Nylon vs Polyester Rope for Mooring a Houseboat to Shore

[cricketman]

12' x 50' catamaran style houseboat, time to replace my 125' long shore-mooring lines (we beach the boat & tie off to trees for the weekend).

Ropes I have on the boat are prob close to 10 years old (I know - too long!!), but they have held up GREAT - just last season started showing a little fraying (boat stays in a covered slip when not in use so not a ton of direct sunlight).

Existing ropes are either nylon or polyester, not certain for sure but I THINK nylon.... I'd prob like to get same material since these have held up so great... but
I am reading that nylon loses a little strength when wet, and polyester is actually a little more abrasion resistant?

So... which would be better for tying houseboat to trees on a freshwater lake for weekend excursions - nylon or polyester - all opinions welcome!

 

[dingbat]

My everyday dock lines are polyester and the anchor line is nylon.

The stretch in nylon minimizes the stress on anchor and hull.

Keep 150’ of “natural” line onboard for misc duties.

 

[Texasmark]

12' x 50' catamaran style houseboat, time to replace my 125' long shore-mooring lines (we beach the boat & tie off to trees for the weekend).

Ropes I have on the boat are prob close to 10 years old (I know - too long!!), but they have held up GREAT - just last season started showing a little fraying (boat stays in a covered slip when not in use so not a ton of direct sunlight).

Existing ropes are either nylon or polyester, not certain for sure but I THINK nylon.... I'd prob like to get same material since these have held up so great... but
I am reading that nylon loses a little strength when wet, and polyester is actually a little more abrasion resistant?

So... which would be better for tying houseboat to trees on a freshwater lake for weekend excursions - nylon or polyester - all opinions welcome!

My experience with the two materials is that Nylon stays the course but can stretch under pressure....not all that much but can and if that can't be tolerated then poly is the better choice. Knots can become un-tieable after heavy stress if that's a problem

My experience with poly is that it is ozone sensitive and doesn't resist abrasion. It is subject to snapping under overload conditions. Knots maintain their ability to be untied much better than Nylon.

I trust Nylon when trust is needed!

 

[Chris1956]

Nylon is what you want. Polyester line will rot out in short order in the sunlight.

 

[cricketman]

Nylon is what you want. Polyester line will rot out in short order in the sunlight.

Polypropylene will deteriorate in sunlight, I thought polyester (dacron) holds up as good as nylon - was I mistaken?

Having said that... sounds like nylon gets more votes than polyester (or dacron) - at least so far!

 

[Chris1956]

OK, I read polyprop, instead of Dacron. I have never used Dacron line.

I use solid braid nylon for dock lines and 3 strand twisted nylon for anchor lines. They last decades.

 

[cricketman]

I think I will prob go with nylon.

Thank you all very much for your comments!!