The RIGHT way to tie on fenders

[KenMcCulloch]

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.

i am occasionally dogmatic but never ever obnoxious. (Did you see what I just did?)

 

[Amulet]

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.

Don't think I've ever started such a long thread - lest it escape you, it was started in jest. Berthing without any crunching is a success in my eyes. However a bit of thought about how you do things never did any harm, and in critical situations might save your life. For me part of the fun of sailing is to muse about the "what if" situations, and try to think of ways of doing things which diminish risk or simply maximise pleasure and minimise anxiety. Banter about solutions in the pub or on the forum is part of the fun, and sometimes someone even says something useful.

Sailing has a way of amplifying "trivialities" into crises. In fact most times that I have done something REALLY silly it was when I was trying to recover from having done something SLIGHTLY silly. Your leap to grab a fender about to fall off is the moment when you fail to notice that the person who tied it on is also dropping the fall of a halyard over the side and round the prop.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Don't think I've ever started such a long thread - lest it escape you, it was started in jest. Berthing without any crunching is a success in my eyes. However a bit of thought about how you do things never did any harm, and in critical situations might save your life. For me part of the fun of sailing is to muse about the "what if" situations, and try to think of ways of doing things which diminish risk or simply maximise pleasure and minimise anxiety. Banter about solutions in the pub or on the forum is part of the fun, and sometimes someone even says something useful.

Sailing has a way of amplifying "trivialities" into crises. In fact most times that I have done something REALLY silly it was when I was trying to recover from having done something SLIGHTLY silly. Your leap to grab a fender about to fall off is the moment when you fail to notice that the person who tied it on is also dropping the fall of a halyard over the side and round the prop.

Perhaps its helpful to discuss various ways of doing things but perhaps you knew that you were being a little dogmatic when you posted on the subject. For example, should I fail all Yachtmaster candidates if they don't tie fenders on the way I tie them on?

The reality is that there are several ways to skin a cat, but some are better than others.

Personally, I don't like clove hitches for fenders that are hung for anything more than a few minutes. They wriggle undone too easily. Add a hitch to your clove hitch or tie the fender on with a round turn and two half hitches? Some people have a rule that they never tie fenders to the rail. Some always tie them to the toe rail or the jackstay running up the deck.

Do what you want, but dogma has a habit of coming and biting you on the bum if applied to some aspects of boat/yacht skippering.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

i am occasionally dogmatic but never ever obnoxious. (Did you see what I just did?)

Your Karma just ran over my Dogma!

 

[jonnybuoy]

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

Oooh those look handy my missus would like them...where do you buy them?

Jon

 

[billcowan]

OK thats the fenders dealt with

Now how about the anchors.....

 

[Spi D]

Most boaty gear pushers incl. eBay.

Google 'clamcleat loop cleat' to find them. Think you'll see 2-3 brands, models for different rope sizes.

Expect £5 each

 

[DaveS]

I think I mentioned this on a previous thread about tying on fenders, but one of the advantages of an Etap is the tubular toe rail which gives an infinite variety of places to securely tie things, including fenders. Each of my fenders has a 1.5m line with a stopper knot tied in the end. I tie them to the toe rail using a slipped clove hitch, with the loop pulled through until the stopper knot hits the clove hitch. The tube is of sufficient size for a clove hitch to hold securely (unlike a guard wire) and in nearly 25 years I've never had one hint at coming undone. To release I just pull on the stopper knot.

 

[DogWatch]

I have spliced loops large enough to fit over the fenders, this way we can fit them over the wires without fear of loss. They are set up for the average height for pontoon rafting, but can still be tied for the odd occasion that the set height is off (this is actually quite rare).

This gives us two foolproof heights, by using the two guard wires or just the top wire (see image) and a third by tying off the rope to... well however you tie your fenders now really. This removes the need for hooks, clamps or any other plastic ware they try to sell you. Just feed the loop around the wire and drop the fender through the loop, bob is then your uncle.

View attachment 33950
Sorry, best image I could find using this method... I should patent it!

You may notice hooks on the fender lines, this was belt and braces, but usage has taught that we never ever use them. The loops need to be fairly large to allow the fender to just drop through, it should be a second or so to fit, no need to squeeze the fender through as the loop tightens over the wires not the fender.

Found another image of the fenders lashed to the aft rail, this shows the loop on the line a little more clearly.

View attachment 33951

 

[Amulet]

.... perhaps you knew that you were being a little dogmatic when you posted on the subject....
The reality is that there are several ways to skin a cat, but some are better than others.

Apologies, I was being ironic and stirring up a bit of fun (I thought). My post was meant raise exactly the point you make, and I thought my phraseology was explicitly ridiculous enough to indicate that it was tongue in cheek. In truth, in my own skippering I discovered slowly that my tendency to say "well.. there a dozen ways to do everything", which is my natural inclination, is sometimes misguided. Often crew seeking instruction actually need a simple "do it like this". In the pub afterwards, or on the forum for that matter, can be the best place for the debate about the merits of different methods. I have also learned that, while there might be two ways of doing something, it is often good to have a standard way on your boat. This makes it easier for the crew to work as a team, sharing tasks and untying each other's knots in the dark.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Apologies, I was being ironic and stirring up a bit of fun (I thought). My post was meant raise exactly the point you make, and I thought my phraseology was explicitly ridiculous enough to indicate that it was tongue in cheek. In truth, in my own skippering I discovered slowly that my tendency to say "well.. there a dozen ways to do everything", which is my natural inclination, is sometimes misguided. Often crew seeking instruction actually need a simple "do it like this". In the pub afterwards, or on the forum for that matter, can be the best place for the debate about the merits of different methods. I have also learned that, while there might be two ways of doing something, it is often good to have a standard way on your boat. This makes it easier for the crew to work as a team, sharing tasks and untying each other's knots in the dark.

Fair enough and I am sorry my irony detector was not sensitive enough. (But in my defence it would appear from other people's comments that your irony was missed by a few...)

However your point is well made. I sometimes advise crew that one of the first things a crew needs to do when joining a new boat and skipper is to make careful mental note of how things are on a boat. How lines are coiled and how the boat is tied up is often critical. I know several ways to coil a line - but there's a couple of ways I prefer to use when making them off and I politely ask guests to follow suit as I think there's a good reason for doing it a particular way.

I used to be very fussy about lines onto dockside cleats, but if we are only there for a short stay and the line is secure I can be more relaxed nowadays.

When I am examining YM candidates some of these matters makes for an interesting discussion. There are advantages and disadvantages to using particular knots and its interesting to know if people know WHY they do things a particular way. Have they thought it through? Is it just repeating what they have been taught and/or done for a reason they understand?