🔍 Key Concepts

• Relative wear rate of fiber tails vs. wire mooring lines • Required safety margin for components that wear faster than the main line • Why tails are designed to be stronger than the line they are attached to

💭 Think About

• If the tails wear out faster, should they start out weaker, equal, or stronger than the wire to maintain safety over time? • Think about how much extra strength is commonly added as a safety factor for lines or components expected to deteriorate more quickly. • Among the choices, which percentage looks most like a realistic safety factor used in practical seamanship rather than a very small margin?

✅ Before You Answer

• Confirm that the tails must be stronger than the line they are attached to, not weaker. • Compare each option and ask: after some loss of strength, would the tail likely still be at least as strong as the wire? • Eliminate any option that does not provide a reasonable safety margin for a component known to deteriorate more quickly.