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Partner & I have purchased our first boat. Any suggestions for what type of rope we should use for tying boat to dock. We will be facing the stern to the dock. Have seen some pulley set ups which may work for us. Any insight will be greatly appreciated.
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I take it you are talking about lines, they are made from rope, but they are not ropes.
What size is your boat, and your dockage situation. Are you in a slip with fingers piers on each side of your boat, a slip with pilings at the outside of the slip on both sides, ect? This arangement greatly determines what you need.
Personally, I've got a 19' boat, and normally dock on a floating dock, which is basically a typical face dock situation. All of my lines are 3/8" three strand, I prefer this to braid for two reasons. First of all, it allows the line to stretch a bit, which acts as a shock absorber. Second, I have found that they don't snag on splintery (this may or may not really be a word, but you get the point) wooden docks. I use one line from the stern and bow to the dock, as well as one from stern foward to either the same cleat as the bow line is attached to, or a cleat on the dock between the one that the stern line & bow line are attached to. This restricts the boat from moving away from the dock, as well as moving foward and backwards alongside the dock, which allows the fenders to do their job. The fact that most of the docks here are floating makes this extreemly easy, others can comment on their arangements based on other situations.
I was going to "warn" you that you would get lambasted for saying "rope" instead of lines. We all learn the same way... don't sweat it. If you have questions, you can go to your local boating store and they can tell you what you "need". that said, if you're really new to boating and want to know what you need, you may want to consider a Coast Guard or Power Squadron Safe Boating Course. Sometimes boring, but very informative.
Yea I didn't know it was a line either,but we had a long chat on here about ropes and lines,and dont even think about talking about anchor line or you will bring up its real name of rode.
Nylon. I prefer 3 strand because I have seen braided slip. Don't start a rant now, thet's only MY preference. 3-strand nylon is easy to splice, too. Nylon also has some stretch, so it absorbs shock.
Do not ever use polypro anywhere it might be esposed to sunlight.
Yes, I agree you should buy a copy of Chapman's. EVERY boat owner should have a copy of Chapmans, for that matter.
I also prefer 3-strand nylon. I use 1/2" line for my 25' boat docked stern to.
How you tie up, will have to be determined by what is around you, the configuration of your slip, the amount of change in your tides, and how sheltered or open your slip is to weather and wakes.
In my case, I dock stern to and use 7 lines.
2 bow lines, 2 spring lines, 2 stern lines, and one 'locator' line to keep me close to my finger pier and mitigate the down-sides of my stern lines. I did not cross my stern lines because I did not want the lines rubbing on the motor and damaging the paint. Doing that causes some challanges in keeping the stern from 'wandering'. The locator line on the stbd stern solves that problem.
Here she is just before TS Ernesto came blowing through...
Some people prefer to place the spliced loop at the cleat on the boat for ease of tying up.
Being subject to hurricanes and nor-easters, and the extreme tides they can produce, I don't do that because they cannot be adjusted during a storm. I prefer to make my lines adjustable by cleating off at the boat.
So you see... There are lots of factors to consider. Chapmans will get you started, but after that you will have to use what works in your situation.
Good luck.
__________________ .
Capt. Kevin ~~~~~~~~~~><((((*>
Um, you dock your boat at a dock, not a pier. It is made fast to a shore installation which is often a wharf or pier (depending on its orientation to land). In boating, it is common and acceptable to refer to those shore structures bordering the dock area as "docks"
FWIW, the area of water in which your boat lies while made fast to a shore structure is it's dock.
Every situation is different depending on type of dock (floating, fixed etc) best thing is to look at some of the other boats in the marina and copy the way they are tied up.
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Types of rope for tying up 
We all learn the same way... don't sweat it. If you have questions, you can go to your local boating store and they can tell you what you "need". that said, if you're really new to boating and want to know what you need, you may want to consider a Coast Guard or Power Squadron Safe Boating Course. Sometimes boring, but very informative. 
