fenders have badly rubbed blue gelcoat

[Canopy Locked]

Having been spoilt by my last boat (hardy 24 with the trad' Hardy rope fender which stopped the round fenders from touching the hull) I was a bit shocked when I went to the boat yesterday to find that 2 of my fenders have been rubbing the hull leaving 2 big white patches in the blue gel coat.

I'll sort the gel coat in the winter, and I have moved my fenders around a bit to make better use of the stern qtr rubbing strake, but I am still left with 1 fender that is touching the hull and pontoon.

What is the best material to use as a sheet to hang over the side between fender & hull that will help protect the hull??.. I was thinking a nice bit of neoprene might do the trick

Thanks for any suggestions
Rob

 

[michael_w]

Sounds like the blue band is painted rather than gelcoat. It must have been quite some chafe! I've had good results with fender cloths made from either acrylic canvas or PVC.

 

[Malish]

Do you have socks on the fenders? - a bit of grit in the sock material makes a great grinding agent

 

[rwoofer]

Having been spoilt by my last boat (hardy 24 with the trad' Hardy rope fender which stopped the round fenders from touching the hull) I was a bit shocked when I went to the boat yesterday to find that 2 of my fenders have been rubbing the hull leaving 2 big white patches in the blue gel coat.

I'll sort the gel coat in the winter, and I have moved my fenders around a bit to make better use of the stern qtr rubbing strake, but I am still left with 1 fender that is touching the hull and pontoon.

What is the best material to use as a sheet to hang over the side between fender & hull that will help protect the hull??.. I was thinking a nice bit of neoprene might do the trick

Thanks for any suggestions
Rob

I used a fender mat on my blue hull and don't have any marks.

Here is an example of one

http://www.g-nautics.com/fenders.html

 

[puddock]

Having been spoilt by my last boat (hardy 24 with the trad' Hardy rope fender which stopped the round fenders from touching the hull) I was a bit shocked when I went to the boat yesterday to find that 2 of my fenders have been rubbing the hull leaving 2 big white patches in the blue gel coat.


Rob

You should see the state of my gelcoat and rubbing strake after the strong Northerly swell last weekend while stuck in Stonehaven....... Ouch !!!
Time to get the 3M out for me .......

 

[vyv_cox]

I used a fender mat on my blue hull and don't have any marks.

Here is an example of one

http://www.g-nautics.com/fenders.html

Interesting that your link describes fender socks as 'dreadful'. In the world of the superyacht, where appearance is everything, the fender sock is absolutely universal. Walk around the expensive bits of the marinas in Palma Club Nautico, Monaco, Antibes, St.Tropez, for example, where you will see that even the water used for washing the hull goes through treatment before it is allowed to touch any paint or GRP, and see how many un-socked fenders you can find. The answer will be none, unless the odd one has sneaked in under cover of darkness. These crews toil night and day to keep their owners' boats looking at their best and they know all there is to know about keeping the topsides perfect. That's why they use fender socks. Interestingly, I have never seen a fender mat on any of them.

On a far lower financial level I have witnessed plenty of boats on which fender use has done considerable damage to topsides, especially coloured ones. I have used fender socks for years and have absolutely no fender damage, although my hull is white.

 

[Ludd]

You should see the state of my gelcoat and rubbing strake after the strong Northerly swell last weekend while stuck in Stonehaven....... Ouch !!!
Time to get the 3M out for me .......

Where was the fender board,then?

 

[puddock]

Where was the fender board,then?

"Mr Charity" here had given it to a gent I met in Peterhead a couple of days before, who was heading through the Canal but didn't have a fender board ...... I imagine his hull is still looking good
A call to my father, had the replacement Fender boards built and delivered within a few hours. However, in my rush, I had ommited to instruct him on the need for recessed holes (or side holes) and he bored them front to back. Needless to say, they lasted about 3 minutes each (and that was with the Kevlar rope he had supplied with them).
Ah well, lessons learned .......

To drift the thread slightly, one VERY important lesson I did learn (from the lifeboatman at Stoney) was how to moor in such conditions.
Never mind the RYA shi7e about springs - get rid of them. Just 2 long lines, heavier the better (50ft + preferably) from bow and stern. Then sit back and let it do its worst....
What a difference; no snatching (drag of the rope in the water dampened that)and the boat stayed clear of the harbour wall due to the wash being created.
SORRY IF I AM TEACHING SOME OF YOU HOW TO SUCK EGGS but it may be valuable for someone in the future.

Tam - where are you at now? Did you get across Biscay?

 

[rwoofer]

Interesting that your link describes fender socks as 'dreadful'. In the world of the superyacht, where appearance is everything, the fender sock is absolutely universal. Walk around the expensive bits of the marinas in Palma Club Nautico, Monaco, Antibes, St.Tropez, for example, where you will see that even the water used for washing the hull goes through treatment before it is allowed to touch any paint or GRP, and see how many un-socked fenders you can find. The answer will be none, unless the odd one has sneaked in under cover of darkness. These crews toil night and day to keep their owners' boats looking at their best and they know all there is to know about keeping the topsides perfect. That's why they use fender socks. Interestingly, I have never seen a fender mat on any of them.

On a far lower financial level I have witnessed plenty of boats on which fender use has done considerable damage to topsides, especially coloured ones. I have used fender socks for years and have absolutely no fender damage, although my hull is white.

Didn't read the detail on that link, it's just what I bought.

I have both the Mat and fender socks. The only problem I have with the socks is the wear on rough pontoons, which is where the mat is useful.

 

[stiknstring]

Skirts

We used fender socks for a year, but they rapidly wore out and at nearly £20 each proved to be an expensive solution. Two years ago, we got some skirts made up with soft lining for the hull side and acrylic material on the outside. The fenders then are on the outside of the skirt - no more rubbing marks. Had ours made up at Ocean Canvas in Plymouth, but all sailmakers do them.

Blue hulls - don't you just love 'em? look great but maintaining them like that........

 

[charles_reed]

<<To drift the thread slightly, one VERY important lesson I did learn (from the lifeboatman at Stoney) was how to moor in such conditions.
Never mind the RYA shi7e about springs - get rid of them. Just 2 long lines, heavier the better (50ft + preferably) from bow and stern. Then sit back and let it do its worst....
What a difference; no snatching (drag of the rope in the water dampened that)and the boat stayed clear of the harbour wall due to the wash being created.>>

I carry two long 25mm od polypropylene lines for just that requirement - unfortunately doesn't work when you're pinned against the wall by the wind.

 

[Marsupial]

<<To drift the thread slightly, one VERY important lesson I did learn (from the lifeboatman at Stoney) was how to moor in such conditions.
Never mind the RYA shi7e about springs - get rid of them. Just 2 long lines, heavier the better (50ft + preferably) from bow and stern. Then sit back and let it do its worst....
What a difference; no snatching (drag of the rope in the water dampened that)and the boat stayed clear of the harbour wall due to the wash being created.>>

I carry two long 25mm od polypropylene lines for just that requirement - unfortunately doesn't work when you're pinned against the wall by the wind.

Agree, the trick is to keep the boat off the wall and dont allow the fenders to touch anything, they are in effect the last resort. Use anything as fender cloth it should be soft and strong (where have you heard that before) but if the wind is blowing you on HARD then even that will mark the hull.

 

[lenseman]

When your boat is pressed hard against the harbour wall, caused by wind or tide, is the harbour wall a rough texture which might cause the fenders to 'stick' to the wall and rub up and down on your gel coat?

If possible, try to make the fender 'stick' to the hull (or roll longitudinally) and rub up and down on the harbour wall instead of your boat.

Affixing the fenders so that both the 'top' and 'bottom' of the fender have a painter so that you can attach them in a horizontal axis might be a way forward as then the fender might then be able to 'roll' as the boat rises and falls with the tide?

 

[puddock]

When your boat is pressed hard against the harbour wall, caused by wind or tide, is the harbour wall a rough texture which might cause the fenders to 'stick' to the wall and rub up and down on your gel coat?

If possible, try to make the fender 'stick' to the hull (or roll longitudinally) and rub up and down on the harbour wall instead of your boat.

Affixing the fenders so that both the 'top' and 'bottom' of the fender have a painter so that you can attach them in a horizontal axis might be a way forward as then the fender might then be able to 'roll' as the boat rises and falls with the tide?

A common problem in an exposed harbour (in the case of Stonehaven, exposed to swell from N & E) is surging, where there is a lot of longitudinal travel, causing snatching. Springs exasperate the situation, as well as helping to hold the vessel into the wall - which is where you don't want it in that situation.
I hung my 35lb CQR from the for'd warp and a 25 lb Anchor Chum from the aft spring. This dampened things down to a certain extent but was negligible (in fact quite dangerous looking) once things picked up.