Dock cushions [fenders]

[paul1938]

Have a Hunter 33 with about an 11' beam and my slip is 12', so I have plenty for room. I've gotten tired of dealing with hanging fenders, so I bought 24 foot of dock cushions[6 @ 4 foot each] to attach to the sides of my slip.
I think that the best place to attach them is to cover where my current fenders[2] hang down and touch, they are about 6' apart, so I have a lot of overlap. I'm in Marina Del Rey with little to no wave action. I use a six point tie-down so the boat while able to move, stays centered, with the wind pressing her to port lightly.
Our docks[slips?] are floating, so I don't have to worry about vertical coverage.
Any comments? If you think I need more of them, they are cheap @ about $11 each.
Paul

 

[LuzSD]

Gosh Paul, what will you do with all that time you'll have if you're not taking the fenders off, stowing them, getting them back out, setting them....... embarrassing yourself when you leave them hangin'! To say nothing of dealing with the eventual (too soon) deteriorating fenders and either having to replace the covers ($$) or replace the fenders ($$$).

 

[Ross]

You are parking an 11 foot boat in a 12 foot slip and you call that plenty of room? How big are the fenders that you have been using? How thick are the dock cushions?

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

The dock cushions are useful to avoid scraps but useless in cushioning anything. You might be better off using fenders to properly cushion the boat from impacts and find a slip more appropriate for the size beam you have.

 

[paul1938]

You are parking an 11 foot boat in a 12 foot slip and you call that plenty of room? How big are the fenders that you have been using? How thick are the dock cushions?

Sorry, the 11' beam is at the gunnels[?] but where the boat and the dock would touch[hope not] there is about 10" on each side if not more.
The dock cushions are 2.5" thick. I could have gotten thicker ones, 5', but the seller said those are only recommended for BIG boats and or marina's with a lot of wave action. They are usually used on fuel docks, etc.
My rule of thumb is when a seller and the producer turn down more money, I follow their advice. These are made under the name ACE Dock, and came out of Iowa.

 

[DannyS]

With all that extra room you have in your slip, why bother with the extra hassle of dock lines? Just wedge your fenders in on both sides of the boat and she won't move or rub at all.

 

[LuzSD]

In Dana Point many of the slips are ridiculously narrow for boats of the length the slip is intended for... sounds like MDR is the same. It's a problem!

 

[Don12364]

Make Em Yourself

The prevailing winds blow my boat on to my dock. Whenever there was a storm I constantly worried the fenders would either pop out or burst.
I own the pontoon so decided to make some substantial fenders which would bear the brunt.
I obtained offcuts of 3/4" thick WBP (water & boil proof) plywood and bought some pieces of composite foam from a local supplier who cut it for me. i.e. the stuff made up from crumbs of other foams of various hardnesses.
Seems they cut foam like this all the time for upholsterers anyway so it was all very cheap.

Then, using contact adhesive I stuck these blocks of foam to the plywood and glued a wrap of needlecord carpet round the whole to keep it all together. This used an extraordinary quantity of adhesive.
Then I made some wedge pieces of wood same length as the fenders and with an angle to match the topsides of the hull. Drilled them to suit and used 1/4" stainless coach bolts to attach them to the dock's rubbing strake.
I put three fenders close together in the middle of the dock with one extra towards bow and stern - five in all.
Next I nailed some small wooden blocks 1/2" thick next the bolt heads so that the hull could not contact the bolts if I came alongside too heavy handed.

ALL THAT WAS IN MARCH 1991. They are still there 20 years later and untouched though looking a bit tatty by now.
Sure does give a feeling of confidence when the Met Office announces gales.
Also very convenient when coming home tired, weary & wet.
Ships normal fenders in their socks look good as new too.

Best Saturday afternoon job ever.
Pls see attached drawings below (Fender Imp has been converted to imperial measure just for you guys but Pontoon Edge dims are still in metric - sorry).

 

[Stu Jackson]

Saving $$ Tips

To say nothing of dealing with the eventual (too soon) deteriorating fenders and either having to replace the covers ($$) or replace the fenders ($$$).

Just two weeks ago a dock mate showed me something new: use ACE paintbrush and roller cleaner on old fenders. Much, much, much better and easier than acetone. I took all of a half an hour to redo THREE 15 year old ratty fenders. They look brand new now. No reason to ever buy new fenders, unless they leak, and if they do and if they're Taylor fenders, they have a lifetime guarantee. Much better things to spend $$ on!

Kinda like WM binoculars - I'm on my third pair of Riaiteas! When the nitrogen leaks out and they get foggy, I just go in and get new ones. If I was going around the world, I'd buy Steiners, but I'm not and WM is pretty close to my boat!

 

[LuzSD]

oh, thanks Stu, this is good news. We have not gotten new fenders yet, we decided to buy covers (the fenders are navy and they were sticky and marking the boat ) so we put out another ..what $17 each........ and now we are needing to replace a couple of those!! (I'd make my own if I hadn't given away my sewing machine....darn, gotta get a new one!) So, we will try your idea, maybe we could go back to fenders only, I prefer that really. They are Taylor fenders and nice ones. Think I need the receipt?

Also like the idea of getting Binos if they are guaranteed, I did not know that. You are a fountain of information this morning.:dance: