Chafe Protection???...Any Ideas??

[Rangiroo]

What does everyone use for chafe protection on lines?
The one thing I hear mentioned most often is used firehose but what size hose do people use? Firehose comes in different sizes e.g. 1" through 5" in diameter so would I get the 1" for lines less than that or does it matter? Will 3" firehose work just as well on say 3/4" line? How do you attach the hose to the line so it doesn't slip?
And what lenths do you use? If I bought say 50' of hose what are some good lengths to cut it up into...2'?...3'?...longer? Is 50' going to be long enough to get me from the eastern US to NZ??

What else is there to use besides firehose??

I'd love to hear from some experience....Thanks...

[Latitude9.5]

the hose i have, which i got from the local fd is i believe 3 inch, they also had 5 inch. It is great chafe gear, i am actually using it all the way around the edge our alum dinghy so it doesn't scrape up the boat when it hits. Call the local fire dept and they should be able to tell you when or if they'll have it, they go through the hoses once a year and usually have a stockpile for a few months here.

[ssullivan]

I have used leftover plastic hose from doing a fresh water system with great success. Instead of attaching it to the line, I attach it to the rub rail (I have one of those aluminum slotted types or rub rails). I use a couple of plastic ties to attach the hose to the rubrail after having slit it down the middle.


After 2 years at anchor for the summer and at a dock when the snow flies, I have yet to wear through one.

Although... I'm not a FL boater. Those guys have to deal with hurricanes and whatever. I defer to the experts there.

[rleslie]

We use old fire hose. The diameter doesn't matter because we cut them length ways into 3" wide strips, 24" - 30" long. Then just use heavy duty zip ties to hold them wrapped around your lines.

[cburger]

All of the above mentioned meathods whilst effective, very ugly. Get some nice heavy cowhide (leather) cut to fir then sew around the lines. Traditional, beautiful.

[Vasco]

I use 1" or 3/4" nylon hose and slide it over the anchor lines or snubber (both 5/8") before the thimbles are spliced on, or in the case of the snubber the chain hook. They won't slip if you poke a little hole in the hose with a hot screwdriver or awl and and use a small line for lashing it to the 5/8" line. The difference with sewn on leather and hoses is that you can move the hose to where you need it. My snubber is 40 ft. long and sometimes I have ten feet out and in poor conditions have as much as 35 ft out.

[alaskadog]

You may want to consider different chafe protectors for different lines. (i.e. dock lines, nylon anchor rodes, snubber lines, etc.) The fire hose recommendation is good. Just gotta find the fire hose. For dock lines or lines that have to pass through small diameter chocks then West Marine (and perhaps other ship supply stores) sell a handy line protector made by Taylor Made. It is a tough polyester material easily adjustable with velcro that is 18 inches long. They are sold 2 to a package. Kinda spendy at about $15. But having those set up to use for dock lines should last at least a couple of years. If you are doing a lot of anchoring in choppy seas and you lead your snubber through chocks then you need several chaffe protectors of this type as constant rubbing will wear through the best chafe protectors. As a rule, never lead an anchor snubber through the cheek plates the bow roller as none of the commonly used chafe protectors will protect the rode or snubber as it abrades the cheeks. Of course the best protection is to anchor where there is no chop.

[David M]

West Marine has this chafing gear that is some sort of fabric that Velcro's right up the middle. I have never tried it...just seen it.

[JohnnyC]

We got a pair of the Poly and Velcro chafe guards (Davis Instruments brand) at Defender. They look like firehose material with velcro closures. Used them on our mooring bridle this year. A month without guards had chafed the old lines badly. 5 months with the guards in place and the new lines still look new. (Chafe Guards are looking pretty good as well). But they were about $25 US / pair.
They work, but they are pricey.

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by cburger

All of the above mentioned meathods whilst effective, very ugly. Get some nice heavy cowhide (leather) cut to fir then sew around the lines. Traditional, beautiful.

I'm not so sure. One thing that I like about my method is that you can't see it. The hoses are clear plastic and hardly visible at all. You can't even make them out from 100 feet away. They take on the color of the rubrail.

The leather does sound nice thought. How does it hold up in the sun?

[rtbates]

leather...

[rtbates]

Originally Posted by ssullivan

I'm not so sure. One thing that I like about my method is that you can't see it. The hoses are clear plastic and hardly visible at all. You can't even make them out from 100 feet away. They take on the color of the rubrail.

The leather does sound nice thought. How does it hold up in the sun?

No problem with Texas sun. I dip them in the water periodically to keep then soft.

[44'cruisingcat]

You can get kevlar sleeves from hydraulic equipment suppliers. Used to protect hydraulic lines on earthmoving and forestry equipment. Tough as nails, you couldn't cut it with a knife.