noun
mooring line; mooring rope; painter
Nautical term for a rope used to secure a boat to a dock or another vessel. 'Painter' refers specifically to a line attached to the bow of a small boat.
船をもやい綱で桟橋に固定した。
We secured the boat to the pier with a mooring line.
Compound of もやい (moyai, 'mooring', from verb もやう 'to moor') + 綱 (tsuna, 'rope'). The exact origin of もやう is uncertain, but it is a native Japanese verb.