Fenders

Teko

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Fenders, spread along the length of the boat or protecting the widest point.

I had always spread them out, until a sailing instructor told me he has the crew spread them put for approach and buched up once alongside
 

Carib

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Assuming you mean the pontoon side, once the lines are all on the bow and stern won't usually be able to swing anywhere near the pontoon, so there's not much point in having fenders there once you're in. (eg. in your photo the short stern line will not let the bow pivot in). I do what the instructor suggested, with all the fenders around say the middle third of the boat when we are moored. [edit: or, wot PVB said].
 

Laysula

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I have a couple of dock fenders mounted on my home pontoon, so I come in without fenders and then deploy them in a bunch together in the middle of the boat which also keeps it away from the dock fenders on the pontoon.
I also have a couple of car tyres hanging under the main walkway against the concrete float, just as an insurance.
 

Hermit

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So bunch the fenders up because the boat won't move. Only one is 'needed' but have more in case one punctures/deflates?

By the same argument, spread them out a bit in case a line breaks/comes undone and the boat does move and need fendering in other places along the pontoon?
 

Stemar

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Milady doesn't do knots, so it makes life so much easier to have four numbered fenders, each with a clip to clip on the guard wire forward of each stanchion. If things are looking a bit fraught, I'll bring the forward one back to spread the load, but I normally moor with the stern close alongside as it makes life easier, so the stern fender could easily be doing useful work.
 

DJE

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I find I can get four fenders working and still have them reasonably far apart. One either side of the widest part of the boat then two more slightly fatter fenders outside the first two. On the home mooring I have a few more towards the ends of the boat just in case a line (or one of the rubber mooring compensators) breaks.
 
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I have had heavy winds burst a fender so now bunch up at the beam 4, but set up as 2 x pairs each side of the gate. I have 6 fenders, so the other two are more fore and aft. Currently don't put any on the neighbours side post berthing, but do when I am berthing in case there is an issue so I can protect neighbours boat. Hence, I am in the spread them about when berthing, sort of bunch them up post berthing camp.
 

dom

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Guessing I'm in a minority here but I would never leave a boat as depicted in the OP's post.

1. Bunching is fine, I use pairs which is a similar idea. But for that approach to work the boat needs some offside securing to stop it pivoting left to right. The lines in the photo are so tight that they will create needless stresses, strains, and chafe. This problem would be solved by putting an offside stern line to the suitably positioned free cleat on the pontoon for exactly this purpose.​
2. The pictured sternline is also far too steep and too tight IMHO . Any swell/waves/wakes through the marina will subject near-vertical lines like that to big shock loads which will certainly damage the lines and potentially the vessel.​
3. All four fenders are connected to the same guardwire. What's the point of bunching if one guardwire/stanchion break will collapse all of the others?​
 

TernVI

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I agree the line from the mid cleat on the boat to the mid cleat on the pontoon is not good.
I would replace it with a spring from the mid cleat on the boat, to the bow cleat on the pontoon.

The thing to think about is what happens if some wash or chop makes the boat and pontoon want to go up and down a little relative to each other? Short tight lines either break or yank the boat around a lot, displacing fenders.
Long springs let the boat rise and fall without moving far fore and aft.

It may all be fine in a good marina, but when you're in e.g. Cowes, you can get a fair bit of wash through the pontoons.
 

jbweston

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If leaving the boat for a week or two I never rely on a single fender to take all the strain. Three or four postioned so that they will be in contact if the boat is blown towards the pontoon, plus one further out at each end to work if the mooring lines stretch enough to pivot the boat.

In the pic the yacht is wearing her ensign so presumably the crew are on board or will be back soon. I don't like the short, tight mooring lines but if the crew are on board they'll soon come running when swell or wash rolls the boat and they feel the snatching.

I agree that there would be a feaful load on that guard wire if the wind jams the boat hard against those four fenders then she rolls. Definitely a good idea to spread the attachment points. But again no problem if the crew are down below eating their Fray Bentos.
 

Poignard

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View attachment 98779

Fenders, spread along the length of the boat or protecting the widest point.

I had always spread them out, until a sailing instructor told me he has the crew spread them put for approach and buched up once alongside
Makes sense. Put them where they do most good at the time.
But, I must confess to being lazy about this. At the moment I am on a catway in Vannes. Two of my four fenders are in contact with the catway, two are dangling in free space doing nothing.
Maybe when I have had another beer I will get up and do something about it. Maybe I won't. :rolleyes:
 

James_Calvert

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A point about bunching is that is that when it gets rough, a fender can pop out of position. If there are others close by there's a good chance some will remain in place to do their job, and maintain a gap for the fender to drop back into during a lull. Otherwise the boat will continue to grind, fenderless, against that part of the pontoon until someone comes by to kick the fender back into place.
 

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