Fendering on a pontoon

ProDave

ProDave

Well-Known Member
Joined
5 Sep 2010
Messages
16,174
Location
Alness / Black Isle Northern Scottish Highlands.
Visit site
I've never done this before.

I'm considering moving from a harbour wall berth to a pontoon berth.

Now my little boat has a prominent "flange" where the deck moulding joins the hull moulding with a rubber rubbing strake, and against the harbour wall the fenders sit between that and the wall.

But a pontoon will be closer to the water line, so the fenders will have to hang lower where the profile of the hull is sloping inwards. I'm concerned therefore in rough weather at the prospect of the fenders flipping up onto the pontoon and offering no protection.

Just wondering what others do with some pictures?

I'm going to look at the pontoon this afternoon and look at what other boats do.
 
ProDave said:
I've never done this before.

I'm considering moving from a harbour wall berth to a pontoon berth.

Now my little boat has a prominent "flange" where the deck moulding joins the hull moulding with a rubber rubbing strake, and against the harbour wall the fenders sit between that and the wall.

But a pontoon will be closer to the water line, so the fenders will have to hang lower where the profile of the hull is sloping inwards. I'm concerned therefore in rough weather at the prospect of the fenders flipping up onto the pontoon and offering no protection.

Just wondering what others do with some pictures?

I'm going to look at the pontoon this afternoon.
Click to expand...

You could consider dock fenders
 
Not had a boat with that problem but have put fenders in place at crucial points on home pontoons. Speak to whoever owns the pontoon and they might do it anyway ( or more likely not.)

No need for the special fender shaped edges of pontoons - just get a couple of decent sized cylindrical fenders and tie them to the pontoon by each end - parallel to the water. No need to fender the entire length - just the bit where your boat is widest. If you are in a marina where there is also the main walkway to consider as well as the finger then take the same approach for there but just put one or two where your bow / stern will be when properly moored.
 
It's pontoons in the corner of a harbour. There are no fingers, just 3 runs of pontoons with boats tied up in a line on both sides of the pontoon.

If you tie fenders along the length of your pontoon would that mean no need to then hang any from the boat itself? that would make entering and exit easy.
 
ProDave said:
It's pontoons in the corner of a harbour. There are no fingers, just 3 runs of pontoons with boats tied up in a line on both sides of the pontoon.

If you tie fenders along the length of your pontoon would that mean no need to then hang any from the boat itself? that would make entering and exit easy.
Click to expand...

In theory yes but I always did - sods law that I would mess it up and need to go alongside somewhere else if I didn;t have any. When leaving the boat can either double the fenders up so you have one vertical and one horizontal or more usually - use the boat ones to fill any gaps / protect your quarter or bow if any passing traffic.
 
jac said:
In theory yes but I always did - sods law that I would mess it up and need to go alongside somewhere else if I didn;t have any. When leaving the boat can either double the fenders up so you have one vertical and one horizontal or more usually - use the boat ones to fill any gaps / protect your quarter or bow if any passing traffic.
Click to expand...

I sometimes hang some fenders at slightly differing heights, so that in high winds if the boat is heeling a little, enough fenders remain in a useful position. Otherwise it could happen that the tops can dip below the lip of the pontoon - and provide no fendering at all!!
 
I think the thread's been side-tracked a bit because many of us (myself included) read "fendering on a pontoon" and thought Dave was asking about screwing fenders to the pontoon. He actually just wants to know about using ordinary fenders when berthing on a pontoon - it's a different world where that's a novelty :)

My answer would be that fenders flipping out of the gap is not the problem you imagine it might be. Every weekend during the winter I walk up and down a pontoon occupied by fifteen or twenty boats, most of which are left largely unattended until spring. In five years I don't remember seeing any fenders lying on the pontoon having flipped out of the gap.

You should make sure your fenders are low enough - probably with the bottoms just kissing the water - and if they're on the small side (small boat) then staggering them vertically as Pagoda suggests can help in case you heel towards the pontoon and cause them to hang even lower.

Pete
 
I have had the same worry in the past, so I put one fender low and one high, so that if the boat rocked too much, at least one would protect. I guess that worst case would be one would get caught under the pontoon and rip off and the other pop out. So not a 100% solution but it worked for me.
 
mooing

Easy to ensure safe mooring.
Step 1 make a larger moulding of the front half of the hull out of fibreglass
Step 2 grease the matching part of the hull with Simoniz GT Wax
Step 3 hold the part mould temporarily just surrounding the boat
Step 4 fill the gap between the hull and the part moulding with expanded foam
Step 5 remove boat and line interior surface of the foam with nylon carpet.
Step 5 secure the mould to the berth.
Step 6 when parking aim straight in the mould and come to a perfect fendered stop every time.

step 7 Take a turn around a pre laminated mooring spur to the centre fairlead and hey presto - easy parking
 
ProDave said:
It's pontoons in the corner of a harbour. There are no fingers, just 3 runs of pontoons with boats tied up in a line on both sides of the pontoon.
Click to expand...

As a Fortrose man Dave, I've got to ask where you're away to? Also, as I'm away at the moment, looking at your Fortrose launch piccies did make me a tad homesick!
 
ProDave said:
It's pontoons in the corner of a harbour. There are no fingers, just 3 runs of pontoons with boats tied up in a line on both sides of the pontoon.

If you tie fenders along the length of your pontoon would that mean no need to then hang any from the boat itself? that would make entering and exit easy.
Click to expand...

I have the same pontoon set up and purchased two used large round fenders and leave them tied to the pontoon. I still use my boat fenders but the large one assist when coming alongside and added protection when I get too much wash. In in all it works well
Delbuoy
 
I have fenders secured to my pontoon per post #3. A cheap and easy way to further reduce the risk to varnished topsides. But NB that although you might reasonably come alongside your prepared berth without fenders attached to the boat, you won't want to leave her that way - you need some fenders attached to the boat as well, so that as she rolls, most of the rubbing and chafe is fender-to-fender rather than fender-to-hull.

Incidentally, on a few occasions in really bad weather I have seen fenders popping out all over a marina, except where foresighted owners had run lines right under the hull to hold them down.
 
If you are fortunate enough to have a permanent berth, having a dock fender makes a lot of sense. Our pontoon was replaced by the marina and before I had a chance to replace my fendering there was a severe storm in Dec '13. Although I had made arrangements with extra warps, someone needlessly removed them and the boat ended up with some scuffing above my fenders, as the boat had heeled so much in the storm on its beam.

I find that a mixture of fenders helps, at slightly different heights. I also have on of those flat Plasimo fenders, which seems less likely to flip.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions.

I have to say the pontoons sat higher out of the water than I was expecting so I am less concerned now.

the final arrangement will be worked out when we take the boat there hopefully in the next week or so. when the weather perks up (Yesterday was my first time out in a boat with snow laying on the deck)
 
ProDave said:
It's pontoons in the corner of a harbour. There are no fingers, just 3 runs of pontoons with boats tied up in a line on both sides of the pontoon.

If you tie fenders along the length of your pontoon would that mean no need to then hang any from the boat itself? that would make entering and exit easy.
Click to expand...

I don't know if it would be an issue for you but, good as this idea is, there is a downside. If the fender is fixed and your boat rubs against it there is constant wear on the topside of your boat whereas normally the fender just rolls across the surface. Check your topsides after a few weeks and if necessary add a fender cloth hanging off your gunwale to take the wear.

Edit
Sorry, Missed reading #15
 
prv said:
I think the thread's been side-tracked a bit because many of us (myself included) read "fendering on a pontoon" and thought Dave was asking about screwing fenders to the pontoon. He actually just wants to know about using ordinary fenders when berthing on a pontoon - it's a different world where that's a novelty :)

My answer would be that fenders flipping out of the gap is not the problem you imagine it might be. Every weekend during the winter I walk up and down a pontoon occupied by fifteen or twenty boats, most of which are left largely unattended until spring. In five years I don't remember seeing any fenders lying on the pontoon having flipped out of the gap.

You should make sure your fenders are low enough - probably with the bottoms just kissing the water - and if they're on the small side (small boat) then staggering them vertically as Pagoda suggests can help in case you heel towards the pontoon and cause them to hang even lower.

Pete
Click to expand...

+1.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top