The purpose of using a dummy cord on important gear is to prevent it’s loss in a situation where you have a temporary lapse of motor control, or you just plain drop it!
Dummy cording works by tying a line from your person to the said piece of gear, or can be as broad as tying in a motor in case a rouge wave knocks the motor off a Zodiac.
Imagine navigating at night when a branch sneaks up on you and knocks your compass out of your hand. It falls to the ground just as the man behind you conveniently steps on it.
Hopefully in that situation you’d have a backup, “two is one and one is none,” right?
To circumvent the possibility of even letting yourself fall into that position, take a few seconds and dummy cord that compass!
What to use
Traditionally dummy cords are as simple as gutting 550 cord and using a strand of the inner guts to secure your gear, or just whole 550 cord depending on what you’re tying in.
A product we really love is the ALSE Survival Vest Cord Type 1 Paracord from Supply Captain. It’s the same cord used in pilot’s vests, the GI issue strobe light pouch and the dummy cord in the leg pocket of flight suits.
Type 1 Paracord has a tensile strength of 100 pounds, and a diameter of 1/16″.
Shot Line
Other products we’ve used as dummy cord, are military shot line, which is traditionally used in U.S. Navy ship-to-ship transfers during UNREP (Underway Replenishment).
Shot line is connected to a projectile housed in an adapter at the end of an M14.
The projectile is then fired by a blank round in the M14 and received by the opposing ship’s crew.
Parting Words
Whatever you decide to use to lash in your gear, make sure you use something. Losing gear is preventable, and there’s no excuse for it!
The simple act of tying in critical items could mean the difference between life and death in certain situations.
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Where can I buy Shot Line?
AAron, I really wish I knew! We looked all over when writing this article and no one seems to carry it. The type 1 cord through Supply Captain is the closest thing we can find that’s commercially available. Perhaps one of our readers knows how to track some down? ~ Bryan
http://www.rocknrescue.com/acatalog/Bridger-Line-Gun-Kit.html
You can thank me later
I should have added that you have to call them, or establish direct email contact with their sales team to purchase just the line or canister, etc. They have respooling tools and all kinds of things available for sale separately, but they don’t advertise it. FYI, they don’t use 550 cord, its just a nylon (maybe 7 strand?) line. Nothing special. You can buy standard 550 at cabela’s by the foot.
Genuine Navy shot line is like a mini-paracord. It has and outer sheath with three inner 3-ply strands. It’s treated so that it will float on sea water for 24 hours and strength tested at 125lbs for 10 minutes. I called rocknrescue.com and they told me their line is braided, but has no inner core. The only place I’ve found that sells it is the manufacturer (Consolidated Cordage) in Florida, and they only sell to businesses and have a 17-roll minimum purchase requirement. I received a sample and it matches the shot line I have from my Navy days back in the early 70’s. I’m considering ordering from them, but I only want a few rolls and would have to sell the rest.