/ 



A 



^^ sand 







/ 



\ 



o 



\ 



1 



\ 











V 



\ 











\ 



/ 



x. , 







/ 



/ 



/ + 



N ^^ mud 



40 60 



Fluke Angle (degrees) 



Figure 1 1 . Effects of fluke angle on holding power. 



Deep sea synthetic mooring rope, sucli as dacron, nylon, and 

 polypropylene, is currently available in various types. All synthetic fibers 

 creep under load. For a 5-year life, this creep will not present a problem if 

 the working strength is kept below 25% of breaking strength for nylon and 

 30% for dacron. However, short-term loading equivalent to 90% of breaking 

 strength is not unrealistic. Synthetic rope is susceptible to failure if a 

 significant portion of its fibers are abraded. This requires that the line not be 

 allowed to lie on the bottom or pass over jagged crevices. Synthetic rope 

 failures usually occur near splices and connections. Therefore, care must be 



44 



