Creaking dock lines

[Canuck Dennis]

Best cures please , apart from leaving the dock, to cure or ease those creaky dock lines when trying to sleep, sorry, there ain't enough booze to do that ..lol..

 

[SeaEric]

I have heard that soaking them in fabric softener will help. Or buy new lines.

 

[magnawake]

Tell me about those creeking lines !!! I hate them !!! especially in the winter when they dry out. I've tried everything to combat them. Soap, rags, buckets of water at 0100 hrs. Then I got a brain storm. WD-40. Its says right there on the front of the can, Stops Squeaks. Sure enough, it worked. I cant tell you the long term damage though, but I'm still using my dock lines with no visible problems. All the other sailors gave me a hard time about using D-40. Welcome to Redneck Yachting.

 

[Canuck Dennis]

If it works...use it...the problem with some people it .they want complexity instead of simplicity...guess who wins ? unless of course you are a Government ideals supporter..then no cure works...;lol

 

[Boatnut]

How about a piece of rubber garden hose, and slip in over the line and place it where the creaking occurs. Worked for a few of us.

 

[Diver Down]

We bought cheap dish towels from Dollar Store and wrapped the dock lines where they crossed the rub rail. Didn't completely stop the creaking but was a huge improvement.

 

[Jaxfishgyd]

I basically do the same as DiverDown.. I soak my lines once a year in a 5 gal bucket with water and Downy fabric softener for a few hrs or overnight...
Plus use cheap towels for the chafe areas... Makes a huge difference

 

[bobk]

Throw some water or propylene glycol antifreeze on those cloths on a bad night and the noise will stop.

 

[captddis]

It seems to me that the New England brand are the creakers. Other brands don't do it.
The New england lines also get stiff pretty fast. I just threw away a couple lines that were on my boat since new and were still supple.
There does not seem to be many choices.
I tried to find some Yale cordage and found out it is owned by New England which is owned by Randy Repass' father. Who owns West Marine.

 

[jim rosenthal]

What do you know...... I had no idea. The Repass dynasty strikes again.

I like the WD40 idea. As far as I know, the Repass family hasn't bought them. Yet, anyway.

Is the creaking coming from where the rope crosses the part of the boat it slides over, or is the creaking coming from inside the rope- friction between the rope's internal fibers or layers? Any idea?

 

[rsmith]

Ear plugs!

 

[Finalee]

Soaking them with water before retiring has always worked overnight for me.

 

[Dan Mapes]

We live aboard in the Winter here in the Bahamas, and when the N.E. winds howl squeaking lines are a beeyotch.
Cheap rags have mitigated the noise quite a bit but this year I found two solutions and it depends on how much of an angle the line makes coming out of the haws holes. Our transom lines do not cross the transom but go to poles aft of the boat. One of the aft haws holes has an additional line going forward to a dock pole.
Chafe gear by Chafe-Pro shut one line up completely. On the stbd side where we have the two lines I slid vinyl tubing over the lines and that has made a huge difference.

Older larger diameter lines tend to squeek less in our case. All of them are double braid and I say the noise is created at the surface of the line where it rubs the fitting. Here you see the double line set up. When another line lays on top of the other it can make them howl real good.

 

[FinaticIII]

Once had a New England Ropes production manager tell me to soak them overnight in a Woolite solution.

 

[bobk]

Once had a New England Ropes production manager tell me to soak them overnight in a Woolite solution.

Interesting. If not rinsed, that puts a solid soap (after they dry) on the fibers and it ought to work, but might need repeating after a good rain.

Bobk

 

[Pascal]

On windy days I just wet them with water before going to bed... No noise whatsoever

 

[Bob Bradley]

As I sit here in CT watching the snow pile up, good God how I wish I had your problems.

 

[davidwigler]

Funny how it never really bothered me before but tonight it's 11 degrees and windy out and they're creaking and groaning. Water is out of the question.

 

[bostonhatteras]

It seems to me that the New England brand are the creakers. Other brands don't do it.
The New england lines also get stiff pretty fast. I just threw away a couple lines that were on my boat since new and were still supple.
There does not seem to be many choices.
I tried to find some Yale cordage and found out it is owned by New England which is owned by Randy Repass' father. Who owns West Marine.

Funny about the connections between these companies. I had 6 -50' long three strand lines that eventually began to creak after 10 years. Those lines were purchased from C. G. Edwards chandlery that serves the freighters etc that come to boston. Don't know the brand of the line. I purchased a 600' spool last year of New England ropes 3/4'' three strand which I spliced the eyes into and what do you know....they creaked from day one! I wash my lines in the washing machine, one line at a time, yearly. Add fabric softener. The old lines quieted for a good while after that. Have t done it to the New England ropes yet.

 

[Angela]

I’m giving a thumbs up to WD40. I’ve tried all the solutions mentioned in this thread - wetting the line at bedtime, soaking in Downy, wrapping with a towel, using a piece of hose to wrap the line...nothing worked in a real wind. WD40 was the ticket. Last night, the wind was howling and the lines were screaming. A little WD40 where the line passes along the chock....Instant silence. I wish I had known about this years ago....all those sleepless nights could have been avoided. Most of my lines are New England rope, and they creak, but so does the one that I've had for over eight years which is highly superior to the NE rope. I wish I knew what brand that line is - it never gets stiff and it's fat, strong and soft. It was on the boat when I bought her, and it's the best line I have. I put a little WD40 on that one, and it became silent too.