Figuring out Fenders: A Design Project

[Seajet]

I don't think I have ever used more than four, though I have eight on board at the moment. Four sausages, two teardrops and two big round ones. One of the joys of having a boat pointy at both ends is that you need thinner fenders near the middle and fatter ones at both ends. The teardrops were a not-very-successful attempt to solve that, but the two big round ones I bought for a marina winter last year work beautifully,

However, they are far too big to stay in my single cockpit locker (another downside of pointy-at-both-ends-ness) so they live tied to the stern pulpit. Unexpected side effect: they are so handy there that in easy condition I just use them and omit the central sausages.

Memo to self: move the teardrops to the Drascombe.

JumbleDuck,

I get the impression things are MUCH less crowded where you are, and you tend to go for the more secluded choice anyway ?

I have a few favourite anchorages I keep quiet about, but say if on hols going west I'd want every fender I have onboard as one never knows where will end up, but probably crowded and quite possibly stuck in port with gales or fog.

Funnily enough Chichester Harbour doesn't usually suffer this if one knows where to go, despite the image northern sailors have, understandably.

 

[RupertW]

To start an outbreak of apoplexy on purpose, I recently saw the suggestion to leave your fenders on the toerail, but connect the lower ends with a normally slack line. When pulled, this lifts them all to the horizontal well out of the water but ready to deploy at a moment's notice...

Mike.

Great tip when I saw this on the forum last year - I have 5 fenders each side and this works quickly and perfectly with a snaphook tied to the right spot on the rope so it takes a couple of seconds each side to put out or store all the fenders. longest I've stored them as sea so far was a roughish (25-38 knot gusts) in lumpy seas on a 3 day two night crossing upwind from Sardinia to Majorca. Fenders on the downside got splashed but totally secure all the way so it would have to be something like an Atlantic crossing before I'll ever untie them from the rails again

 

[Daydream believer]

6 for me plus one large round one (kept in a locker) to go under the stern quarter when leaving locks. I never anchor so every port of call is to a pontoon or rafting. With over 300 lock passages - over 60% single handed- from the Caledonian canal & from Flushing to Amsterdam, plus loads of marina locks, I have rarely felt the need for more. But then i do not treat my boat like a dodgem car.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I get the impression things are MUCH less crowded where you are, and you tend to go for the more secluded choice anyway ?

I tend to anchor or pick up moorings most of the time but pontoons is pontoons, isn't they? On the other hand, the only place where I have ever had to raft is Portpatrick, though it was a close thing at Salen last summer.

If I'm going from pontoon to pontoon, which doesn't happen often, I leave the fenders tied on and lift them onto the sidedeck. Sue me, purists.

 

[RupertW]

I tend to anchor or pick up moorings most of the time but pontoons is pontoons, isn't they? On the other hand, the only place where I have ever had to raft is Portpatrick, though it was a close thing at Salen last summer.

If I'm going from pontoon to pontoon, which doesn't happen often, I leave the fenders tied on and lift them onto the sidedeck. Sue me, purists.

Fenders essential for us at anchor and even moorings - not every time of course but just often enough that you wouldn't want to be without them. Anchoring too close is an old problem - people just don't seem to understand that with a typical 180 wind shift twice a day that having a similar scope to others is important. But it's the last couple of years on moorings which has surprised me - firstly that boats have gone up in size from 35-45 feet to 45-55 feet and secondly that somebody somewhere is teaching charterers to put really long bridles on - I've seen something that looked like 10 metres and had their stern over the mooring bouy behind but still they got into the dinghy, pushing the mooring bouy aside and went off to town.

 

[Seajet]

If you find yourself having to use fenders on your own mooring, something is wrong and an initially polite chat is required.

I had one occasion when an arrogant p**ck picked up a mooring way obviously too close to mine I'd been on for decades, I chatted politely, photographed the boats colliding in light conditions and had the full backing of our club moorings officer - when he was still snotty I said " as you think there's no problem you won't mind me fitting sharp steel spikes then ? "

He knew I meant it, and buggered off sharpish - it's a shame some people require this, but a friendly chat among concerned owners usually works.

 

[Wansworth]

Personally my self I couldn’t be doing with fenders on deck or lashed on the stern rail,even in the merchant navy we stowed fenders and and loose gear awash below.

 

[RupertW]

Personally my self I couldn’t be doing with fenders on deck or lashed on the stern rail,even in the merchant navy we stowed fenders and and loose gear awash below.

I used to be that way but although we have endless space down below our cockpit lockers are shallow and with 10 sausage fenders plus 2 ballon types we'd use up most of the space that we keep our wet/smelly stuff in. Asymmetric, inflatable kayak all the spare warps and spare anchor, 5 x 20l diesel cans, glues, paints and cleaning stuff etc etc.

So keeping the fenders permanently tied to the rails is a good compromise - and much better last season for having them all tied together and hoisted rather than just rolling about the side deck which had always felt unsatisfactory.

 

[Seajet]

Having ' all fenders hoisted ' must mean something in International Code, but I'm guessing you might not like the answer.

Have some pride, a Frenchman might see you !

 

[RupertW]

Having ' all fenders hoisted ' must mean something in International Code, but I'm guessing you might not like the answer.

Have some pride, a Frenchman might see you !

I'm afraid we are more the equivalent of an old VW camper with bits and bobs attached everywhere. I'd rather be on my boat looking at beautiful boats around me than on their boats looking at me. Alas other boats around me are usually bleak uniform charter boats or scruffies like us. But every now and again a lovely boat comes in and people tumble out of its dark and narrow nether regions to blink in the sunlight and start polishing things.

 

[Wansworth]

I'm afraid we are more the equivalent of an old VW camper with bits and bobs attached everywhere. I'd rather be on my boat looking at beautiful boats around me than on their boats looking at me. Alas other boats around me are usually bleak uniform charter boats or scruffies like us. But every now and again a lovely boat comes in and people tumble out of its dark and narrow nether regions to blink in the sunlight and start polishing things.[/QUOTE

oh no I can picture it a whole swath of Brits on their overloaded westerlys with half empty wine crates,bikes,,Fenders,half finished solar panel installations,dogs and cats........and in comes a French yacht,sleek with no fenders just a few nubile women distorting themselves...............and the Brits get to discussing the French anchours

 

[mjcoon]

oh no I can picture it a whole swath of Brits on their overloaded westerlys with half empty wine crates,bikes,,Fenders,half finished solar panel installations,dogs and cats........and in comes a French yacht,sleek with no fenders just a few nubile women distorting themselves...............and the Brits get to discussing the French anchors

Was that a Freudian slip?

Mike.

 

[Daydream believer]

Having ' all fenders hoisted ' must mean something in International Code, but I'm guessing you might not like the answer.

Have some pride, a Frenchman might see you !

I am sure that If the majority of Frenchman saw a fender they would be totally confused . Never seen one & would not know what they were for. They certainly do not seem to use them when they arrive in port ready to raft up

 

[James_Calvert]

The discussion on this thread reminded me of another one about using ablution facilities on board, and...

Eureka!

Put the ugly things away in the shower compartment.

 

[RupertW]

The discussion on this thread reminded me of another one about using ablution facilities on board, and...

Eureka!

Put the ugly things away in the shower compartment.

Apart from the bother of tying and untying them, what about pre-night watch hot shower. You wouldn’t want to go on deck in dirty clothes and the day’s sweat.

 

[James_Calvert]

Apart from the bother of tying and untying them, what about pre-night watch hot shower. You wouldn’t want to go on deck in dirty clothes and the day’s sweat.

Well, for myself, the odd night watch would involve putting more clothes on top of existing... rather than changing.

But your warmer seas (?) dilemma stymied me a bit.

It needed serious imagination because my boat is only fat in the middle.

Then I twigged.

You use the other shower!

 

[mjcoon]

The discussion on this thread reminded me of another one about using ablution facilities on board, and...

Eureka!

Put the ugly things away in the shower compartment.

Now I'm getting the picture. Fenders of different shapes articulated together in the shower in imitation of an inflatable doll...

Mike.

 

[RupertW]

Well, for myself, the odd night watch would involve putting more clothes on top of existing... rather than changing.

But your warmer seas (?) dilemma stymied me a bit.

It needed serious imagination because my boat is only fat in the middle.

Then I twigged.

You use the other shower!

Fair point but that would then involve me using my wife’s shower or vice versa. Hmm...I’m beginning to think we may have got too used to home comforts on board.

 

[RAI]

No body has mentioned fender boards, handy as gang planks at times.
Mine's tied to the forward rail.

 

[Seajet]

I wouldn't want to carry a plank ( apart from self ) around for the 1000:1 chance of going against a wall; at places where this happened often like Poole town quay they had planks provided on chains, one simply lashed a plank into the right position; berthing there is officially outdated now but it ends up being used a lot as overflow when the new marina a long walk away can't cope, I expect the planks are still there but haven't had reason to check lately.