Denim for docking line abrasion?

[tomtriad]

Firehose or Tygon tubing. The rode or dockline will slide through the tubing quietly with no chafe. Cotton is rotten.

[EngNate]

I've gotten lots of comments on my blue jeans fender covers and they've lasted 5 years. It was tedious though removing all the rivets first. I agree about fire hose but its a little rough on painted, varnished or even gel coat surfaces. Sheepskin is great, sew it on with the fur side in.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by lvictorlucas

... The major problem with any of these when used on nylon line is the Heat buildup due to the energy absorbed when stretched. Most people think incorrectly that just because nylon is wet it will stay cool enough. This is incorrect as the abrasion resistant material acts as an insulator....

This is also provably fiction. It was written about by non-engineers that didn't do the research, and thus became "fact." In fact, the US Navy and USCG have tested this and came to different conclusions (for ropes smaller than 3/4-inch--big ropes change the math). The ONLY way you can build significant heat in a smaller line is to cycle it more than once per second and cycle it beyond the safe working load, in which case it is going to fail from fatigue anyway. The math and experimentation agree.

I have melted many rope with friction in testing. I have also melted ropes with a single pull (no cycling)--nylon ALWAYS melts on the tips when broken at high load, so false assumptions of causality are frequent.

The major source of heat is friction. Sit down with a pad off paper and run through the math and you will find that stretching energy is less than 10%. This is high school physics or certainly 1st or 2nd year mechanical engineering. Friction around a bend and energy conservation are well known.

This is why tubing is bad and why rubber lined fire hose is sub-par (unlined hose is very good). Dry nylon on vinyl or rubber = high friction.

The real key is reducing motion and reducing deflection angles.

[L33]

I like leather

[jmorrison146]

As your local fire station for some old firehose. Works great.

[sailorladd]

Try using a length of old fire hose...The fire department in your local town will always have to throw out miles of hose that is perfectly good for chaffing gear on mooring lines... the guys at the fire department will happily give you some I can almost guarantee this and if you find that you cannot thread your mooring line into this hose, try removing the rubber lining inside, that will cinch the deal!!!

[Rasselas36]

Go to a local fire department and ask them to save/give you an old fire hose. I did this and they gave me a 10' section of fire hose and it will last until the return of JESUS.

[billknny]

Originally Posted by dfelsent

Ooh. I like that idea. I have a pile of 3/8 dynema 12 strand. I will make up strops with an eye at each end that reach from the cleats through the hawsepipes and fairleads. I’ll tie the nylon dock lines to those and “bobs yer uncle”.
No stretch for the dyneema so no chafe. Nylon for the stretchy bits. Gotta have enough stretch so there may be issues that have to be thought through there.
Thoughts?

File this under "Everything Old is New Again..."

This trick of low stretch line leading from cleat through chock long pre-dates Dyneema. Back in the "old days" we used heavy Dacron double braid for the inboard attachment, and stretchy nylon three strand to make the final tie-up.

Call me conservative, but I'd still put chafing gear where things touch...