Choose the right diameter of your mooring line

Having trouble choosing the right diameter of your mooring line? We are here to help you!

Choosing the right diameter of mooring line can be difficult. Traditionally, too thick mooring lines are used on boats around the country. A false sense of security that can actually do more harm than good. It is not easy to know which diameter of your mooring line is the right one. This article explains how to think about the right thickness of your mooring line.

Mooring lines with built-in shock absorbers

Mooring lines with built-in shock absorbers should not be oversized because the line needs the weight of the boat to work. This means that if the line is too thick in relation to the weight of the boat, it will result in the line becoming stiff and unable to flex. It is therefore important to know the weight of your boat and the length of your mooring lines. You can find our table for which mooring line is recommended for which boat weight below. In cases where the lines are very short, less than one metre, it may be an idea to use a smaller, external bungy-type shock absorber.

Breaking strength is not the most important thing when choosing a mooring line

When choosing the thickness of your mooring line, it is not uncommon for breaking strength to come up. In fact, it is not the breaking strength that is most important. A cleat or bollard on a boat can rarely withstand a load of several tonnes, but a mooring line can. In other words, the boat is more likely to be damaged by high forces than the mooring line. Therefore, you should look at recommendations rather than pure breaking strength of the rope.

Depending on how you moor your boat, the strength of the mooring line is also affected.
For the best and strongest mooring, wrap the eye of the mooring line around its own part in the ring of the dock and then attach it to the boat’s bollard in the usual way. Keep in mind that hooks, shackles, metal springs; metal parts in general have in principle always a lower breaking strength than the mooring line.

Alternatively, if you want to carry the mooring line on the boat when travelling: pull the line from the boat, through the ring of the dock, and back to the boat again. Ensure that any removable wear protection is in the ring of the dock, to reduce wear on the rope. NOTE: never put a shock absorber on the line for this type of mooring – will wear down the line when docking.

Things to consider when choosing the right thickness of mooring line:

• Based on the weight of the boat
• If you have very short tamps, use the external shock absorber Bungy
• How you moor your boat affects the breaking strength of your mooring line.

Our most popular mooring lines:

Here you can find all our mooring lines.

Click here to watch a film about our multiple Best-in-Test winning mooring line Storm.