There has always been a debate about mooring warps. Should they be nylon or polyester? I fall generally into the polyester camp, but only just. Nylon is a bit lighter, a bit stronger, and a bit more stretchy. It does absorb some water and becomes weaker when it is wet but even then it is still as strong as polyester.
The reason I err on the side of polyester is because I find the stretch on nylon is just too much. Last night we were sweating long 16mm Octoplait lines off to some fishing boats in a full gale. On the bow I had a nylon warp and on the stern I had polyester (both 16mm Octoplait). In the strong gusts the nylon would keep stretching until the yacht relied on its fenders. The stern line held us off and there was no snatching.
My standard mooring lines are three strand classic coloured polyester. They are a joy to splice, soft to handle and they look traditional. The springs stretch just enough to absorb all the shocks but not so much that the yacht surges or moves position to bump into other yachts. I tighten my springs right up and keep them as long as possible but leave my bow and stern lines a bit slack.
Sumara currently carries 100 m of 16 mm Octoplait in polyester, 55 m and 45 m of 16mm Octoplait in Nylon, in addition to a 60 m three strand kedge warp and her mooring warps. I like the long warps to be Octoplait construction because it flakes down like chain into their rope bags without the need for coiling.
So my choice is polyester because I get more control to position Sumara in heavy weather and the rope construction and length is adequate to prevent any snatching.
You never know when it might kick up a bit!
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