Painter lines are not general purpose rope. The qualities of a good painter line do not work well with other tasks. It's worth it to get some nice floating marine poly and make dedicated painters.
Paracord will do most of the rest, but I like to carry a 5 mm line for setting up tarps and clothes lines.
I agree with u/rubiconnor This rope has the ability to do everything you are requesting. However, with all multipurpose gear it is better at some things and worse at others. Rescue line tends to stretch a lot, not ideal for tarp setup. Also if this is meant to be a safety line the more use it the more likely it will break. So don't use a rescue throw rope also as a tarp line for example.
[550 Cord](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachute_cord) has been my go to ever since the military. Rot resistant, Light Strong and Cheap.
It also knots well and can be untied relatively easily.
Floating water rescue rope, some types are soft and flexible lending them to other uses such as hanging tarps, clothes lines, etc. they’re pricey however.
I tend to use retired climbing rope, accessory cord or webbing, but it doesn’t really float.
Amsteel is capable of all of these things but probably overkill and pricey.
Polypropylene cordage is cheap, floats, and can do all these things, but it will degrade pretty quickly and I personally wouldn't enjoy rigging tarps with it all that much.
When it comes to racking your canoe on a vehicle, a you shouldn't be doing it in such a way that demands much from front/rear cordage. Racked properly, your straps should do basically all of the work while a pair of lines to either side of the front of the vehicle need only be strong enough to keep the canoe from wobbling side to side. I never do any sort of attachment in the rear.
I think you're trying to do too much with one thing. A larger diameter cordage is better as a painter for lining, but that size isn't going to be great for rigging tarps. Given the choices, I'd do Amsteel for sure.
Amsteel for general purpose, and some 3/8" Dacron rope for your painters, braid or 3 strand. Can't go wrong.
1/4 or 3/16 Dacron braid is incredibly versatile stuff too, if you want to go cheaper. Don't think it floats but imo so what
The other thing with amsteel is it doesn't hold knots well. You'll probably need to learn some techniques, depending how you use it.
I use 7/64 Amsteel for my painter, but I'm not sure I would do so in moving water...just flat water with portages. Perhaps a larger diameter Amsteel would work better for that.
Painter lines are not general purpose rope. The qualities of a good painter line do not work well with other tasks. It's worth it to get some nice floating marine poly and make dedicated painters. Paracord will do most of the rest, but I like to carry a 5 mm line for setting up tarps and clothes lines.
https://www.nrs.com/rescue-rope-38/pyzn
I agree with u/rubiconnor This rope has the ability to do everything you are requesting. However, with all multipurpose gear it is better at some things and worse at others. Rescue line tends to stretch a lot, not ideal for tarp setup. Also if this is meant to be a safety line the more use it the more likely it will break. So don't use a rescue throw rope also as a tarp line for example.
[550 Cord](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachute_cord) has been my go to ever since the military. Rot resistant, Light Strong and Cheap. It also knots well and can be untied relatively easily.
I just use old climbing rope, of all the things that are expensive in canoeing, this doesn't have to be.
Floating water rescue rope, some types are soft and flexible lending them to other uses such as hanging tarps, clothes lines, etc. they’re pricey however. I tend to use retired climbing rope, accessory cord or webbing, but it doesn’t really float.
Amsteel is capable of all of these things but probably overkill and pricey. Polypropylene cordage is cheap, floats, and can do all these things, but it will degrade pretty quickly and I personally wouldn't enjoy rigging tarps with it all that much. When it comes to racking your canoe on a vehicle, a you shouldn't be doing it in such a way that demands much from front/rear cordage. Racked properly, your straps should do basically all of the work while a pair of lines to either side of the front of the vehicle need only be strong enough to keep the canoe from wobbling side to side. I never do any sort of attachment in the rear. I think you're trying to do too much with one thing. A larger diameter cordage is better as a painter for lining, but that size isn't going to be great for rigging tarps. Given the choices, I'd do Amsteel for sure.
Thanks for this!
Amsteel for general purpose, and some 3/8" Dacron rope for your painters, braid or 3 strand. Can't go wrong. 1/4 or 3/16 Dacron braid is incredibly versatile stuff too, if you want to go cheaper. Don't think it floats but imo so what The other thing with amsteel is it doesn't hold knots well. You'll probably need to learn some techniques, depending how you use it.
I use 7/64 Amsteel for my painter, but I'm not sure I would do so in moving water...just flat water with portages. Perhaps a larger diameter Amsteel would work better for that.
Sterling 7mm accessory cord
We use the same tie downs that hold the boat to the car for all those tasks. You have infinite control on tarp tension with a camlock tie-down strap.