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?
