dock, fender and anchor line-gctid355946

[Guest]

My boat came with no lines. What size, how long, and number of lines should I buy for my 2355 1 Anchor line 2 fender lines 3 mooring lines? How many fender should I have and what size?

[Guest]

seasam wrote:
My boat came with no lines. What size, how long, and number of lines should I buy for my 2355 1 Anchor line 2 fender lines 3 mooring lines? How many fender should I have and what size?

As a minumum, you need 2-25' X 1/2" braided mooring lines; 2-15'X1/2" spring lines; 3-8" MINIMUM fenders with attaching lines; 10' chain rode and 200'X3/4" anchor line. Don't forget 50' floating line to attach to your throwable life ring (or cushion). An extra 25' line might be a good idea to provide an extra tie down if the conditions are rougher than normal.

'Course, this is just my opinion; I could be wrong.

[Guest]

Well the most important thing is that it all matches your boat colors properly

1/2 lines, good quality, is what I use - a cpl 15',,,a 20' and a 5/8 line for the bow at 25'

8" fenders - I have 4 for starboard side, only, those lines are 7/16" I think

extra everything for lines

all they all match perfectly, of course !!

2452 here

Good luck, have fun!

Sarah

[boatworkfl]

I do not think a 24' boat needs 3/4" anchor line, 1/2" or 5/8" at the most.

[Guest]

boatworkfl wrote:
I do not think a 24' boat needs 3/4" anchor line, 1/2" or 5/8" at the most.

Yes, 1/2 in. plenty. I use 3/8 in shallow waters. Length of rode/anchor line will depend on the water depth you boat in. IMO, silly to carry 200 feet if you boat in 15 water. Figure 7:1 ratio minimum. 10% or so in chain, the rest braided rode/line/rope.

I agree on 2-25' 1/2 braided lines for spring (usually only one at normal-non overnite docking/2 for storms and odd situations) and 2-15' 1/2 in. for normal tie ups.

Ditto again on a minimum of 3...8-8.5 inch fenders. I carry 4, but participate in multiple boat raftups. Fender lines are almost always 6 ft long. 3/8th line.

Of course if you boat in rough waters, unprotected docking you should bump up he fender sizes.

[mrbigsea]

I would add to the list.....and I quote from the USPS cruise planning book.....

."Bow and stern lines should be at least 1/2 of the overall length of the boat. You should carry ar least four lines including two spring lines. The spring lines should beat least one and one half times the boat length and these are the minimums."

Besides buying your anchor rode by the spool, I would do the same for your mooring lines. Custom cut them for your needs and save a boat load of money too! Get the three strand nylon and you can splice in your own loops, also real easy.......

Hope this helps.

Roger

[JimMc]

I spotted the 3/4" anchor line as well. I use 5/8" on a 305. Maybe he meant 3/8.

I would use 1/2" anchor rode with 1/4" chain.

Generally the length of chain should be the length of the boat. The length of anchor rode total needs to be about 5 times longer than the expected depth of water you expect to anchor in.

EXAMPLE

30' water depth x 5 = 150' Anchor Rode = 25' chain & 125' of rope

[706jim]

I use 5/8" lines for mooring and 3/8" for fenders on my 24' boat. I keep four large fenders; I think they are 10" diameter.

While even 3/8" nylon line is very strong, the larger 5/8" diameter helps resist chafing especially in a storm.

On my previous 22' boat, I had 400' of 7/16" anchor line, but cut into four 100' sections for ease of handling.

[Guest]

I carry a lot of extra line and fenders. Odd docks, tie ups etc, other unprepared boaters. You can never have too much. Just like vodka and crown.

[Guest]

While 3/8" and 1/2" lines have all the strength you will ever need, bigger is much easier on your hands. Grab the line you are considering, think about pulling on it in a tough situation.

[Guest]

Sigh, as always, all of these answers are really irrelevant until we know how you will use and dock the boat. If it's a trailer boat used in good weather and not slipped, the answer is very different from a boat in an unprotected marina.

So anyway, my previous boat was the same as yours and I kept it in a slip that had decent breakwaters, but we get some fierce storms. I had 1/2" lines all around. Two 15' on each side in a spring configuration from a dock cleat near the stern to the mid cleat on the boat and near the mid area on the dock to the stern cleat on the boat. This was the primary hold for all directions. Then I had two 25' lines from well ahead of the boat back to the forward cleats on the bow, these kept it from being pushed back against the main dock. They could be released in good weather for easier stepping from the dock to the boat.

I then kept a couple of 3/8 and a couple of 1/2" lines on board for rafting and random docking.

[Guest]

Oh, and the spring lines had snubbers on them.

[Guest]

Good thread with some good info. I think I'll be going with (2) 50ft 5/8th for Spring, and (2) 15ft 5/8th for bow/stern. Previous owner of this 305 has been tying it down with 3/8 and 6" fenders....Not a good idea for my marina!

Any good cheap sources for the lines? I'm seeing some of the lines on Amazon for about 1/3 of what West Marine offers them! Unfortunately I can't find the color I want..Yes seriously

[Guest]

My 2052 Trophy is trailered. I carry around four 20' long dock lines, and two 10' long lines. The short lines are for rafting with friends. The longer lines are used for launching and tieing to the dock. I also have six fenders on the boat. With four lines and six fenders I can rig my boat to launch or land on either side without the need to transfer things from one side to the other. The additional fenders are also nice to have in the event you get sandwiched in a raft of boats with friends.

The fender lines can be as small as 5/16" since there's not near the stress on these lines as your mooring lines.