The Best Custom Boat Lines, Custom Colored Ropes, & Special Assemblies made to Your Specifications
Custom Recovery Rope / Tow Lines / Tow Ropes
At Denver Rope we are a custom made-to-order rigging facility and have access to not only fiber rope but also wire rope. We have a large selection of stainless steel and galvanized hardware to include thimbles, shackles, and hooks to meet your application.
Rope Fiber Materials that are most often used for general recovery and towing ropes include: Double Braid Nylon and 3-Strand Nylon both of which do have stretch / shock absorption characteristics. Some folks refer to nylon rope stretch as kinetic recovery or dynamic recovery rope. For low stretch applications polyester fiber rope can be specified.
For high performance (strong as steel wire rope of similar diameter) very low stretch applications; 12-strand Dyneema® Winch Rope can be specified for either tow lines, recovery ropes, and winches. When using Dyneema® or wire rope, the associated hardware (thimbles) must be wire rope specified. Replace wire rope with 12-Strand Dyneema® Winch Rope.
If the rope is required to float without rope floats, then 8-strand mooring type rope (polypropylene— polyester fiber blends, 2-0” diameter minimum) or high performance 12-strand Dyneema® can be specified. 3-strand polypropylene is used only for low cost applications.
For winch applications, it is required to verify with the winch manufacture (read instruction manual) as to what type of rope should be used to include fiber material (nylon, polyester, Dyneema®, wire, etc), rope diameter, rope footage, and rope construction (3-strand heat set, 8-strand plait, 12-strand plait, double braid, etc).
We carry both galvanized wire rope and stainless steel wire rope in several configurations. We have on- site swage machines as to add hardware to the wire rope (thimbles and hooks). Please consider that we do not stock pre-made / pre-assembled recovery lines and or tow lines. We usually have the fiber and wire rope in-stock to which we cut to length and custom splice / assemble accordingly.
Some specialized custom fiber runs require a minimum production quantity TBD.
Click Here to Download Our Custom Recovery Rope / Tow Line Worksheet PDF
Recovery Rope / Tow Line Diagram - Please utilize the Recovery Rope / Tow Line Diagram to help specify the design elements of your Recovery Rope / Tow Line Assembly. Please consider our Rope Selection Guide and Rope Strength Guide for the required rope strength, rope diameter, and rope construction. We also offer a Wide Selection of Hardware.
Recovery Rope / Tow Line Construction - We offer the following types of Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines: Double Braid Nylon Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines, 3-Strand Nylon Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines, and 12-Strand Nylon Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines. Our Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines are Custom, Spliced-to-Order. For low stretch applications we offer polyester fiber.
12-Strand Dyneema® Recovery Rope / Tow Line Rope Construction - We also offer 12-Strand Dyneema® rope for Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines. We offer our Own In-House 12-Strand Dyneema® Rope known as Iron-Lite. We also offer Sampson’s Amsteel Blue, Korean, and EU Manufactured 12-Strand Dyneema® Rope. Our 12-Strand Dyneema® Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines are Custom, Spliced-to-Order. Dyneema® 12-Strand Rope is offered in solid blue with few exceptions.
Wire Rope Construction - We also offer Galvanized and Stainless Steel Wire Rope and Cable Construction for Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines / Wire Rope Slings. We have our Own In-House Swaging Ma-chines needed to custom assemble your Wire Rope Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines / Wire Rope Slings. Our Wire Rope Cable Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines / Wire Rope Slings are Custom, Spliced-to-Order.
Nylon Web Sling Construction - We also offer Yellow Flat Nylon Sling Straps for Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines. We have our Own In-House Industrial Grade Sewing Machines needed to custom assemble your Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines. Our Yellow Flat Nylon Sling type Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines are Cus-tom, Sewn-to-Order and are offered as Type IV reversed tapered eye and eye slings. Chafe gear on the eyes is an option.
Rope Selection Guide - We do have additional rope fiber materials (other than nylon) available to include polyester, dyneema®, manila, polypropylene, and blended rope fibers. For additional information on Rope Fiber Materials [Continue to ROPE SELECTION GUIDE webpage]
Rope Strength Guide - For a Table of Rope Diameters and Tensile Strengths for different Rope Construction Types [Continue to ROPE STRENGTH GUIDE webpage]
All our Rope Assemblies are made in the USA to include Custom, Spliced-to-Order, Winch Lines.
Recovery Rope / Tow Line Construction - We offer the following types of Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines: Double Braid Nylon Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines, 3-Strand Nylon Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines, and 12-Strand Nylon Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines. Our Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines are Custom, Spliced-to-Order. For low stretch applications we offer polyester fiber.
12-Strand Dyneema® Recovery Rope / Tow Line Rope Construction - We also offer 12-Strand Dyneema® rope for Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines. We offer our Own In-House 12-Strand Dyneema® Rope known as Iron-Lite. We also offer Sampson’s Amsteel Blue, Korean, and EU Manufactured 12-Strand Dyneema® Rope. Our 12-Strand Dyneema® Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines are Custom, Spliced-to-Order. Dyneema® 12-Strand Rope is offered in solid blue with few exceptions.
Wire Rope Construction - We also offer Galvanized and Stainless Steel Wire Rope and Cable Construction for Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines / Wire Rope Slings. We have our Own In-House Swaging Ma-chines needed to custom assemble your Wire Rope Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines / Wire Rope Slings. Our Wire Rope Cable Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines / Wire Rope Slings are Custom, Spliced-to-Order.
Nylon Web Sling Construction - We also offer Yellow Flat Nylon Sling Straps for Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines. We have our Own In-House Industrial Grade Sewing Machines needed to custom assemble your Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines. Our Yellow Flat Nylon Sling type Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines are Cus-tom, Sewn-to-Order and are offered as Type IV reversed tapered eye and eye slings. Chafe gear on the eyes is an option.
Rope Selection Guide - We do have additional rope fiber materials (other than nylon) available to include polyester, dyneema®, manila, polypropylene, and blended rope fibers. For additional information on Rope Fiber Materials [Continue to ROPE SELECTION GUIDE webpage]
Rope Strength Guide - For a Table of Rope Diameters and Tensile Strengths for different Rope Construction Types [Continue to ROPE STRENGTH GUIDE webpage]
All our Rope Assemblies are made in the USA to include Custom, Spliced-to-Order, Winch Lines.
All our Tow Lines are custom made-to-order to your specifications by expert craftsmen and splicers
Custom Made-to-Order Recovery Ropes, Tow Lines, & Tow Ropes
Towing on a Lake? We custom assemble single leg tow lines for recreational and commercial towing applications like this one on Lake Powell, Utah / AZ.
Pleasure Marine Tow Line Diagrams
Tow Line Diagram Notes
Thimble Eye Splice / Hard Eye — Use a thimble splice to protect the rope against chafing when using mechanical hardware connections like hooks and shackles. We specify Heavy Duty Wire Rope Thimbles when using 12-Strand Dyneema® Rope. We offer Light Duty and Heavy Duty Stainless Steel & Galvanized Thimbles.
Eye Splice / Soft Eye — Use a soft eye when connecting to a cleat. Cover the Eye in Chafe Guard (covered eye) to protect the rope against chafing. Soft Eye connections are lighter in weight than hardware connections. We typically specify covered eyes for tow bridle applications. Some customers will omit the eye splice and use a bitter end. We prefer to utilize lightweight soft covered eye splices to join the legs together forming a Y-Point Connection.
Single Leg Tow Line — As the name implies, a single piece of line is assembled with the required splices and or hardware on each end of the line. Specify how the tow line is connected to the stern of the towing vessel (eye splice or bitter end) and how the tow line is connected to the towed boat’s bow eye via a hard eye with hook or shackle. Use an eye splice if connecting to a cleat. The tow line can be fitted with a rope float(s).
Custom Made-to-Order Tow Lines & Tow Line Assemblies - Please consider that many of our tow line requests are for double braid nylon construction; however, we can generally utilize any of the rope materials described in Chapter 2 “Rope Selection Guide” and Chapter 5 “Bulk Rope”. Note there are additional diameters and rope lengths available upon request. All our tow lines are custom made-to- order, so we do not have part numbers for custom tow line assemblies, but description of components for each portion of the tow line assembly. Do not see what you are looking for, just ask. Yes, there are exceptions to every general rule stated above.
PDF Table Downloads — Use these table downloads to help specify your Recovery Rope / Tow Line. A Recovery Rope or Tow Line is similar to a dock line or an anchor line, but used for towing purposes.
Click Here to Download Denver Rope - Dock Line & Mooring Lines DBN Part Number Table
Click Here to Download Denver Rope - Dock Line & Mooring Lines 3-Strand Nylon Part Number Table
Click Here to Download Denver Rope - Anchor Lines & Mooring Lines 3-Strand Nylon Part Number Table
Click Here to Download Denver Rope - Anchor Lines & Mooring Lines DBN Part Number Table
Click Here to Download Our Custom Recovery Rope/Tow Line Worksheet PDF
- Overall Tow Line Lengths are recommendations only subject to alternations, review, and approval by the Captain
- Overall Tow Line Lengths are effected by towing speed, weather conditions, and the resultant location of the towing boat's "wake sweet spot" of least turbulence
- Pull-In or Pay-Out Tow Line Rope and or Adjust Towing Speed as needed to optimize the towed boats location within the wake sweet spot
- The amount of force on the tow line is proportional to the towing speed squared (double the towing speed quadruples the force on the tow line)
- The Tow Lines for the Runabout and Houseboat are Single Leg Tow Lines
Thimble Eye Splice / Hard Eye — Use a thimble splice to protect the rope against chafing when using mechanical hardware connections like hooks and shackles. We specify Heavy Duty Wire Rope Thimbles when using 12-Strand Dyneema® Rope. We offer Light Duty and Heavy Duty Stainless Steel & Galvanized Thimbles.
Eye Splice / Soft Eye — Use a soft eye when connecting to a cleat. Cover the Eye in Chafe Guard (covered eye) to protect the rope against chafing. Soft Eye connections are lighter in weight than hardware connections. We typically specify covered eyes for tow bridle applications. Some customers will omit the eye splice and use a bitter end. We prefer to utilize lightweight soft covered eye splices to join the legs together forming a Y-Point Connection.
Single Leg Tow Line — As the name implies, a single piece of line is assembled with the required splices and or hardware on each end of the line. Specify how the tow line is connected to the stern of the towing vessel (eye splice or bitter end) and how the tow line is connected to the towed boat’s bow eye via a hard eye with hook or shackle. Use an eye splice if connecting to a cleat. The tow line can be fitted with a rope float(s).
Custom Made-to-Order Tow Lines & Tow Line Assemblies - Please consider that many of our tow line requests are for double braid nylon construction; however, we can generally utilize any of the rope materials described in Chapter 2 “Rope Selection Guide” and Chapter 5 “Bulk Rope”. Note there are additional diameters and rope lengths available upon request. All our tow lines are custom made-to- order, so we do not have part numbers for custom tow line assemblies, but description of components for each portion of the tow line assembly. Do not see what you are looking for, just ask. Yes, there are exceptions to every general rule stated above.
PDF Table Downloads — Use these table downloads to help specify your Recovery Rope / Tow Line. A Recovery Rope or Tow Line is similar to a dock line or an anchor line, but used for towing purposes.
Click Here to Download Denver Rope - Dock Line & Mooring Lines DBN Part Number Table
Click Here to Download Denver Rope - Dock Line & Mooring Lines 3-Strand Nylon Part Number Table
Click Here to Download Denver Rope - Anchor Lines & Mooring Lines 3-Strand Nylon Part Number Table
Click Here to Download Denver Rope - Anchor Lines & Mooring Lines DBN Part Number Table
Click Here to Download Our Custom Recovery Rope/Tow Line Worksheet PDF
General Marine Hardware — For information on General Marine Hardware and subsequent detailed
webpages to include, Anchors, Anchor Chain, Galvanized Hardware, Stainless Steel Hardware, and Security Hardware:
[Continue to GENERAL MARINE HARDWARE webpage]
[Continue to ANCHORS webpage]
[Continue to ANCHOR CHAIN webpage]
[Continue to GALVANIZED HARDWARE—MAIN PAGE webpage. Scroll to the bottom of this webpage for additional hardware specific links]
[Continue to STAINLESS STEEL HARDWARE—MAIN PAGE webpage. Scroll to the bottom of this webpage for additional hardware specific links]
[Continue to SECURITY HARDWARE—MAIN PAGE webpage]
Solid Rope Colors
Please continue to our ROPE COLORS webpage to consider the available rope colors and read the applicable restrictions. If not otherwise specified, Solid Black or White is typically the default rope color. [Continue to ROPE COLORS webpage]
Custom Color Combinations
We offer 5 customizable rope patterns on the double braid rope machines. Please continue to our DENVER ROPE MIXER webpage to design your double braid custom color combination and read the applicable restrictions. [Continue to DENVER ROPE MIXER webpage]
Whipping Twine - Double Braid Lines are whipped with waxed seine twine at the eye splice throat and bitter end. The splicer will choose the closet whipping twine color match for your lines unless otherwise specified. Consider to select a different whipping twine color for each set of lines. Lines other than double braid construction may be whipped for an additional charge. [Continue to WHIPPING TWINE webpage]
Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines / Tow Bridles / Winch Lines / Tow Ropes / Winch Ropes - All share common features with Dock Lines, Anchor Lines, Anchor Rodes, Mooring Lines, and Houseboat Lines. Please visit the webpages below as needed.
Dock Lines and Dock Line Style Mooring Lines - Denver Rope custom assembles Dock Lines & Mooring Lines made from rope on our own braiding machines and then using our own professional rope splicers. We offer the following types of Dock Lines: Double Braid Nylon Dock Lines, 3-Strand Nylon Dock Lines, and 12-Strand Nylon Dock Lines, where Double Braid Nylon Dock Lines are by far the most popular rope construction we sell. Multiple Solid Colors and Patterns are available. Our Dock Lines are Custom Made-to-Order. [Continue to DOCK LINE webpage]
Anchor Lines and Anchor Line Style Mooring Lines - Denver Rope custom assembles Anchor Lines & Mooring Lines made from rope on our own braiding machines and then using our own professional rope splicers. We offer the following types of Anchor Lines: Double Braid Nylon Anchor Lines, 3-Strand Nylon Anchor Lines, 3-Strand Heat-Set Nylon Anchor Lines, 8-Strand Plaited Nylon Anchor Lines, and 12-Strand Plaited Nylon Anchor Lines, where Double Braid Nylon Anchor Lines are by far the most popular rope construction we sell. Our Anchor Lines are Custom Made-to-Order. [Continue to ANCHOR LINE webpage]
Anchor Rode Assemblies for Windlass Applications - Denver Rope custom assembles Anchor Rode Assemblies for Windlass Applications made from rope on our own braiding machines and then using our own professional rope splicers. We offer the following types of Anchor Rode Lines: 3-Strand Nylon Anchor Rode Lines, 3-Strand Heat-Set Nylon Anchor Rode Lines, 8-Strand Plaited Nylon Anchor Rode Lines, and 12-Strand Plaited Nylon Anchor Rode Lines, where the rope is directly spliced to the anchor chain. Our Anchor Rode Assemblies are Custom Made-to-Order. [Continue to ANCHOR RODE / WINDLASS CHAIN webpage]
Houseboat Lines to include Dock Lines, Anchor Lines, Tow Lines, and Shore Lines - Denver Rope custom assembles Houseboat Mooring Lines, Dock Lines, Anchor Lines, Shore Lines, Tow Lines, Traveling Lines, and Winch Lines to the customer’s specifications. Houseboat Lines are made from rope on our own braiding machines and then assembled using our own professional rope splicers. For addi-tional information and design diagrams regarding Houseboat Mooring Lines please [Continue to Houseboat Lines webpage]
[Continue to GENERAL MARINE HARDWARE webpage]
[Continue to ANCHORS webpage]
[Continue to ANCHOR CHAIN webpage]
[Continue to GALVANIZED HARDWARE—MAIN PAGE webpage. Scroll to the bottom of this webpage for additional hardware specific links]
[Continue to STAINLESS STEEL HARDWARE—MAIN PAGE webpage. Scroll to the bottom of this webpage for additional hardware specific links]
[Continue to SECURITY HARDWARE—MAIN PAGE webpage]
Solid Rope Colors
Please continue to our ROPE COLORS webpage to consider the available rope colors and read the applicable restrictions. If not otherwise specified, Solid Black or White is typically the default rope color. [Continue to ROPE COLORS webpage]
Custom Color Combinations
We offer 5 customizable rope patterns on the double braid rope machines. Please continue to our DENVER ROPE MIXER webpage to design your double braid custom color combination and read the applicable restrictions. [Continue to DENVER ROPE MIXER webpage]
Whipping Twine - Double Braid Lines are whipped with waxed seine twine at the eye splice throat and bitter end. The splicer will choose the closet whipping twine color match for your lines unless otherwise specified. Consider to select a different whipping twine color for each set of lines. Lines other than double braid construction may be whipped for an additional charge. [Continue to WHIPPING TWINE webpage]
Recovery Ropes / Tow Lines / Tow Bridles / Winch Lines / Tow Ropes / Winch Ropes - All share common features with Dock Lines, Anchor Lines, Anchor Rodes, Mooring Lines, and Houseboat Lines. Please visit the webpages below as needed.
Dock Lines and Dock Line Style Mooring Lines - Denver Rope custom assembles Dock Lines & Mooring Lines made from rope on our own braiding machines and then using our own professional rope splicers. We offer the following types of Dock Lines: Double Braid Nylon Dock Lines, 3-Strand Nylon Dock Lines, and 12-Strand Nylon Dock Lines, where Double Braid Nylon Dock Lines are by far the most popular rope construction we sell. Multiple Solid Colors and Patterns are available. Our Dock Lines are Custom Made-to-Order. [Continue to DOCK LINE webpage]
Anchor Lines and Anchor Line Style Mooring Lines - Denver Rope custom assembles Anchor Lines & Mooring Lines made from rope on our own braiding machines and then using our own professional rope splicers. We offer the following types of Anchor Lines: Double Braid Nylon Anchor Lines, 3-Strand Nylon Anchor Lines, 3-Strand Heat-Set Nylon Anchor Lines, 8-Strand Plaited Nylon Anchor Lines, and 12-Strand Plaited Nylon Anchor Lines, where Double Braid Nylon Anchor Lines are by far the most popular rope construction we sell. Our Anchor Lines are Custom Made-to-Order. [Continue to ANCHOR LINE webpage]
Anchor Rode Assemblies for Windlass Applications - Denver Rope custom assembles Anchor Rode Assemblies for Windlass Applications made from rope on our own braiding machines and then using our own professional rope splicers. We offer the following types of Anchor Rode Lines: 3-Strand Nylon Anchor Rode Lines, 3-Strand Heat-Set Nylon Anchor Rode Lines, 8-Strand Plaited Nylon Anchor Rode Lines, and 12-Strand Plaited Nylon Anchor Rode Lines, where the rope is directly spliced to the anchor chain. Our Anchor Rode Assemblies are Custom Made-to-Order. [Continue to ANCHOR RODE / WINDLASS CHAIN webpage]
Houseboat Lines to include Dock Lines, Anchor Lines, Tow Lines, and Shore Lines - Denver Rope custom assembles Houseboat Mooring Lines, Dock Lines, Anchor Lines, Shore Lines, Tow Lines, Traveling Lines, and Winch Lines to the customer’s specifications. Houseboat Lines are made from rope on our own braiding machines and then assembled using our own professional rope splicers. For addi-tional information and design diagrams regarding Houseboat Mooring Lines please [Continue to Houseboat Lines webpage]
For heavy duty commercial applications, a galvanized thimble splice can be used to protect the rope against chafing. Lashing is used to seat the rope within the thimble. Thimbles are used when connecting to shackles and chain. Typical commercial reel sizes are 600 feet.
Typical recovery ropes have covered eye splices on each end to protect the rope against chafing when connecting to shackles, hooks, and chain. The ropes above are white double braid nylon. Our double braid nylon is made on our own braiding machines. Rope is hand spliced and made in the USA
This customer specified highly visible yellow 2-1/2” x 100 ft double braid nylon for their recovery rope application. One end with a 36” covered eye splice and the other with a 18” covered eye splice.
For additional information regarding fiber ropes please consider to go to previous web pages to include Rope Selection Guide, Rope Strength Guide, Bulk Rope Catalog Part Numbers, Anchor Lines, and Dock Lines. Please consider that a Recovery / Tow Line is essentially a dock line, an anchor line, and or mooring line used for a different purpose.
Click Here to Download Our Custom Recovery Rope / Tow Line Worksheet PDF
For customer service and inquiries please call John 303-809-7274 or email john@denverrope.comwww.denverrope.com
