Stern Tie Reel Design

[ngleadow]

Hi all;

Stern tying the boat during summer cruising is a fact of life in Desolation Sound, some Gulf Island anchorages, and other locations. My previous method of storing my stern tie line was to bundle it up and keep it in the locker on the stern of Blue Socks, our R25 . But I have been on the lookout for the perfect stern tie reel. Unfortunately, there was always something about the different models, and homemade devices that didn’t quite meet my expectations; so I designed my own. My album has pictures that will make the following explanation more comprehensible.

I got a free rope spool from our local marina, cut two plywood circles to fit it as the cheeks, added a handle, treated all the wood with Sikkens SRD and assembled the reel. I had a local metal working shop weld pieces of stainless steel tubing (1 inch o.d.) in a kind of open “h” shape with a horizontal piece at the top that acted as the axis for the spool. The legs of the “h” fitted into stainless “T” brackets attached to the stern rail. Voila.. a stern tie. The reel holds about 350 ft. of ¼ inch floating line. See my album for pictures.

You can have a close-up look if you're attending the Desolation Islands cruise starting in Ganges. If it meets your needs, then go ahead and copy it; getting a patent is much too expensive.

Happy stern tying.

Norm on Blue Socks

 

[Don and Brenda]

Nice work!

 

[Gin]

You nailed it. Highly functional and fine looking! True to the wisdom that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I think you can expect much flattery 😀

 

[baz]

Nice work... is it designed to be easily removed when not needed, and where do you stow it ? The T pieces attached to the rail are installed so they cannot rotate, right ? 😉

 

[ngleadow]

Hi Baz;
The "T" brackets open up like a clam shell so that they can be put on the railing. They can be loosened off and moved to whatever position one wishes then tightened again. The legs of the "h" are secured in the T brackets using set screws. I replaced those screws with bolts 'cause the screws are very tiny and have a tendency to leap out of your hand and into the depths.

Cheers

Norm

 

[STELLA L]

When we we at the Everett seminar taught by Capt Mac he mentioned that his stern line size was 3/8th. Is there a set line size? I am setting up the stern line reel but have not yet bought my line. My tug is a 25SC.

 

[STELLA L]

When we we at the Everett seminar taught by Capt Mac he mentioned that his stern line size was 3/8th. Is there a set line size? I am setting up the stern line reel but have not yet bought my line. My tug is a 25SC.

Jim and Karyn Hough

 

[baz]

Jim and Karyn: Either 1/4" to 3/8" should be fine. With 1/4" you will be able to wind more line onto a given spool. I bought 350 feet of 3/8 quality line. Probably more than needed (but can always cut off some for dock lines etc) and it all wound nicely onto my make-shift abandoned house water hose reel that I attached flat on my swim step. If you double up the 1/4" or the 3/8" there will be sufficient strength for holding the boat securely.

I believe Capt. Mac wasn't that specific on line size or length... and 1/4" to 3/8" and some 300 to 400 feet in length was the range I recall being mentioned.

My advice is to buy a brightly coloured line so it can be seen clearly when deployed to the shoreline.

 

[CaptMac]

For our boat, I chose 3/8 three strand poly pro line - it floats, is easy to splice an eye in it, and it was yellow - easy to see. I can't remember exactly now, but I think I have at least 300 ft - enough to go to the ring on shore, and back to the boat for an easy get away. If it would fit on the reel, I'd wish for 400 ft.

Since different lines have different characteristics (i.e. working load and breaking strength) - be sure you know what line you are buying. Looking at 3 strand poly, one source I found says the working load of 3/8 line is ~459 lbs. Dropping to 5/16 in line lowers the working load to 232 lbs, and 1/4 in is 213 lbs (you'll get different numbers depending on who you ask, who made the rope, materials and construction)...). Braided poly is similar, but hollow braid - the numbers are much lower! (1/4 hollow poly working load is only 144 lbs, 3/8 in hollow poly is 297 lbs)

Most cruising books suggest 3/8 inch 3 strand twisted or braided poly line for stern ties. Big cruisers go with 1/2 inch.

For reference, the 1/2 inch three strand nylon primary anchor line on most of our boats has a working load of 714 lbs.

Barry's correct - if you double the line (to shore & back) it would halve the load - but not where it goes through the eye on shore - with a sharp bend to boot.


Mac

 

[ngleadow]

I am using floating double braid 1/4 inch line which has a breaking strength of 1500 lbs. That would be plenty for a stern tie.

Norm

 

[CaptMac]

From what I've read, working load is no more than 1/5 of breaking strength. Most of the articles I saw used 17% to convert from tensile (breaking) strength to working load. That would put 1/4 inch double braid at 255 lbs working load - much better than 3 strand.