Rope diameter

Rope diameter advice and guidelines for mooring lines, halyards and sheets

Mooring lines: rope diameter advice

Want to know what diameter to choose for your mooring lines? The table below shows our guidelines for the diameters of mooring lines. Mooring ropes made of polypropylene are weaker and need to be thicker. Mooring ropes of polyester or polyamide can be sligthly thinner. If you have a boat that is significantly heavier than average, make sure to chose a thicker diameter mooring line as well. 

Yacht length Type of material docklines
Polyester Polypropylene
8 m / 26ft 10 mm 14 mm
10 m / 33ft 12 mm 16 mm
12 m / 39ft 14 mm 18 mm
14 m / 46ft 16mm 20 mm
16 m / 53ft 18 mm 22 mm
19 m / 62ft 20 mm 24 mm
25 m / 82ft 24 mm -
30 m 26 mm -
40 m 28 mm -
55 m 32 mm -
70 m 36 mm -
80 m 40 mm -

Mooring lines 8-32 mm are delivered from stock.

The diameters in this table are guidelines, no rights can be derived from this.

 

Sheets and halyards: rope diameter advice

Our guidelines for the diameter of sheets and halyards with a polyester core are shown in the table below. Yachting ropes with high-performance fibers, such as Dyneema® fibers, Vectran or Stirotex® core allow for approximately 2 mm smaller diameters. Typically the diameter of sheets and halyards has to fit in with the clutches, cleats and blocks on board. It's best to chose a rope that is 1-2 mm thinner than the maximum diameter of a block.

Check out our selection of sheets and halyards

Yacht length Sheets Halyards
Main Genoa Spinnaker Main Genoa Spinnaker
6-8 m / 20-26 ft 10 mm 10 mm 8 mm 8 mm 8 mm 8 mm
9 m / 30 ft 10 mm 12 mm 10 mm 10 mm 10 mm 8 mm
10 m / 33 ft 12 mm 12 mm 10 mm 10 mm 10 mm 10 mm
11 m / 36 ft 12 mm 12 mm 12 mm 10 mm 12 mm 10 mm
12 m / 40 ft 12 mm 14 mm 12 mm 12 mm 12 mm 12 mm
14 m / 46 ft 14 mm 14 mm 12 mm 12 mm 12 mm 12 mm
16 m / 53 ft 14 mm 14 mm 14 mm 12 mm 14 mm 12 mm
18 m / 59 ft 14 mm 14 mm 14 mm 14 mm 14 mm 14 mm

 

The diameters in this table are guidelines, no rights can be derived from this.

For competitive sailors it is important to optimize the breaking load with weight savings of a rope. We are happy to work with you on that challenge!

Order your halyard or sheet in our webshop. Are you a regatta sailor, cruiser or dinghy sailor?

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