Your best tip for squeaky fender buoys?

johnalison said:
I bought a large spherical fender because our berth companion was unreliable (=incompetent). Unfortunately there was no locker it would go in and I couldn’t even get it into one of the cabins. It’s still in the garage.
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Some people blow them up when needed.

Personally, I try to head for a swinging mooring if the weather threatens.
 
TonyMS said:
We have two big sperical fenders. Tied quite loosely fore and aft, they roll with the boat so that there is no rubbing. Problem solved.
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How does that work if the boat rolls side to side rather than fore & aft?
surely the fender gets pulled upwards then the rope goes slack then re tensions but the fender does not actually get enough play to roll but rubs on the hull side
 
johnalison said:
I bought a large spherical fender because our berth companion was unreliable (=incompetent). Unfortunately there was no locker it would go in and I couldn’t even get it into one of the cabins. It’s still in the garage.
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I keep our two in the 'Jacuzzi'.

No, I am not being flash or boasting, our Island Packet SP Cruiser has a front cockpit, just behind the mast and in front of the pilothouse. Some American owners have been known to place sillicone mats over the cockpit drains, fill the central recess with water and sit with their evening drinks watching the sunset with their lower legs in the water to keep cool. It also, because of the seating shapes, looks like a jacuzzi. Hence the nickname.

The fenders lines are tied to the spare vang fitting, just tight enough to allow them to stay relitively still, one either side of the mast.

Without that, they would indeed, be a bugger to store.

For your-and Daydream beliver's info, I cannot find fender sock material of large enough size to fit my large ball fenders, so they, and my two oversize 'Winter only' large fenders are the only ones naked.

As others have said, fender rub is far worse with these naked fenders than the socked ones.

From direct experience, eight seasons with this heavy long keeler.
 
B27 said:
When boats on pontoons are wearing their gelcoat out on the fenders, I can relax knowing that the motion of my boat is doing no harm, as it's pointing into the wind and waves.
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We have tidal currents on the East Coast and it is common for moored boats to lie at least across the wind, if not stern-to. Although most are in sheltered creeks there are some that aren’t. They look very uncomfortable in lively weather and although the tackle is presumably beefed up to match, it is not the sort of place I would want to be.
 
johnalison said:
We have tidal currents on the East Coast and it is common for moored boats to lie at least across the wind, if not stern-to. Although most are in sheltered creeks there are some that aren’t. They look very uncomfortable in lively weather and although the tackle is presumably beefed up to match, it is not the sort of place I would want to be.
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We had a mooring on Menai Strait for many years. With wind and tide in conjunction it was a very comfortable place to be. Once the tide turned it could be horrendously uncomfortable. Many times we put the cushions on the sole and slept there.
 
RupertW said:
What’s wrong with fender socks? Anybody got any opinions?
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The material can hold grit .... not washed / cleaned often - they can abrade hulls .... seen it happen. I know people who have REMOVED socks after having their nice hulls abraded ...

I will not go alongside anyone who uses them. I will go alongside dirty plain fenders before I will go alongside those with socks.

Plain fenders rarely hold grit ... bit of salt maybe - but that would be with anything boat related.

There's only one thing worse than socks (apart from no fender at all ...) - that's plain black tyres !!
 
Refueler said:
The material can hold grit .... not washed / cleaned often - they can abrade hulls .... seen it happen. I know people who have REMOVED socks after having their nice hulls abraded ...

I will not go alongside anyone who uses them. I will go alongside dirty plain fenders before I will go alongside those with socks.

Plain fenders rarely hold grit ... bit of salt maybe - but that would be with anything boat related.

There's only one thing worse than socks (apart from no fender at all ...) - that's plain black tyres !!
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I’ve got him on my list.
 
Refueler said:
The material can hold grit .... not washed / cleaned often - they can abrade hulls .... seen it happen. I know people who have REMOVED socks after having their nice hulls abraded ...

I will not go alongside anyone who uses them. I will go alongside dirty plain fenders before I will go alongside those with socks.

Plain fenders rarely hold grit ... bit of salt maybe - but that would be with anything boat related.

There's only one thing worse than socks (apart from no fender at all ...) - that's plain black tyres !!
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I infer from your post that your fenders do not have socks. I shall be delighted that you do not berth next to me, unlikely as that is.

I have used fender socks ever since I owned the boat, 1994. For many years on a swinging mooring the fenders were little used but in Greece since 2007 they are used frequently. Greece is generally a very dusty place with little rainfall in summer to wash dust out of socks. Despite that my topsides are immaculate, no sign of abrasion. As my previous post describes, the only damage ever seen, apart from self-inflicted crashes in Canal du Midi, was from a naked fender after a week of surging in Tinos.
 
I have just replaced three fender socks that were like Nora Batty's laddered stockings. The ones I removed were totally free of grit. I ran my hands over them before removal, they have been hard used for three seasons and were very faded.

Two were fitted to my three small ball fenders permanantly attatched to our berth, replacing badly worn ones. I have one spare 'in stock'.

Like Vyv, I find unsocked fenders leave dull patches, not socked fenders.

Our boat has massive windage and weighs when fully loaded for cruising and with full tanks close to 17T.
 
johnalison said:
I bought a large spherical fender because our berth companion was unreliable (=incompetent). Unfortunately there was no locker it would go in and I couldn’t even get it into one of the cabins. It’s still in the garage.
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I have big fenders for the size of my boat. They are either in use or tied on the push pit rail. No need to store in a locker or below!
 
Halo said:
I have big fenders for the size of my boat. They are either in use or tied on the push pit rail. No need to store in a locker or below!
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My fender is vast. I couldn’t stand the laughter from other craft if I mounted it on the pushpit.
 
Halo said:
I have big fenders for the size of my boat. They are either in use or tied on the push pit rail. No need to store in a locker or below!
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In Greece many fenders are needed when berthing stern-to. An absolute minimum would be three each side plus one at the stern but experience tells us that four per side is better, sometimes even more. We usually have about ten in the locker, of various sizes, plus two quite large ball fenders (unsocked!) that hang on the transom.
 
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