How to choose your shock absorbing dock line

Select the correct diameter for your size boat. Remember that your knowledge of your dock or mooring location and its susceptibility to weather, waves and wakes should also be taken into consideration when choosing the diameter you will feel most comfortable with.

The next step is to select the appropriate length of dock line. It is the bow and stern lines that most benefit from the use of our integrated shock absorber. However if your slip or mooring subjects your boat to fore and aft surges then you would be prudent to also use shock absorbing lines for your spring lines.

Many customers purchase just two very long shock absorbing dock lines for a configuration that has the shock absorbers for the bow and stern and the then the balance of the line is then taken to the mid cleat to act as springs.

Please consider that the rubber shock absorber must remain free to stretch and as such should not be positioned between a cleat and a fairlead. Remember that the eye splice can be either on the cleat on board the boat or on the cleat on the dock. The distance between the eye and the shock absorber is 0.5 m or 18 inches. See picture...

The pictures on this page indicate some commonly found docking arrangements - the final choice you make should reflect the line arrangement that is unique to your boat and slip.



Elasticity demonstration