Elastic mooring lines. What’s the big deal?

Elastic mooring lines – A glossary

• Elastic mooring lines are a type of line that has a built-in shock absorber
• Mooring lines are used to tie the boat to a dock or similar
• Shock absorbers are steel springs or rubber dampers that are mounted on a traditional mooring line
• A three-strand rope has three thinner strands intertwined into a thicker one
• A braided line has a core and a sheath braided over

What is the difference between elastic mooring lines and traditional lines?

The main difference between these two types of mooring lines is that the elastic one has a built-in shock absorber. This means you don’t have to buy extra shock absorbers and, of course, you don’t have to deal with the noise that is a major drawback of these steel springs.

A traditional mooring line is silent in its construction. Therefore, they cannot dampen the jolts coming from the boat.

How elastic mooring lines work

When the wind blows, the elastic mooring line will stretch much like a rubber band and minimize the jerk from the boat. This prevents the boat from being damaged by the jolt that would otherwise occur. In the worst case, this can seriously damage your boat.

How strong is the rope, you may ask? If you follow the recommendations on the thickness of the rope, there is nothing to worry about. In most cases, the rope can withstand greater forces than the boat. If the rope is too thick for the weight of the boat, there will be no elasticity and the rope will lose its function.

Mooring your boat, which line is best?

What type of mooring line is best for me, you may ask? It depends. If you are going to have a bridge mooring and a Y-boom, you will probably want to be able to shorten the ropes quickly and easily. That’s why we recommend a three-strand rope for this. Three-strand ropes are easy to cut yourself.
See here how to make a cobbler’s split (external link to our Youtube channel)

If you value a softer and more aesthetically pleasing line instead. Where you can choose from more colors and the possibility to match with your fender lines, sheets and cases. Is the answer yes. Then you should choose a braided mooring line.

The elastic mooring line takes the world by storm!

It was 2012 when we first showed our Storm mooring line. At the time, we were completely unique with this type of product. That something as simple as a little different material in the mooring line could make such a big difference.

So how does this work? In the manufacturing process we braid in a resilient material. Exactly how it works is like your grandmother’s recipe for the world’s best cookies. It is simply secret.

But it works. And it works well. In fact, it works so well that we have been awarded Best in Test twice.
Best in test Praktiskt Båtägande (internal link)

”Better than the ads”– says Dagens Båtliv about Storm. (external link)

Different variants of the Storm mooring line

We have two different variants of Storm. The classic three-strand and the braided Storm X variant.
Both these variants sink in water. Which is good! Floating lines are like asking for trouble with your boat neighbor. This is because floating lines can get tangled in a boat propeller more easily.

The classic Storm has three thin lines intertwined into one thicker line. This type of rope is called three-stranded. A classic way to make rope.

The Storm X has a braided polyester casing with a wooden core. Imagine if we took a regular Storm and then braided a cover over it.
It’s not quite that simple, of course, but it’s close.

Available in a wide range of colors, Storm X has quickly become a favorite of boat owners.
It is perceived as slightly softer than its predecessor.

Storm and Storm X have many similarities. They are elasticated and both variants have an anti-slip eyelet.
Both models have an additional wear sleeve along the rope. The extra wear sleeve is good for protecting against abrasion at, for example, dock edges or mooring rings.

When the product was launched in 2012, we split our eyes on Storm. But as our sewing machine fleet has evolved, we have started sewing the eye instead. This saves us a lot of time, but most importantly the hands of our employees.

The secret recipe

Our elastic mooring lines are made of 60% polyester and 40% elastic material. So that 40% is the whole secret. Using an elastic mooring line is like having a little extra cream in the sauce. It would have worked anyway, but oh how much nicer everything will be. That our mooring lines are also made in Sweden.