fender buddy?

[miketherestorer]

Fender buddies, little plastic hooks on short nylon straps that allow you to hang your fenders horizontally on the gaurd wires. Does anyone out there have any experience of them, or an opinion? They look like thet might be a good answer to fender storage.

 

[Krusty]

Little plastic & tape gadgets are just another one of the leisure marine industry's ways of exploiting the average amateur sailor's lack of understanding of knots!
I recommend 'Knots & Splices' by Cyrus L Day (pub. Alard Coles): it fits in the breast pocket. If you splice good-length tails (supple 3-strand line of 5 or 6mm diameter) to both ends of your fenders, they can be secured anywhere convenient in a non-dangly fashion: and lashed end-to end in pairs or a 'chain' for berthing at piling. Versatile!

 

[miketherestorer]

I would never claim to know all their is to know about knots and splices but my fenders are fairly well hung! I saw these little plasticky things on another boat they looked neatand tidy, just wondered if they worked as well as they looked.

 

[charles_reed]

That\'s if you use

those yotties' sausage fenders, which under real hard conditions are totally inadequate.

Me I stick to 600mm dumpy fenders, you'll not see a working boat using those effete sausages.

 

[miketherestorer]

Re: That\'s if you use

I,m pretty near the bottom of the boat learning curve at the moment my berthing can best be described as enthusiastic. I have a lot of BIG sausages and they take up a lot of room. Just trying to free up a bit of locker space for epoxy filler and paint!

 

[Krusty]

Re: That\'s if you use

Are we discussing yachts or barges? I do agree that the 'effete' yachty ones are not the best in a harbour exposed to hard weather, or if trapped inside a fishing boat: but for small boats they do have the advantage of stowing with minimum waste of space.
Mine live in a locker: my ex-fishing-boat 'big cherries' stay on deck hitched to the stern-rail; with a proper quick-release knot for instant deployment when threatened by a large and possibly unwieldy vessel.

 

[gwennols]

have used these for the last 4 years or so
expensive but find them very useful biggest problem is that they do break tend to have to replace 2 or three a year. the problem is uv light which makes the plastic go brittle wouldnt leave them on if i was moor up for the winter i sit on the hard for the winter months

 

[miketherestorer]

Thanks for that and now a real testimonial. Seems to me that Keith has a point though. Think I might make my own with real splices and those neat little stainless steel snap hooks.