If you are towing a dinghy, selecting the correct type of line for a painter is important! A line that has some stretch to it helps relieve stresses from surging.However did you know that you should have a line that floats? "Why", you ask . . . .
Imagine,if you will . . . you've been sailing all day and come into a busy harbor and a large public dock. Your sails are down and you are motoring in taking in all the sights and sounds! In your distracted state you forget to pull your dinghy up tight and stow the extra line. As you come to the dock you gently put your motor in reverse to slow you arrival and avoid hitting the dock. Your obedient dinghy drifts right up to the stern of your boat and gently bounces off. The dinghy painter that sinks will drop straight down behind your boat. Right as you are coming to the dock, you are in reverse, you give a gentle surge on the throttle to show all around you can stop your sloop on a dime and it happens. The prop sucks your dinghy painter right in and now you've got a mess!
This story is a true one. We were in Victoria BC Canada when a beautiful 37' Beneteau came in to dock. Since Destiny is a Beneteau we tend to notice others just as I notice Chryslers. Fortunately for the other skipper I carry an underwater video camera and can attatch it to a 10' section of PVC pipe. We used it to see his shaft and dinghy painter. We used a dock pole and my camera to free his line. The couple seemed unhappy with each other so we assured them this type of thing happens a lot and to relax!!
Todays question:
Ropes and lines, match the rope/line type and where you might use it on your boat.
1) Dinghy painter ( this is the tow rope )
2) Sheets and Halyards
3) Dock Line
4) Not aboard.
A) Nylon lines
B) Spectra Single Braid Line
C) Polypropylene line
D) Cotton
