www.iFourWinns.com

I hear ya, Bill. Overall I agree with you as I'm a Manufacturing Tech consultant. Sam Walton rolls in his grave daily watching what his heirs have done with his dynasty. He started the "Buy American" trend.

But, on the other hand, the lines you buy from WM and Walmart are both manufactured in the USA.

Walmart carries Attwood which happens to be an old client of mine in the tiny town of Canal Winchester, OH on the SE side of Columbus about 3 miles from the airport. WM carries a lot of New England Ropes and they, too are USA mfg up near Narragansett Bay.

Since I'm not a fan of the Patriots, I choose Walmart/Attwood and save 50% while still supporting the small town manufacturing biz.

But you're correct on your overall thinking of Walmart. I respected Sam Walton. I do shop at Walmart and if I could afford not to, I would. I'd rather go grocery shopping at the Fresh Market and buy my clothes at Nordstrom. But that ain't happening!

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Vic
"Byte Me"
1989 Vista 245
Lake Norman, NC

Throughout this thread the subject of poly vs. nylon has not surfaced. Any thoughts? I have been told, by someone very, very safety conscious (perhaps overly so), that 1/2" nylon (NEVER poly) at a minimum should be used for boats 20'-28'.

I currently have 3/8" poly ... but I have to admit, after looking at the difference in strength between the two materials, I'm leaning towards a dock line upgrade, both in size and material.

Craig C.

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2003 Vista 248, VP 5.0 GXi-C, DP

Yea, NEVER ever use poly except on a Jetski or to hold up your tent poles.

Nylon has good flexing/stretching characteristics that is easier on your cleats.

Stranded nylon is good. $$
Braided nylon is best. $$$$$

Never hurts to buy chafe protectors, too. If your boat is not docked in a no wake zone and/or is subject to a lot of bouncing around in the slip, rubber shock absorbers are never a bad idea, either, on a couple of your lines.

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Vic
"Byte Me"
1989 Vista 245
Lake Norman, NC

I greatly prefer the double-braid type of lines. Because it's easier on the hands and generally tends to handle better for tying and also for storing. The 3-strand nylon line is rough on the hands (especially when they're wet) and tends to kink up a bit too much when dry.

That said, I do keep a pair of 35' 3-strand nylon lines on the boat for use at some of the nastier pilings. The ones at some restaurants are often very dirty or full of splinters. The 3-strand line is a bit more resistant to picking up splinters from those pilings. That and since 3-strand is cheaper I don't feel as bad about them getting nasty from the filth. They seem to clean up a bit better when crap like creosote gets gunked up on them. But I have noticed they don't last as long as the double-braided ones.

I also use some 25' 3/8" (really thin) 3-strand lines for tying up floats behind the boat. When we anchor out we like to inflate a pair of pool lounge floats and tie them to the stern cleats. Guests always like when I reel them back in to refill their blender drinks. Using cheap 3-strand lines means I'm not worried about the expense of replacing them after they get nasty from a summer's worth of this use. I have washed them but the thin lines don't last more than 2 seasons of this. The fibers tend to break down and they unravel.

I'm on my 4th season using double-braid lines. They're out in the sun full time. I've got 5/8" lines at the bow (with rubber snubbers) and 3/4" crossed at the stern and as a spring. The stern lines are heavier then necessary for holding the boat but the added weight makes them much easier to toss up onto the dock when departing. That and I got 'em ridiculously cheap on sale at WM during a summer clearance. I wash them each winter and they're still in great shape. Pretty remarkable considering they've been getting hit with harsh UV from the sunlight the whole time.

I picked up a cheapie hot knife from Harbor Fright and finally made new lines for my fenders. It's much nicer to have them trimmed to the right length. I may pick up the Weller hot knife soldering iron blade but for now the HF knife works well enough. At $15 it's 130 watts of toxic fume cutting fun! (the fumes from dacron and nylon are really, really not good for you).

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Got that right. I saw another option, a neighbor has a some rubstrakes screwed onto his pier to help prevent line chafing:


I'm fortunate that I can connect my lines to the various pilings in a way that they don't droop and rub against anything (not the pier, nor the boat itself). But if they did I'd certainly add something to prevent it. I saw a neighbor's line get cut nearly through during a bad storm last summer. Lots of ragbaggers using those chafing tubes where their lines cross their bow chocks. But they're good for slipping onto your line and protecting where it hits the dock.

My boat is a little snug for our slip so I use snubbers on the bow lines. This keeps some tension on the bow lines during the higher tides while still allowing them to stretch for the low tides. This keeps the side gunwales from rubbing against the pilings. I still use a fender though.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Bill advised me on my lines and they worked out perfect. (Thanks Bill!) I went with 5/8 x 15' with big 3/4 snubbers up on the bow and 25' x 5/8 at the stern. I then have a 35' x 3/4" spring line. My slip neighbor (who I chose my slip next to 'cause I could tell from his lines that he was anal) helped me set the lines at low tide. Our boats were rock solid in the slips the other night while the owner of the marina was running around adjusting other boats as we had a very high wind driven tide. Boats were rubbing the dock. Good to hear the sale is back, I'm going to pick up some lines to keep aboard. They are $$ but totally worth it. It's pretty unreal to see what others use to tie up their 200K boats with!! ...And they do a sloppy job at that.