On our Great Loop 2 trip, we pretty much wore out our dock lines. They are chafed, dirty, and ratty. One is almost cut in half from rubbing on the edge of a dock somewhere.
The lines we have were purchased from Casto Trading in Statham, Georgia. Casto is basically a hardware store but they have a whole Custom Line department. What is great about them is that they will custom cut and splice your lines to order.
You pick the type of line you want, double braided or 3-strand. We prefer double-braided.
You pick the material: cotton, nylon, or polyester. We like nylon.
You pick the color. They have an extensive selection! We got Navy Blue to match our hull.
You pick the length. Just about any length is available. We use 50 feet on our bow, 40 feet on our stern, and 30 feet on our mids.
You pick the size of the eye. Our cleats are quite beefy, so on most off-the-shelf dock lines, the eye is too small to fit over them. We get 15-inch eyes.
You pick the size of the line: 3/8″, 1/2″, 5/8″, 3/4″, 7/8″, or larger. We have a 42-foot boat, so we use 3/4″.
You specify the whipping. Unlike many off-the-shelf dock lines, both the eye splice and the bitter end are whipped (wrapped with a thin line) for a solid termination that will not fray or unravel. You can also choose the color of your whipping line. We ask for a different color for each line length so that they are easy to identify.
Casto will send you a quote. Once you approve it, they custom-make your lines and typically ship within a week.
We’ve been doing business with them for over 6 years and have referred many other boaters to them. We usually deal with Wade Casto, you can reach him at: wa*******@ca********.com
Visit their website at: https://castotrade.com/