Let’s talk about fenders....

[Steve91T]

When we acquired our boat it came with a bunch of different fenders, different size lines and means of attachment. It’s a mess and looks stupid. Makes it hard on my wife. We also have nowhere to store them without them just laying around the aft deck.

She wants 4 fender holders on the forward rail, two on each side. Then we can store extras under seats in the flybridge. That way they ware easy to get to and easy to put back and also are out of our way underway.

Thoughts on this?

Also, what she wants black fenders with navy blue covers. I think I remember reading on this site that covers might actually be harder on the paint than naked. Thoughts?

We gotta do something. I promise we’d get rid of our fenders and completely redo the system with new.

You guys have this mastered, love to hear what works for you. I did read in the other thread about fenders that there are some simple knots that we can learn instead of using gizmos to attach. She might not be happy about that but with practice I’m sure she’ll get used to it.

 

[rslifkin]

My normal docking fenders are Taylor Big B 10x26, stored in holders on the bow (shown in the picture). I also carry a set of ball fenders (2x 18 inch, 3x 12 inch) deflated in the forward bilge that I can inflate and use for locks or docking against a rough concrete wall (to avoid chewing up the covers on my regular fenders). The balls typically get deployed as 18" fore and aft just above the water and then the 12" ones tucked just under the gunwale. That's worked nicely to keep the boat off lock walls as well as being tied to a concrete wall with some wave action.

I've got the Taylor Tidy-ups adjusters on all of the fenders for convenience. For the ones on the bow, the adjusters get hung on the side of the fender holders. Makes things easy in our home slip, as if we're just out for a day, you just put the fenders back in the same order, clip them on and they're already at the correct height. When traveling, they're easy to adjust. And as I learned in a lock at one point last year, if you snag a fender on something hard, you'll break the (annoyingly expensive) adjuster and retrieve the fender from the water rather than damaging the stanchion or rail the fender is attached to. A picture of the adjusters I have is also attached.

 

[IRENE]

I think your plan is solid. Maybe consider some room to adjust in a year or two as you fine tune things. Will the fender racks block visibility from down below? Is there potentially another storage location? Just thoughts.

We are using Polyform fenders with no covers. Our hull is gelcoat vs. paint. We keep the hull and fenders as clean as possible to avoid (not eliminate) scratching/marring of the gelcoat. I would probably have covers on the fenders if our hull were painted, and I might go that way soon anyway.

Your boat looks great.

Good Luck

 

[Steve91T]

Yeah it probably would when driving from the lower helm....

 

[rslifkin]

Yeah it probably would when driving from the lower helm....

Looks like you look through the rails rather than over them at the lower helm, so I'd agree, you're better off finding a different spot to store fenders.

 

[rgano]

I have the same issue with the ONLY helm I have being obstructed by the bow-mounted holders. I only carry two Taylor Big Boys, and they are strapped into u-shaped clips screwed into the side of the cockpit (tops seen next to the grandkid in shocking green shorts). Other than that place, there is nowhere but on top of the hardtop to store them.

 

[caltexflanc]

We had the fender holders as described up on the bow a bit off to the side, in the most commonly seen location. Although "line of sight" they did not affect visibility from the lower helm to any significant degree at all, and certainly a mild move of one's head solved that on the rare occasion. Never bothered us one bit.

 

[firehoser75]

Steve,
Good idea on upgrading your old fenders! It should reduce marking of your hull as long as you keep them clean and in good shape.
If it were me, I would be very concerned with placing fender holders anywhere they could impede my vision while underway (especially ahead). Depending on your hull, running gear, etc. accidentally striking a floating object (due to having your vision blocked) could result in unnecessary damage and expense. On most boats, I would avoid putting fender holders on the bow rail because of that. In waves, spotting some of the floatsum (at least around here) can be challenging even with full visibility.

If you keep your fenders clean, and regularly rinse the area on the hull where they make contact, you should eliminate (or greatly reduce) the need for covers. If you don't keep the covers clean, I would expect they could accumulate salt crystals that could mar the hull surface anyway. Clean and salt free is good either way .
I would avoid the adjustable fender straps. While they are good from the point of view of quick, easy, and "adjustable", they have to be hung from the top horizontal rail. Think of your stanchions (posts) as levers or pry bars. Any force put against the top is greatly multiplied on the bottom where the stanchion is screwed, bolted, and SEALED on the deck. This force, especially repeated forces, could easily cause the bedding material to fail resulting in water leaks. These leaks may not be sudden or even large, but they are often undetected and often lead to damage (and smells). This does not need visible damage to the rails to occur. That is why I prefer to attach fenders to stronger points on the boat like cleats or the base of stanchions. There are several choices of knots that you can use that are simple, strong, and are not that hard to adjust (though not as easy as the "adjustable" holders). Some suggestions are the clove hitch, tauntline hitch, and the "bending knot" (also known as the round turn and 2 half hitches). With some practise, these knots can become "second nature" and only take a couple of seconds to tie (5 seconds approx.).

Good luck with whatever you decide,

 

[rslifkin]

To me, the covers aren't so much for keeping the hull clean, they're more to keep the fenders looking nice rather than sun baked and gross. The covers on mine are sunbrella (matches the bimini), so they're not soft and fuzzy anyway. But that also means they don't really hold dirt. My ball fenders are intended to be abused, so those aren't covered.

 

[O C Diver]

Imo, storing fenders really depends on your cruising style. Those that travel dock to dock probably want them easily accessible. I tend to anchor out mostly and am fine with moving and storing them on the upper boat deck.

Mine are quite large at 15" X 58". I only use 2 and they're hung horizontally. They work extremely well, but the size requires moving them off the lower deck and out of the way. In addition I use 3 large fender balls when locking. They are usually stored tied on the inside of the upper boat deck railings.

Ted

 

[boathealer]

Recently bought a set of "Fastfender"s (see Amazon) for our 6 fenders. Makes deploying (and more importantly RE-deploying) fender positions very fast and easy for the admiral. Just a 90 degree rotation and drop onto the rail. Simple adjustments once placed. So far, considered a good purchase for us.

To stow, we just relocate the Fastfenders to the aft rail as seen in the crop below. Quick and easy.

 

[ranger58sb]

She wants 4 fender holders on the forward rail, two on each side. Then we can store extras under seats in the flybridge. That way they ware easy to get to and easy to put back and also are out of our way underway.

Thoughts on this?

Also, what she wants black fenders with navy blue covers. I think I remember reading on this site that covers might actually be harder on the paint than naked. Thoughts?

I did read in the other thread about fenders that there are some simple knots that we can learn instead of using gizmos to attach. She might not be happy about that but with practice I’m sure she’ll get used to it.

We inherited 6 big fenders with the boat, four hole-thru-middle and two ears at both ends. If I were to do it over, I think I'd choose all with ears at both ends, and just carry a few spare fender whips for the times we might want to deploy a few horizontally.

West Marine (and others) offer pre-spliced 6' and 9' fender whips; easy.

Cow hitch (or larks head) or taut-line hitch; easy.

We did eventually get some covers; the ones we found that seemed better were from Harken and made of Sunbrella. Tried other fabrics, they mostly disintegrated. But I think I'd select black fenders and go without covers at all, first.

We put four fender baskets forward, two on each side, worked well. Since we didn't have a lower helm, we had no risk of impeded sight lines.

We also added a large buoy fender, mostly to be used way up toward our bow when necessary to briefly lay up against floating docks. It carries deflated except for longer trip then we know we might need it a lot; in that case, tied sorta loosely but out of the way up on the foredeck until needed.

-Chris

 

[jleonard]

Wax the fenders after you clean them and they will stay nice much longer.
We make covers out of terrycloth towels. Easy to clean and they do not scratch the hull.
Remove and wash them when they start to get crappy.

 

[Russell Clifton]

This is what was on this boat when we got her and they seem to be working just fine. There are four on each side, all mounted at the same height, the fenders all have the same length line, so you can grab any fender and clip it on any eye. When not in use I store the fenders on the forward deck, two on each side. They seem to always stay in place.

 

[Bacchus]

Lots of different practices for different boats and cruising. We do a lot of canal trips.
On our current MS w good rails most of the way around I hand them from the rail s adjusters. I like the Taylor shown but prefer the Lift A Dor fastener vs the Twist Common Sense fastener that always seem to come off for me
I use Lg (10") single thru hole fenders with a line through them and a stopper knot on the bottom. That let's me easily hang them horizontal between rail & gunnel when not needed. Adjuster on top, half hitch on lower pulled thru to provide slack.
I have a lg ball I also hang from rail at aft end of anchor platform with ball out of sight line below gunnel and on an adjuster.

When canaling I remove covers so fenders are easily rinsed by dunking while underway. I replace soft covers when we are in cruising areas w/o locks. For canaling I want quick deploy and EZ adjustment. If you dont like adjusters a simple clove hitch will work for EZ adjustment.
I would try some different approaches before committing to holders.
Hope it helps.

 

[rslifkin]

For canal runs, as Bacchus pointed out, keeping fenders easy and quick to deploy is key. Coming up through the canals last year, we used the balls and left the regular fenders sitting in their holders. Balls stayed down between locks in the slow sections, anywhere we were running faster we just flipped them up onto the side decks, still attached to the rails so that we could just toss them back over when ready.

 

[caltexflanc]

Look, if those who have not used them are making you paranoid about the holders, it is easy enough to hang fenders off the rail in various places where the racks may go and make a real world decision.

I found it very handy to have at least one large ball fender on board, there are times when they are a better solution.

 

[Comodave]

We have 4 large fenders with the holes on each end. They are black and it is easy to keep them clean. We have a 6’ line spliced on one end of each fender. We have 4 6’ fender whips that we can put through the hole on the other end when we want to deploy them horizontally. We just use a clove hitch when we put them out. With the fender clips we find that you will want the fender out at the same height all the time whether or not it is the best height, also they break. A clove hitch is simple and fast to do. Also with a clove hitch you can adjust the height without untying it. We don’t like covers since they can trap dirt that will scratch the paint on the hull.

 

[psneeld]

I suggest always use an attachment method that can be released under tension.

Have seen too many incidents where even cutting the line is too late.

 

[PM]

OK, at the risk of offending some members, here is my nickels worth.

Forget about all the gadgets and doodads. You don't need cloth sleeves, nor hangers, nor slings or any of the adjusting tools. You don't need cylindrical fenders either.

Buy one big round ball fender for the bow and as many as three smaller ones. Learn to tie a clove hitch and you are ready to cruise or dock.

Round fenders are a pain to store so we don't even try. Pull them in and lay them on the walkway.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

pete

 

[rslifkin]

I suggest always use an attachment method that can be released under tension.

Have seen too many incidents where even cutting the line is too late.

This is part of why I've come to like the adjusters I use. The rivets into the strap material aren't super strong, so they'll self-release by breaking before the situation gets dangerous if you snag a fender.

 

[Shrew]

We have navy blue fenders, without the fender covers. The dark fenders don't show the mildew like white. We had cloth covers but they fade and sometimes gather splinters from the dock.

We carry 4 in two 2 fender racks on the bow. No issues with visibility from the lower helm. We don't find we need more than four fenders. We've never needed fenders on both sides of the boat the same time, with the exception of rafting, and when rafting, the other boats have fenders as well.

 

[Shrew]

Incidentally, we use 'Line-Through' fenders. They sit in the fender holders better and allow you to more easily mount them like Bacchus is showing and to hang them horizontally, if needed.

Fender line hangers aren't necessary, just learn to lash the lines.

 

[mvweebles]

Mine are quite large at 15" X 58". I only use 2 and they're hung horizontally. They work extremely well, but the size requires moving them off the lower deck and out of the way.

Oh man! That's big! I have fender-lust! A couple planks across them and an outboard and you have a pontoon boat.

Peter

 

[boathealer]

OK, at the risk of offending some members, here is my nickels worth.

Forget about all the gadgets and doodads. You don't need cloth sleeves, nor hangers, nor slings or any of the adjusting tools. You don't need cylindrical fenders either.

Buy one big round ball fender for the bow and as many as three smaller ones. Learn to tie a clove hitch and you are ready to cruise or dock.

Round fenders are a pain to store so we don't even try. Pull them in and lay them on the walkway.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

pete

Do you use fender boards with the round ball fenders? If so, how?

 

[Bacchus]

I suggest always use an attachment method that can be released under tension.

Have seen too many incidents where even cutting the line is too late.

That pic is of storage horizontal below the rail. Only tension is 1/2 wt of the fender. We use adjusters when deployed.

 

[Bacchus]

We've never needed fenders on both sides of the boat the same time, with the exception of rafting, and when rafting, the other boats have fenders as well.

Like I said earlier... it depends very much on your situation and cruising style.
Last year on the Trent- Severn Waterway we hit a series of closely spaced locks where tie up alternated from port to stbd. Having lines & fenders out on both sides saved a lot of movement. If a busy day on NY canals or Rideau we will deploy both sides. You never know when you need to switch from side to side or the lock tender will place a row of rafted boats up the center rafter to a boat on one side or the other.

 

[caltexflanc]

Well, if storage is an issue and you want "forever" fenders, there are always these bad boys.

https://aeredockingsolutions.com/products/aere-fenders/inflatable-fenders.html

 

[O C Diver]

oh man! That's big! I have fender-lust! A couple planks across them and an outboard and you have a pontoon boat.

Peter

I have 4 of these that I bought as seconds (significantly reduced price). Same quality, same warranty, but the blue color mixed with the white during manufacturering.

When the wind is blowing 30 knots driving you into the dock, size matters. The larger the cross section, the more forced the fender can offset. When it gets really bad, I add a third one.

While I rarely raft with other boats, when I do, everyone appreciates these tubes between us.

Ted

 

[Codger2]

We have 6 total. 2 run through the cockpit haws pipes, 2 hang from the spring cleats & 2 from the rails, secured with clove hitches.