Worst night sleep on board

[jclays]

Made some new dock lines a month ago from new 3 strand nylon.
Slept on board at the marina. The lines where the noisiest I have ever heard creaking as they changed strain with the boat movement. The old lines barely made a sound.

 

[OldDan1943]

Give the new line some time to stretch out.
When I get new lines, I put a strain on them tied to the dock main engine running going fwd and reverse (half throttle) more than 3 times, taking up the slack.

I had new lines just before hurricane season in FL. I stretched them out, as per above, no noise and didn't have to take up the slack during the night.
Hello Irma. SMILE

 

[jclays]

Thanks for the tip.

 

[wkearney99]

When I have noisy lines I find it handy to use a bit of dish soap where they meet the fairleads or cleat. Just a bit applied right where the line creaks.

Not just dumped on a cleat, of course, as you don't want to end up lubricating the line enough to have it slide loose. A properly cleated line wouldn't but that's fodder for a whole other discussion.

Eventually the lines stretch enough to stop making as much noise.

I find the foaming soap dispensers work great on the boat. You use less soap and the foam lets you get working without wasting a lot of extra water. They're easily refilled too, using regular dish soap. https://www.target.com/p/dawn-platinum-dishwashing-foam-fresh-rapids-scent-10-1-fl-oz/-/A-13044216

 

[Wayfarer]

When I have noisy lines I find it handy to use a bit of dish soap where they meet the fairleads or cleat. Just a bit applied right where the line creaks.

Not just dumped on a cleat, of course, as you don't want to end up lubricating the line enough to have it slide loose. A properly cleated line wouldn't but that's fodder for a whole other discussion.

Eventually the lines stretch enough to stop making as much noise.

I find the foaming soap dispensers work great on the boat. You use less soap and the foam lets you get working without wasting a lot of extra water. They're easily refilled too, using regular dish soap. https://www.target.com/p/dawn-platinum-dishwashing-foam-fresh-rapids-scent-10-1-fl-oz/-/A-13044216

I had the same issue with my three strand lines. They still occasionally creak after a year and a half of regular use. They tend to creak where they bend over the cap rail, and I can't really do much to reroute them. I tried using various forms of chafe gear, but it still creaked.

A fella introduced me to the dish soap trick, and it works like a charm. I'll put two pumps in a mug with some hot water, and just dribble it on the 6 inch section of line that's most likely to lean on the toe rail, and it stops immediately.

 

[wkearney99]

I've used heavy-duty mesh laundry bags to wash my lines periodically (like, every other year?). Put one line per bag, maybe three lines per load, along with some old towels. The mesh bags prevent the lines from becoming tangled into a gordian knot. The towels help the front-loader washer to keep things balanced when spinning.

These were large enough for most of them:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075F26SNB

I did soak the lines a bit in a keg bucket with some soap first. This to help knock off any salt, pollution or the treatment used on pilings.

My point mentioning this was it did seem to have the side-effect of quieting the creaking of the lines a bit. Removing the grime in-between the strands and I suppose leaving a bit of soap residue behind acting as a sort-of lubricant. I did not use fabric softener as I figured that might have made the surface slippery enough to be a problem keeping a solid knot when needed.

 

[Shrew]

Dock and boat lines are often used well pasts their effective duty cycle. Most assume if the stands look good, the line is in good shape. This is not the case. I spent many years at a very rough marina. I started with new lines in the spring. There was plenty of cushion and line squeek. By the end of the season, you could feel the line load up and 'bang' a little because all of the stretch had been worked out of the line.

Those that use their lines year after year, had lines part on a regular basis. This fueled further misconception "I snap so many lines, it would cost me a fortune to keep replacing and snapping new lines". Goofy thinking. I never parted a line once and replaced them every year.

I suspect your issue is simply that your old lines were quiet, you simply got used to them being played out and beyond useful service.