Squadron 55 inland?

seastoke said:
Are there two sizes of fender or is it me .
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I did have a mis matched fender for about a year. When helping out with a mechanical issue I discovered my lost fender in a pontoon neighbours engine bay. He claims he found the fender floating in the marina (which may well be true) but it didn't occur to him to look for a boat with a missing fender . He walks past my boat to get to his boat. I had to trade him my mis-matched spare to get my fender back (he is from Sheffield).

Maybe the boat above lost a fender and someone from Yorkshire nicked it rather than returning it . :)
 
Ferris said:
Ah OF, I leave the fenders out all the time, especially on Derg, never know who might hit you!

I totally agree with you btw! Ridiculous boat for the river, and so limiting. I see that a SQ55 draws 5', what is the maintained depth above Portumna do you know?
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I wouldn't say ridiculous, Derg is 40km long by 20km wide at its widest point, but certainly a small pond for a lovely sea boat like her that could be cruising the SW and south coast. She cannot go north of Portland Island above Portumna cause she'd tear the stern gear off. Sadly land locked on Derg, cause she won't fit through the sea lock at the hydro dam. Truck and crane to get anywhere useful. As to fenders left dangling over the side of a vessel underway making way, not some thing any sailor would tolerate, ours are stowed even for the shortest of passage and only use 3 when using them. Some boats look a little over dressed with Christmas tree light arrangements with 8-10 fenders per side. Even a 40ft boat properly handled only needs 2 or 3 fenders when along side. Better still, always anchor out overnight and avoid crowded summer marinas for privacy, peace and quiet and guaranteed CV-19 isolation. Cruising with fenders deployed seems like forgetting to get dressed before going out. :) I keep them stowed, even when at anchor. Horses for courses.
 
Used to keep the boat on the west shore across from Terryglass on Derg. For those who don’t know, it’s a big lake, 90sq km’s or 6 Windermeres. I’ve moved to north Shannon now So most trips are ~30 mins so I leave the fenders (5 large per side, but they do match:)) permanently attached. Though I must say I always did no matter where we had the boat, it’s meant to be a relaxing pastime. I also sail offshore and there, of course, we take the fenders in so I’m not a complete philistine.
 
As an interesting (to me at least) aside, I used to sail Shannon One Designs (or SOD's) on Lough Ree and Derg. They are clinker built, centre board dinghies with a large gunther rig and a corresponding turn of speed. They actually have it written into the sailing instructions that a bow fender must be fitted - so its part of the culture really ;)

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I used to spend a lot of time in Terryglass and I remember a summer in the mid seventies when the water level was so low it was completely dry for around 100 metres from the quay. I think it had something to do with work being carried out at the power station at Ardnacrusha. Not many places a rowing boat could go never mind an S55.
 
oceanfroggie said:
Dangling over the side when not in use, it could be worse, she could be underway making way with them hanging out.
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Having fenders on the river side when moored isn't such a bad idea - even in one harbour I can think of you always need to be prepared for another boat rafting on or passing by too close for comfort.

On the non tidal and even on the tidal section where we are speed restricted we leave the fenders down as its only about an hour between locks and at 5 knots the fenders hanging aren't an issue . I understand the tradition is to take fenders in when under way and that is necessary when at sea , but no one cares about that on sheltered waters .
 
Fenders on the river side when moored are a necessity imo. Rafting is common and they are frequently hire boats. My reasoning for taking fenders in is to prevent losing them, a distinct possibility at sea and/or at 30kts. I couldn’t care less about appearances.
 
Leaving the fenders hanging down when underway in the chief officers book ,is just plane lazy , shows inexperience,plus looks terrible , ok if you have a boat with restricted access to them, but even then there are ways to pull them up from the bottom , our fenders are all packed away before we leave the dock, I do sometimes dare to comment what if I balls it up ,reply comes back well don't :)
 
dj43 said:
Leaving the fenders hanging down when underway in the chief officers book ,is just plane lazy , shows inexperience,plus looks terrible
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Absolute stuff and nonsense. I think your chief officer needs to think again. All you've given us is a vague notion that s/he doesn't like the aesthetics, and some lazy, unjustified assumptions. All used to justify unseamanlike behaviour.
I reject that viewpoint.
 
Black Sheep said:
Absolute stuff and nonsense. I think your chief officer needs to think again. All you've given us is a vague notion that s/he doesn't like the aesthetics, and some lazy, unjustified assumptions. All[/QUOTE

My comment was referring to motor boats , boats with a stick in the middle with flappy things hanging off are excluded , they should be over fendered at all times?
We like many started boating on inland waterways , where you have a mix of private and hire boats , hire boats always have there fenders down , for good reason as they like to play bumper boats, private owned boats in general keep there fenders up, well the more experienced , plus with fenders down they tend to mark the gel coat ,and we can't have that ?
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