maddalena said:
Sandy: forgot to mention we have a pair of 1/2" x 50' lines we had custom made for the locks. You're right that 5/8" is too much for that.
Click to expand...

Yes - we still use the 5/8" for docking at our slip and when traveling. But for the locks they're just so heavy to throw, especially when wet. I worsened the problem when I played tough tennis match the next day after pulling a muscle in my shoulder. My husband says it's because I'm getting old. Such a nice guy!
 
OK, I'm going to throw a monkey wrench into this discussion. I use 5/8" lines for my spring lines but use 1/2" lines for the bow line and stern lines and I'm tying up around 65,000 pounds.

Zach, You're not trying to lift the boat, you're just trying to keep it in place when the winds blow. When we go south for the winter I double up the 5/8" spring lines and stern lines and try to make sure that the lengths of the second lines is pretty equal to the primary line so the load is spread between the two.

5/8" lines fit better around the cleats than 3/4" and they're just easier to handle.
 
Great insight. We currently have 5/8th lines and I sure wouldn't mind 1/2 inch but don't want to take a unnecessary risk. Our dock set up dictates two stern lines, two forward facing spring lines and two bow lines. The forward cleat on the dock is the only cleat the forward spring line and bow line tie too. With 5/8ths lines its a lot for one cleat.

Note the slip is 15 ft wide.

We also have sets of 5/8ths lines for transits dockage and raft ups
 
sandydlc said:
One issue to consider if you have to go through locks and have to throw lines to get a cleat. We had 5/8" lines when we got our boat and recently purchased an extra set of 1/2" lines for going through the Ballard locks. Our 5/8" lines are heavy and even heavier when (if?) you miss the wall and they get wet. I actually injured my right shoulder when having to throw heavy, wet 5/8" lines at the locks a few weeks ago. It's just now getting back to normal. Irritating because the injury affected both my boating and my tennis game! :)

To be fair, the 1/2" lines fit our bow cleat much better than the 5/8".

Sandy
Click to expand...


We also carry our "locks" lines.... I hate the Ballard Locks, btw....
 
Aw c'mon Mark. Are you saying that you don't like being belittled and yelled at by the overpaid gubmint employees and being treated like an imbecile?

I've only been through there once, in the small lock, and it was very early in the a.m. (sunup). I don't think they had enough coffee yet to be truly grumpy and insulting but they were working on it.
 
This is what I've seen recommended. The way I look at it, I spent a lot of money on the boat, I'm not going cheap on the lines that hold it safely to the dock. We had a 155 footer break loose in a storm at our marina this winter and it wasn't pretty for his boat or the one it hit.

Suggested size by boat
Up to 25'3/8"
25' to 35'1/2"
35' to 45'5/8 "
45' to 55'3/4 "
 
GFC, if I could go thru little lock every time without idling for an hour on either side and not be in there with morons.... I guess it would OK. My last experience was in the large lock where you scrape up or down the concrete sides, I had my old crappy fenders out without covers on them for the large lock and they put me on the wall (of course), then they have some friggin moron raft to me with dental floss for lines. I should have said, oh heck no and grabbed my additional lines to use, but being on the with just the Mrs, I had my hands full. So as soon we match water height on the other side they open the doors and no matter how close they are to matching there is always swirling water, so, of course, one of the lines snapped that the moron put on me and he is now T-Boning me, pushing my bow into the cement wall. My custom made, built in bow rail fender holder, port side is scraping on the concrete wall.... Fun Day - NOT !!!
 
All I can tell you is I snapped a 1/2" brand new three strand dock line this past winter... What happened is it rubbed on the piling enough to weaken it and it snapped... Depends on your application, but I plan on using only 5/8" in the future for dock lines...
 
rcknecht said:
All I can tell you is I snapped a 1/2" brand new three strand dock line this past winter... What happened is it rubbed on the piling enough to weaken it and it snapped... Depends on your application, but I plan on using only 5/8" in the future for dock lines...
Click to expand...

We're in a new marina with this boat and in an uncovered slip where we are only tied up on the port side of the boat. I plan on getting a snubber for at least the bow line and the spring line which should help during winter months when we get more wind. Since I can only tie up on the port side (previously I could tie up all around), what is the recommended method for tie-down for a 30K pound boat? There are pictures of our marina in the link in my signature line. Would appreciate any recommendations.

Quick edit: We are currently tied up using the thicker 5/8" lines. We are currently using (on the port side) one stern line, one bow line and a spring line at mid-ship to prevent us from drifting to stern. No snubbers in place right now but our marina is pretty well protected.

Sandy
 
Last edited:
Sounds like 5/8ths is the way to go. Anybody buy lines from overtons? they are more than half the price of the west marine lines.
 
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