Line thickness

[phillip1]

I know this is going to sound really dumb, but I will ask it anyway...
Do you use thicker ie #36 line in high flow caves as opposed to no flow caves were you would normally use #24. Does it really make a difference in terms of lines breaking etc.. with the flow, abrasion etc?
Is the difference really worth filling reels with way less #36 to explore as opposed to more #24?
I am assuming the mainline in FL high flow caves are #36 but I may be completely wrong.

[rjack]

I am assuming the mainline in FL high flow caves are #36 but I may be completely wrong.

Kernmantle "gold" mainlines are different construction than braided #18, #24 or #36. They are roughly equal in thickness to a #48 braided though.

[DA Aquamaster]

#48 braided nylon line is .098" diameter with a 405 lb breaking strength

Most of the kernmantle goldline I have seen looks closer to 550 paracord and is significantly larger than #48.
In general 24 (or even 18 ) is more common on cave diving than 36 or 48.

If properly tied off, abrasion is not as serious a consideration as it is in a wreck, and #24 still provides a 230 pound breaking strength.

[Doppler]

Not dumb at all. There's no reason to switch to #36 in caves with high flow... one assumes you are talking about personal line rather than permanent line in branches off the main "gold" line.

However, most of my reels and a spool or two are loaded with #36 (and one with braided equipment line, which is somewhat thicker) because I dive in wrecks and in a wreck the situation is different and slightly thicker seems to be more appropriate. I am too lazy to change things around for my occasional cave dives and too cheap to have dedicated reels; one set for wrecks, and one for caves.

[phillip1]

I was under the impression that 36 would hold up better to abrasion than 24.
For exploration in high flow I guess more 24 is better than less 36 per reel then.

[DogDiver]

I changed all my reels to Dacron hi-vis line recently. 200# test line for my primary reels and 130# test for my gap/jump reels. I used to use 36# line for Great Lakes wrecks, 24# for cave primary and 18# for my gap reels.

With the smaller diameter Dacron line that is stronger, I can get more line on my reels.

[whodunit68]

I changed all my reels to Dacron hi-vis line recently. 200# test line for my primary reels and 130# test for my gap/jump reels. I used to use 36# line for Great Lakes wrecks, 24# for cave primary and 18# for my gap reels.

With the smaller diameter Dacron line that is stronger, I can get more line on my reels.

there was some discussion on another thread (http://www.cavediver.net/forum/showthread.php?t=12055) about Dacron. I know FW is working on some specialty Dacron...is that the same stuff you use or are you willing to share what you're using (and/or where it comes from)? I can ask ...

[phillip1]

ActuLy I just ordered some of the Dacron Line from rainbownet.
They claim that it has twice the strength of nylon 24 for the same diameter

[whodunit68]

ActuLy I just ordered some of the Dacron Line from rainbownet.
They claim that it has twice the strength of nylon 24 for the same diameter

I would (and I'm sure many others) be interested in hearing about your thoughts on it after you use it. I probably would have given it a go because it's so inexpensive but the shipping from Canada is killer (I'm in the states).
Thanks for sharing...and good luck with it.

[phillip1]

I just was knotting the Dacron Line from rainbownet, now although it appears very tough the manufacturing quality is terrible, even worse than Dominican twisted nylon twine at he hardware store.
On all the spools I have the line has had 1-2 splices right in the middle of the spool and held together by a makeshift knot, and out of 8 reels three were frayed to the point that I had to splice the line. All the spools had weird pressure kind of marks, that will not affect strength but still this is new line right of the spool!!
You really need to inspect every spool and the entire line fully.

On the plus side as I said above it seems really tough, tougher than nylon line and it is much harder to tangle that nylon line, it is very flexible and "snakes" so to speak and does not coil at all when loose.
It has been raining real hard here for the past week so we have not been diving but I will be using the line in a very sharp rock cave and one that also has flow and debris flying out and stuff so this Dacron line will be put to the test in the next week or so and will report back on how it works.

At first glance it looks much stronger and has better tangle resistance than nylon