xeitosaphil
Well-Known Member
Sorry Nigel, typing too quick to notice spelling error, will try harder next time I have a bite at the cherry.
The RIGHT way to tie on fenders
- Thread starter Amulet
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Sorry Nigel, typing too quick to notice spelling error, will try harder next time I have a bite at the cherry.
Amulet
Well-Known Member
Mmm.. learned something. Might adopt that. Also should discourage fenders popping out if conditions create a bit of a roll. Slight concern about chafe over my brand new Iroko toerails however.
vyv_cox
Well-Known Member
We berthed alongside a boat a few nights ago. He had five fenders on our side, every one tied with a different knot, some of which were incorrect, e.g. a clove hitch and a round turn and two half hitches in which the second half hitch reversed direction. Then there was a rolling hitch, a genuine clove hitch and something unrecognisable.
We use plastic clam cleats intended for the purpose. We have owned them for many years now and never had one come undone, except once when berthed for some time. We tie additional half hitches now to prevent them from working loose. Otherwise it is always a round turn and two half hitches, always on the top wire as near to a stanchion as possible. Our top wire is around 12 years old now, so it doesn't seem to be suffering too much.
RobbieW
Well-Known Member
Bit of plastic tube, cut to the right length, protects the toerail and gets the fender at the right height - at least for your home berth.
prv
Well-Known Member
Problem with tying to the stanchions is that it means you can only put fenders in a few fixed positions. At our home berth, which we sometimes lean on a bit at low tide, I have four fenders in the space between the middle two stanchions.
On the old boat we had teak gunwale strakes which did get a bit chafed by the fender lanyards. New boat has that standard aluminium toerail extrusion with holes in, so I suppose I could hitch them onto that if I was worried about the guardrail.
Pete
On the old boat we had teak gunwale strakes which did get a bit chafed by the fender lanyards. New boat has that standard aluminium toerail extrusion with holes in, so I suppose I could hitch them onto that if I was worried about the guardrail.
Pete
Keen_Ed
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100% agree with my views.
nigelmercier
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Mrs Nige wants these, so far I have resisted. I think I will have to give in when she sees them at the Boat Show.
[Later] This is the way I tie them for short periods, such as overnight:
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emsworthy
Well-Known Member
+1
Wife uses a spur-lash! Or that's the sound they'd make if I didn't go behind and retie shortly after berthing!! She gets a clove-hitch mental block no matter how far before we arrive at a berth she starts. Can do it perfectly without any time pressure though.
Wife uses a spur-lash! Or that's the sound they'd make if I didn't go behind and retie shortly after berthing!! She gets a clove-hitch mental block no matter how far before we arrive at a berth she starts. Can do it perfectly without any time pressure though.
Trundlebug
Well-Known Member
+1 except we use round turn & 2 half hitches.
It's much stronger securing to the stanchion bases, there is considerable leverage and consequent scope for damage if using the top or even lower wire IMO.
It is more of a pain to adjust the height when tied to the bases, much less accessible but generally we have a good idea of approximate height before berthing / mooring or coming into a lock, so have them pre-set at commonly used heights. It seems to me that where you secure to is a compromise between convenience and security, and every user will have different circumstances and adapt accordingly.
If it looks like they're the wrong height I just hang around and hold station, or go around again whilst SWMBO adjusts them.
The forces involved when reversing out of tight spots, (with fenders used both sides - I mean tight) or when coming in can be considerable, so the stanchion bases are the natural option for security.
Usually flick them onto the side decks and wedge them there when going along unless it's a very long passage.
prv
Well-Known Member
[Later] This is the way I tie them for short periods, such as overnight:
That's a slipped clove hitch (sometimes known as a slippery hitch, though there are some other knots that share the name). Same as what I do, except that I leave a bigger loop that I can half-hitch around the rope below the knot for added security.
Pete
xeitosaphil
Well-Known Member
[Later] This is the way I tie them for short periods, such as overnight:
That’s funny Nigel ,that’s not how you describe your picture in post Reply 5
“ This is how I leave my boat, usually more than two half-hitches. It also must be the top wire to reduce chafing. But overnight I use a different bend that I figured out for myself. I'm sure it has a name, but I have no idea. Will post picture later...
But it is a great picture which describes my post Reply 7
“ but for me the best and fastest way when coming along side is a clove hitch on top wire – slideable but with the clove hitch made off with a loop not a bight to finish - quick to undo should you need arise to change sides. Once moored up re-adjust fenders for height etc, change to proper clove hitch with a half hitch to finish opposite side of clove hitch bight. Two fixed to stanchions, two slideable.
Thanks Nigel for the picture.
P.S Wanted to add a Smiile to the last sentence but not sure how to do it? ( only seem to be able to add it to the title box)
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nigelmercier
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Yes, it wasn't until I saw the picture (taken from "outside") that I realised it was a form of clove hitch. So why can't I tie a normal one
I also leave longer ends, I just did it small to reduce the size of the picture. Sometimes I hang the bitter end through the loop.
James_Calvert
Well-Known Member
+1 This works fine for those who can reliably tie a clove hitch, but I occasionally have to retie the ones which have somehow turned into a slipped overhand knot.
When approaching a finger berth - especially as a visitor - I'll have two large fenders out each side. However their optimum position for fending off is actually midway between stanchions, and I tie them to the top guard wire. I'm quite happy to leave them there for short term berthing. I might move them a bit closer together, depending on what other fenders might be in play if rafted up say, and bring the other two across if need be. For an alongside berth I'd probably already have all four fenders out on the relevant side.
Until recently I had a midstream pontoon berth, and although it was quite sheltered on my side of the pontoon, a strong westerly could still be bit of a fendering challenge. I'd routinely leave the boat with all four large fenders close together, with the two middle ones tied on the top guard wire either side of a stanchion which happens to be at the maximum beam position, and the two outside ones tied to the lower guardwire. The logic of this arrangement was that the outer ones, being tied on lower would be less likely to pop out, and would also keep the inner ones in position. I'd also tie them on with a rolling hitch to discourage them moving along the wires.
I too have a perforated aluminium toe rail, and I did experiment with fastening the fenders directly to that, I also tried tying the fenders onto the coachroof handrails and the jackstay that lies along the sidedeck. I found that these alternatives seemed to be much tougher on the fenders and their lines. The toe rail position was very firm, in fact a bit too firm and would tend to wrench the eyes out of the fenders, whilst the jackstay or coachroof handrail positions would have been okay, except that the chafe on the fender lines where they passed over the toe rail was excessive.
Whilst my side of the pontoon was relatively sheltered, the other side was particularly exposed to a strong easterly. Fenders on boats would be liable to pop out however they were tied on and the only reliable fendering was provided by really large ones arrayed horizontally and permanently lashed to the pontoons themselves.
Whilst I've wandered a bit away from the original poster's question, my point is that there's no overall right method you should always use - it depends on the conditions you need to allow for.
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LittleSister
Well-Known Member
Always used a round turn and two half hitches on the top guardwire*, and never had any problem with the wires or the fenders.
The advantage of the RT&THH being it's easy to do without thinking, one handed, in the dark, etc, and hard to get wrong. The disadvantage is it is relatively time consuming to undo and adjust the length if an urgent adjustment is required (e.g arriving in a surging lock single handed!).
I might try the slipped clove hitch mentioned above for locks, unfamiliar pontoons, etc.
On a small boat such as I sail the stanchions are too few and far between to provide the best positions for fenders, and I'd rather replace a stretched guardwire (though never needed to) than have to deal with a stanchion wrenched out of the deck (which I once had to do when a stanchion caught on an obstruction on a fishing jetty).
(*except on smaller boats which had no guardwires, when it was tie to what little was available - jib fairlead, handrail, etc.)
The advantage of the RT&THH being it's easy to do without thinking, one handed, in the dark, etc, and hard to get wrong. The disadvantage is it is relatively time consuming to undo and adjust the length if an urgent adjustment is required (e.g arriving in a surging lock single handed!).
I might try the slipped clove hitch mentioned above for locks, unfamiliar pontoons, etc.
On a small boat such as I sail the stanchions are too few and far between to provide the best positions for fenders, and I'd rather replace a stretched guardwire (though never needed to) than have to deal with a stanchion wrenched out of the deck (which I once had to do when a stanchion caught on an obstruction on a fishing jetty).
(*except on smaller boats which had no guardwires, when it was tie to what little was available - jib fairlead, handrail, etc.)
nigelmercier
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I can, very easily.
Amulet
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Where's the fun in being skipper if you can't be dogmatic and obnoxious? Even dogmatic, obnoxious and wrong! Also, all this time I have assumed that somewhere in the small print of the Terms of Use of the forum the obligation to be thoroughly opinionated in all posts is stated.
Spi D
...
I use clove hitch most of times, tweaked to suit the situation eg. depending on wether the fender should be able to move on the rail.
Also use clamcleats - easy, fast and popular with crew
Also use clamcleats - easy, fast and popular with crew
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Ric
Well-Known Member
Why get wound up about such trivialities? The right way to do anything is how you want to do it. Ignore the "you don't want to do it like that" experts and go and enjoy your sailing.
James_Calvert
Well-Known Member
KenMcCulloch
Well-Known Member
Would you apply that to, say, gybing in heavy weather? The point surely is that there are lots of different ways of doing almost anything but that there are easier/more difficult; more/less secure; safer/more risky ... (insert any other dialectical pair) ... ways of doing whatever it is. Enjoy your sailing for sure but deal with the consequences of your choices, be they 'trivial' or 'life-and-death'.