Fender Etiquette

I leave mine adanglin' unless they are trailing in the sea....and with a cat that means only if there's a good swell running!

The disadvantage is that when I've climbed the hill to take a nice piccy of the boat in that lovely bay I always think "pity about those ugly fenders!" :(

Richard
 
Hanging curtain

We do take the fenders in as a rule, sometimes they get missed for a while, once allowing a sarcastic comment from a competitor just before the five minute gun...
Easier to forget is the fender which cloth we hang from the toe rail behind the fenders, we have been known to realise it is there when we go to hang fenders out on our return to our berth.
 
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Repent ye and forgive the Sinner!!!

And don't forget that the poor sod who bought the slug has no reverse...and no neutral .....is probably in a strange harbour with a legendary incoming tide, with a lot of expensive GRP about...on the busiest/sunniest day so far of the year...and possibly doesn't give a stuff that his fenders are dangling.

Nuff said ??
 
oldvarnish said:
I can't believe we're having this discussion! You put the fenders out when you come alongside, and put them away again when you leave. If you take a trip across the harbour you do what the hell you like to avoid damage to yourself and others.

Where does 'etiquette' come into it.

How can a fender cause offence?
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Ditto! Unless of course there is an RYA Method on the use of fenders which I'm unaware of..... :D
 
I always used to stow my fenders the instant I left a marina berth then retie them all just before entering.

Now I see three situations where fenders must be out and deployed:
- When parked
- When manoeuvring in a harbour
- When anchored

I've moved away from stowing them in lockers because 10 fenders won't fit with all my clobber and projects (I blame twin aft cabins, but I'd prefer to have them then a super-deep locker).

Last year I tied them all individually to the pushpit. This year I put a small loop into the fender end of each line and tied a single rope on each side of the pushpit through them so I could release them quickly. And then often left them up on the side deck if motoring in forecast calm

I'm considering tieing them up on the side rails by an open hook at the bottom of each fender to make it even easier next season but the old me would have shot the new me for that. I just can't remember why I used to think fenders out when sailing was so unseamanlike.
 
I've even done the opposite - tying fenders on the outside before leaving the pontoon! We were going down river to fill the water tanks and couldn't be sure which side to.

As to where to tie them, I'm pretty sure most of us use the guardwires and yes, the constant pulling will eventually chafe through the wire as it passes through the stanchion eye, but at least you know your wires are now in good, new condition. Why don't stanchions have nylon bushing? It's mainly the strain on the guardwires and stanchion mountings that prompt me to get the fenders in before making sail. I changed my guardwires when a broken strand tore into my hand, leaving blood all over the decks. I would be tempted to use the pierced toerail if I had one.

Rob.
 
RupertW said:
Now I see three situations where fenders must be out and deployed:
- When parked
- When manoeuvring in a harbour
- When anchored
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Why when anchored?

rob2 said:
It's mainly the strain on the guardwires and stanchion mountings that prompt me to get the fenders in before making sail. I changed my guardwires when a broken strand tore into my hand, leaving blood all over the decks. I would be tempted to use the pierced toerail if I had one.
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I always tie fenders on the lower guardrail; making that one go saggy seems marginally better than the top one.

Pete
 
I take mine in when I feel like it but always leave one dangling to give those suffering from OCD summat to agonise over.
 
RupertW said:
Last year I tied them all individually to the pushpit. This year I put a small loop into the fender end of each line and tied a single rope on each side of the pushpit through them so I could release them quickly. And then often left them up on the side deck if motoring in forecast calm

I'm considering tieing them up on the side rails by an open hook at the bottom of each fender to make it even easier next season but the old me would have shot the new me for that. I just can't remember why I used to think fenders out when sailing was so unseamanlike.
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Two or three years ago SWMBO had an idea for something that would look better, so I made her a large netting bag from 4mm rope (using Ashley's for the first time in years) and she turned it into an ethnic looking bag with a draw string top that sits on the aft deck, tied to the pushpit.

I think more people are taking their fenders in these days, I even had to buy some a few years back! First time Evadne's had two fenders that matched since 1967. :D
 
Oh, and I must be more on the tugboat end of the fenders in/out protocol. I haven't yet seen them bringing their tyres in.
 
Mine are left out all the time. It's a trademark sort of thing, I will not conform etc etc. Truth is, I sail single handed and going up on the side or fore deck is done only if absolutely necessary, hauling in fenders doesn't come into that category IMHO.....besides which, I can't forget to put them out on the right side when coming in to my berth....or like last week, someone else's 'cos I misjudged the tides.
 
dylanwinter said:
of course fenders can cause offense

there have been times when I have been outraged to the point of apoplexy when I see people doing it wrong

are you a man of no passion....no standards?

with attitudes such as yours the empire will crumble away to meaningless

oh hang on...
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My fenders are defensive rather than offensive hopefully.

I put the autopilot on as I come out of the marina and take the fenders in as I chug down the Tyne.
 
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