Has anyone found a neat way of stowing balloon fenders when underway?

[Bertramdriver]

Most of my fenders are the large balloon type, largely for mutual protection when squeezing into small spaces between smaller sailboats. Trouble is they take up a lot of room on the side decks when we are underway, and have a habit of working loose when the throttles are opened. I'm looking for a kiss solution to keep them under control. Any ideas?

 

[RIN]

Most of my fenders are the large balloon type, largely for mutual protection when squeezing into small spaces between smaller sailboats. Trouble is they take up a lot of room on the side decks when we are underway, and have a habit of working loose when the throttles are opened. I'm looking for a kiss solution to keep them under control. Any ideas?

We only have two large ball fenders but keep them underway on the bathing platform attached to the rear cleats. They don't bounce around at all and when we arrive, they are just flicked out to the side to protect the rear of the boat. Anyway you could keep them on the bathing platform?

 

[benjenbav]

I put mine in the lazarette.

 

[CharlieAlpha]

I put mine in the Anchor locker, I've got two and my friend refers to them as mae-wests can't think why

 

[Bertramdriver]

All very sensible but no anchor locker, lazerette and an overcrowded swim platform (dinghy) . But all suggestions gratefully recieved.

 

[Divemaster1]

......... I'm looking for a kiss solution to keep them under control. Any ideas?

Plenty of ideas which will work for other boats from swim platform to forward crew cabin (like ours)... but you have none of that as an option ... so thinking out of the box a bit here ... or should that be "in the box"? ..

How about a simple SS wire basket slung between the side supports of your radar arch ? ... seem to recall that you do not have a FB, but a SS tube radar arch .. with side struts...

 

[jfm]

All very sensible but no anchor locker, lazerette and an overcrowded swim platform (dinghy) . But all suggestions gratefully recieved.

You could just get rid of them. In 15 years of large boat ownership I've never owned used or wanted any round fenders

 

[Bertramdriver]

Hi JFM I won't relate the number of times those balloons have saved us from serious damage. But without them!!!
It's getting worse now that the Russians have found chartering. Their definition of mooring is to go into reverse, pile on as much throttle as possible, and hope that the sternwave creates a big enough opening for them to get into. Given a choice I would put down wooden balks across rhe sides of the hull with 6" nails sticking outwards. As it is I spend my time with a boat hook in my hands and engage in marine jousting. No, I need my balloons.
,

 

[matm]

You could just get rid of them. In 15 years of large boat ownership I've never owned used or wanted any round fenders

+1 - never really got ball fenders as they don't fit anywhere and not sure what you couldn't do with a load of big "normal" fenders plus an agile BowB with a roving fender when required.

Appreciate different sized boats and not med mooring but don't get the ballon approach.

 

[RIN]

+1 - never really got ball fenders as they don't fit anywhere and not sure what you couldn't do with a load of big "normal" fenders plus an agile BowB with a roving fender when required.

Appreciate different sized boats and not med mooring but don't get the ballon approach.

Blimey! Have you never had to use a spring off the forward cleat with a ball fender off the bow to get off a tight berth or wall with the wind blowing on and no tide or current to work with?

 

[nigelmercier]

We hung our two in the sugar scoop, where they were referred to as the bolux. Then they got nicked, I'll probably just get one for springing off. I will call it Wilson.

 

[Elessar]

You could just get rid of them. In 15 years of large boat ownership I've never owned used or wanted any round fenders

Useful when
Springing off.
In Locks without floating pontoons.
Anchored tied to another boat.
Bathing platform protection.

But with no lararette they are a pita to store.

 

[Hurricane]

I will call it Wilson.

That's what we call them here in SC
One drifted away on a friend's boat last year so it was aptly called "Wilson"

We only have one and it just fits in the chain locker with the others.
SWMBO's territory - she manages the chain locker and keeps the chain free from fenders as well.
She has said that she would like another "Wilson" but I don't know where she will put it.

BTW our Wilson saved a scratch the other day when we entered the travel lift dock
A cross wind and fouled thrusters/props made it difficult to check any transverse movement.
But Wilson came to the rescue

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

You could just get rid of them. In 15 years of large boat ownership I've never owned used or wanted any round fenders

I thought the same until a couple of years ago. We went to moor in Palmazana marina in Croatia and were directed to berth against a concrete jetty. As I was reversing on to the berth, one of my (inexperienced) crew handed the stern line to a marinero who promptly yanked it as hard as he could (as they do) with the result that the edge of the bathing platform was pulled under the jetty despite there being a normal sausage fender on the stern quarter. I didn't realise this and kept on going astern until a little bit of wake entering the marina lifted the boat slightly causing the bathing platform to crunch against the underside of the concrete jetty with inevitable results. I blamed the marinero and he blamed the fact that we didn't have a big balloon fender at the stern. Since then I've carried 2 big balloon fenders and I must say that I feel happier about squeezing into tight Med stern to berths as well with those deployed as they tend to push adjacent boats well away. I store them in the tender which is a perfect fit in my case

 

[Bertramdriver]

Thank you, an obvious solution that I never twigged. The dinghy will now be the official repository of the balloons when underway. Btw I have 6 of them so you can see the scale of the problem, largely as a result of a similar experience.

 

[nigelmercier]

But Wilson came to the rescue

Just in case anyone has missed the reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast_Away#Wilson_the_volleyball

 

[benjenbav]

Just in case anyone has missed the reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast_Away#Wilson_the_volleyball

Ah, thanks for that. I'm afraid I missed that particular movie and have spent the morning labouring under the misapprehension that the reference was some variant of the wartime song, to the tune of the Colonel Bogey March: "Hitler has only got one ball, Goring has two but very small, Himmler is somewhat sim'lar and Goebbels has got none at all"

 

[matm]

Blimey! Have you never had to use a spring off the forward cleat with a ball fender off the bow to get off a tight berth or wall with the wind blowing on and no tide or current to work with?

Not that often really and have always managed without. Just lucky I guess!

 

[Searush]

I have 2 x 36" which are ideal for use against rough quayside & dock walls. I throw 'em in the aft cabin, unless G-kids are aboard when the Aft Cabin is their domain & I hang 'em off the pushpit - err, the fenders that is, not the G-Kids, well not YET anyway.

 

[oceanfroggie]

We carry only ONE large ball fender. When underway it is stored either on the bathing platform or inside the tender. We use it for:

1. Stern in mooring against a quay wall to protect bathing platform
2. "Spring and Ball" when mooring or departing with a breeze either blowing us in or off a quay wall
3. Portable "air bag" style protection when other poorly handled vessels are mooring alongside or near us

The latter has saved us quite a bit of GRP damage over the years. But only one is needed.