how many fenders is enough/too much?

I do not sail out of a dedicated marina berth, so if approaching an unknown berth (often singlehanded) like to have 4 fenders out each side plus one extra to hand. A ball fender being fatter is good for springing off berths that have an onshore wind.
 
In the Mediterranean where boats are often crammed together with no finger pontoon between it is often necessary to use far more than are needed in UK. We carry 12 in Greece, including two ball fenders that are carried on the transom. All the others in a locker. There have been times when we needed them all.
 
Robih said:
Nice but £200 for one fender (that's the middle size of the range). Serious money. I have inflatble fenders on board bought second hand, but had one nicked whilst in the marina. Not surprised at that price!View attachment 131975
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t
Sorry...thread drift....

Is making some of these from old liferafts or inflatable dingys, feasible?

To answer the OP. I use 4 good sized newish fenders with a 400mm diameter spherical one which I hang at pontoon height just aft of the bow where the pontoon would disappear from my view.. also a few older ones which I hang nonchalantly from the pushpit which protect the corners of the Stern from me and from others...
 
I envy those who can carry the large numbers of fenders I sometimes see deployed. Six seems like a fair average, which we have, plus a flat Plastimo one. I bought a large spherical one when I didn't trust our marina neighbour but I can't even get it into the cabin and the cockpit locker is already full. In a sense, you can't have too many but it comes down to whether your pride lets you sail with them trailing over the stern.
 
Robih said:
Nice but £200 for one fender (that's the middle size of the range). Serious money.
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It certainly is! I have 9 of the Avon Hypalon ones of which 4 came with the boat but the ones I actually bought separately were all s/h and I don’t think I ever paid more than about £30 and my 2 largest ones are 5ft long. Worth keeping eyes open on the For Sale forum (where 3 of mine came from) and at boat jumbles. Hypalon is pretty indestructable if you keep it away from sharp bits so with luck, they’ll last me out.
 
Wow where do all the above people store their fenders. I confess I don't carry any on my little yacht. But then I have decended in to simple racing always returning to swing mooring seldom going to a jetty. So for the OP experience, will show how many he needs for his operations.
Watching a TV show last night a lovely 38ft mobo on a lake in N Ireland. Apparently a charter boat. Seemed to be permanently decorated with ball fenders down each side.
I thought what a desecration of a beautiful hull by fenders. It seemed to me that one inflated ring around the hull a bit like a RIB could be far more pleasing and useful. Or perhaps just sacrificial wooden rubbing strips would suffice. Yes fenders have there place when actually moored against a jetty, wall or boat but no not as a permanent fixture while sailing. But that leaves the question where do you store them. Some mobos here have SS rings built in to bow rail down the sides to hold fenders. Ok for perhaps 2 per side. ol'will
 
We have 6 for normal use 30‘ yacht and two ball fenders which when not used sit on the sugar scoop and jet swung out mainly for when locking in and out, used to put in locker when not used but 4 now stored on pushpit rail and only two in locker, works for us and SWMBO is in charge of fenders so I don’t argue
 
johnalison said:
I envy those who can carry the large numbers of fenders....... the cockpit locker is already full. In a sense, you can't have too many but it comes down to whether your pride lets you sail with them trailing over the stern.
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I confess that when I look at many yacht designs and their need to carry fenders in a landlubbers fashion, I can't help but feel that the designers have got is so wrong. I guess it's the desire to have aft cabins under the cockpit.
Me I'd much rather have decent size cockpit lockers so I can stow all the necessary impediments, or should I say just necessities of boating in.
The smaller of my two cockpit lockers on my 28 footer can swallow 8 decent sized fenders easily plus about 8 mooring warps and the other locker has plenty of space for hosepipe, buckets, brushes, boat hook, lead line, outboard, spare jerry cans, more sails, kedge, spare anchor, more warps, spare tiller.
Ah but then that's because my boat is an old-fashioned design!
 
42 ft motorboat:-
4 cylinders each side
2 roving cylinders - particularly to use at stern on
2 roving ball fenders - just in case!

(plus a small step fender that sits on the anchor to protect other boats/people)
 
I have 11 fenders deployed all the time on the motorboat... 4 each side and 3 sausage fenders in a chain on the stern..
It may seem excessive, But on the Norfolk Broads with all those unqualified drivers (I wouldn't call them helms) with no interest in protecting their hire boat because they've paid the collision damage waver It's all needed..

On the little sailing boat I have 3 fenders,
1 sausage with measured lengths and clips on each end for when moored alongside, one ball fender with a measured length and clip, to hook off the bow deck cleat when moored just by the bow line and the third fender, a ball has a longer length that may be tied on wherever needed.
 
dansaskip said:
I confess that when I look at many yacht designs and their need to carry fenders in a landlubbers fashion, I can't help but feel that the designers have got is so wrong. I guess it's the desire to have aft cabins under the cockpit.
Me I'd much rather have decent size cockpit lockers so I can stow all the necessary impediments, or should I say just necessities of boating in.
The smaller of my two cockpit lockers on my 28 footer can swallow 8 decent sized fenders easily plus about 8 mooring warps and the other locker has plenty of space for hosepipe, buckets, brushes, boat hook, lead line, outboard, spare jerry cans, more sails, kedge, spare anchor, more warps, spare tiller.
Ah but then that's because my boat is an old-fashioned design!
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My cockpit locker will stow all that, but the addition of an inflatable, a liferaft and a bicycle doesn’t leave much more room. We stow five fenders in the anchor well forward and one in the cockpit locker, with the flat one in the cabin behind a seat back.

When our boat was brand new we found ourselves the inside boat on a massive raft in Heligoland during a gale for nearly a week, on a lee shore. Our few fenders were clearly inadequate and without being asked our German neighbour put two of his own large fenders inside us where they would assist most. He left the day before us and only asked us to drop the fenders off at the sailing club in Norderney when we passed.
 
I have a stack, including a fender step (marina skip) and two flat ones, Plastimo I think, and a couple of really big ones. Basically it's out of control, I have lost count, probably about 10 or 11

Recently I have taken to using a basher on the front as well:

1647859256239.png

Still manage to keep them in a cockpit locker though.


.
 
doug748 said:
I have a stack, including a fender step (marina skip) and two flat ones, Plastimo I think, and a couple of really big ones. Basically it's out of control, I have lost count, probably about 10 or 11

Recently I have taken to using a basher on the front as well:

View attachment 132018

Still manage to keep them in a cockpit locker though.


.
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What's the bow fender for? I often see them and wonder whether it's upcoming anchor damage protection or can't stop in the finger berth before hitting the main walkway. Which is it?
 
Robih said:
What's the bow fender for? I often see them and wonder whether it's upcoming anchor damage protection or can't stop in the finger berth before hitting the main walkway. Which is it?
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I made one first, it was like a Covid mask for protecting the bow paintwork on a swinging mooring, I then added some folded aluminium and closed cell foam for hitting marinas with. Only latterly I have bought the real thing.

I would not trust it to motor against but most handy insurance for tucking the boat well forward into the berth in situations where the stern is very likely to be hit if you don't. Are you listening Victorian Marina Guernsey ? ?

.
 
We have 8 plus one large ball fender which is normally utilised by walking around with it when attempting to access ‘tighter’ places or when the wind has caught us unawares. We have three fender baskets on each side on the stern which tends to keep most of them tidy whilst underway and we throw (stow away carefully) the others into the lazarette. This is on a 50ft fly.
 
Robih said:
What's the bow fender for? I often see them and wonder whether it's upcoming anchor damage protection or can't stop in the finger berth before hitting the main walkway. Which is it?
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I use mine when entering a marina berth, as follows:

1. Nudge gently forward until the fendered bow is pressing against the main walkway.​
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2. Leave the engine running slowly in ahead gear.​
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3. Hold the tiller over towards the catway with a shockcord loop (kept permanently rigged either side for that purpose).​
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4. Leisurely step onto the catway, pausing only to nonchanlantly light one's pipe and wave an acknowledgment to the cheering onlookers.​
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5. Make fast the shore lines.​
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6. Engage neutral and stop the engine.​
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7. Adjust shore lines and fenders a/r.​
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8. Plug in the power cable.​
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The only possible difficulty can be persuading well-intentioned people that there really is no need for them to tire themselves trying to push the bow off the walkway.
 
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