how many fenders?

xyachtdave

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Well if the 'skipper' showed the crew how to tie them on properly and checked they had been, he/she wouldn't look like such a pudding head when they get all shouty.....

Checking the crews knots and other rope work in front of them is bad form, best to wait till they've gone home to tie the boat up properly.

I'm managing ok with my 5 remaining fenders so no harm done.
 

mjcoon

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I once was hailed on VHF by a CG airplane that had just flown at low altitude above me (and scary it was, it came out of nothing), they said I had too many fenders on the transom and they could not read the name of the boat :)
Did you hold two fingers up and ask if they could read that? ;-) (Of course if there was an active, or imminent, Mayday perhaps reading a boat's name would be serious...)
 

john_morris_uk

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We seem to be in a minority.

Six fenders plus a step fender.

We don’t tie them in the aft rail as there’s a dinghy on davits there and there’s not a lot of room. They go in the cavernous cockpit locker.

We don’t tie fenders on with clove hitches. We use a round turn and two half hitches as unlike a clove hitch it doesn’t ever jiggle undone. (But I appreciate you can put a locking hitch on a clove hitch.)

The only advantage I can see in using a clove hitch is that you can adjust the fender height a bit quicker.

No right or wrong perhaps. Life’s full of choices.
 

Stemar

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They go in the cavernous cockpit locker.
My top tip for the fender locker is one of these

kungsfors-rail-stainless-steel__1334717_pe946876_s5.jpg

Our fenders are of a size that the right height rarely changed, so we have snap hooks to attach them to the guard wire, and they just drop onto the hooks on the photo. 6 fenders, 6 hooks. The extras we don't use often live on a foredeck locker.
 

john_morris_uk

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My top tip for the fender locker is one of these

kungsfors-rail-stainless-steel__1334717_pe946876_s5.jpg

Our fenders are of a size that the right height rarely changed, so we have snap hooks to attach them to the guard wire, and they just drop onto the hooks on the photo. 6 fenders, 6 hooks. The extras we don't use often live on a foredeck locker.
Great idea but the only free bulkhead in our cockpit locker has a row of hooks on it on which all the mooring warps, spinnaker lines, spare sheets etc hang. Generator takes up a bit of room (plus its battery exhaust etc) and then there’s 40 litres of spare diesel; spare oil, coolant, buckets kedge anchor, chain & warp. The passerelle and hydrovane rudder take up a chunk of space The fenders get piled on top as easy access. I realise I haven’t included things like day shapes tucked away in a corner plus boat hook, deck brush mooring aid and anchor chain hook and line, shore power… I could go on.

If I need to get to the bottom of the locker it’s a bit of PITA.
 

Daydream believer

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Great idea but the only free bulkhead in our cockpit locker has a row of hooks on it on which all the mooring warps, spinnaker lines, spare sheets etc hang. Generator takes up a bit of room (plus its battery exhaust etc) and then there’s 40 litres of spare diesel; spare oil, coolant, buckets kedge anchor, chain & warp. The passerelle and hydrovane rudder take up a chunk of space The fenders get piled on top as easy access. I realise I haven’t included things like day shapes tucked away in a corner plus boat hook, deck brush mooring aid and anchor chain hook and line, shore power… I could go on.

If I need to get to the bottom of the locker it’s a bit of PITA.
Considering the gear that some keep in the aft end of the boat, it must be a boon to designers that owners have come to accept wide sterned boats, with all that added buoyancy.
 

Daedelus

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Tie them on to the lower of the two guard rails with the ends just clear of the water for most pontoons, then if you need to alter them for rafting or the marina have told you port side to and it's starboard side to, all you do is leave them tied on but wind over the the top guard rail when they are the right height for rafting
 

Elessar

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We seem to be in a minority.

Six fenders plus a step fender.

We don’t tie them in the aft rail as there’s a dinghy on davits there and there’s not a lot of room. They go in the cavernous cockpit locker.

We don’t tie fenders on with clove hitches. We use a round turn and two half hitches as unlike a clove hitch it doesn’t ever jiggle undone. (But I appreciate you can put a locking hitch on a clove hitch.)

The only advantage I can see in using a clove hitch is that you can adjust the fender height a bit quicker.

No right or wrong perhaps. Life’s full of choices.

7 fenders total. Same as me.
Round turn and two half hitches. Same as me.
Are you sure you’re still a proper sailor 😂
 

Roberto

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The answer should have been "good - mind you own business"
They also made the remark I wasn't flying a national flag, indeed being a few 00s miles from land I kept it rolled around the staff with a cover above it to preserve it somehow. Then the usual radio conversation where from/to, crew, etc etc., they asked for the boat name to be spelt, maybe drug dealers do not know the phonetic alphabet.
Still it's amazing the amount of detail they can see at those speeds.
 

ylop

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Have you ever tried showing some how to tie a clove hitch? Hopeless task :unsure: They get it whilst tying it round the mainsheet traveller. But 3 hours later, out on the cabin top they go into total brain fade :cry::rolleyes::(
I've taught many people over the years how to tie a clove hitch. They might have a sudden panic when asked to do it for real the first time - but even with teenagers its not usually something you need to repeat more than once... perhaps you are teaching them badly? Often with knots people seem to want to show off how quick/clever/versatile THEY are with the knot they've been using for 40+ years and forget the aim is to help someone learn ONE really robust way to tie the knot.
Checking the crews knots and other rope work in front of them is bad form, best to wait till they've gone home to tie the boat up properly.
Is it? Seems like you are making work for yourself there. "You've done a great job of tying that on but its just a touch high" probably means next time you dont need to adjust it at all. "That's exactly the right place / height, but i'm just going to make it more secure". I used to go round the boat after everyone else got out the way adjusting lines etc. I learned to communicate better what needed done and how so that the workload was shared - otherwise I miss out on the first round!
 
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