Do you use bumper boards?

[rgranger]

I've never used bumper boards but I have always thought they seem like a good idea. Especially when you have a difficult time keeping your hull from kissing the pier.

I don't use them because I have been too lazy to build one ...but... I also don't see them very often and I wonder why.

Are there practicle reason why they are not very popular? If an inexpensive, easy to use, commercial product were available, would you keep one on board? (I think I would).

 

[Leeward Rail]

Depends on where you sail.

We often have to dock against very "rugged" industrial/government fish piers.
The pier doesn't float..the boat does.
The pier often has an uneven surface.. or you need to bridge the gap between 2 pilings.
Almost every sailboat here has them. (Unless they just dock in foo foo marinas)

Why would anyone buy a commercially made one ? It's a piece of spare lumber with old retired ropes attached. Basically free and can be made in 15 minutes.

 

[dlochner]

Boats don't have bumpers, so why would anyone want a bumper board for their car?

However, in some areas fender boards are useful especially when tying up to docks that do no have a flat surface, such as a pier with corrugated pilings or those silly docks on the Chesapeake where the pilings are outside the dock.

An option we often use is to hang the fenders horizontally. This helps to prevent the fender from rolling around or swinging clear of the piling.

 

[rgranger]

Boats don't have bumpers, ...

However, in some areas fender boards are useful

I stand corrected...

Board bumpers...

 

[Leeward Rail]

Boats don't have bumpers, so why would anyone want a bumper board for their car?

Here some people call them banger boards.

 

[BigEasy]

Why would anyone buy a commercially made one ? It's a piece of spare lumber with old retired ropes attached. Basically free and can be made in 15 minutes.

Made a set of fender "boards" with 3" schedule 80 PVC pipe & PVC endcaps. Light weight & easy to handle & store.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Yet another article that takes up valuable space ... I admit that they are a good idea, but I rarely have a need for one and an effective length of board is both heavy and space consuming. Every article that requires storage also consumes my energy and that is in limited supply.

 

[Leeward Rail]

an effective length of board is both heavy and space consuming.

Most people in our area have them attached to the lifelines. Often serving double duty for holding things/jugs on the side decks.

I rarely have a need for one

Yup. All depends on where you sail in the world.

 

[jon hansen]

yes, use then on aeolus and cherrybomb

made my own out of 2x6 hemlock

 

[Leeward Rail]

Light weight & easy to handle & store.

Are they one piece ? How long ? How do you store them ?

 

[capta]

I've carried around the most beautiful pair of fender boards for years. They are nicely varnished with two SS half-rounds on them. They look pretty sharp when in use. As far as I know, fender boards are the best method of tying up to pilings when one wants to stay clear of a hard wharf or pier. They can work at any tide if one's spring lines are set properly. In an extremely tight docking situation, they can be used to save one's topsides from damage when pivoting on a piling, wood or steel.

 

[jviss]

If you go to Novia Scotia or similar places with big tides and commercial docks, you're going to want bumper boards fender boards. You don't want to slide up and down against those pilings with just your ordinary fenders, won't work!

 

[Leeward Rail]

Example.. pilings... And when not in use they can help secure that jug aboard.

 

[jviss]

Example.. pilings... And when not in use they can help secure that jug aboard.

What's with all the diesel jugs?

 

[sesmith]

I use these instead:

Easystow Fenders

 

[Leeward Rail]

What's with all the diesel jugs?

I can only assume they contain fuel ? Hehe
Not my boat.

That said, where I sail there aren't many places to get fuel (or anything else) once you head north, so people often leave with full tanks and carry extra water and fuel on deck in jugs.

Similar to some people heading offshore but in smaller quantities

 

[Stu Jackson]

and I wonder why.

I built one in Fort Bragg for use in Eureka because my research said the fuel dock there wasn't really a dock, just pilings with a ladder. When we got there, they'd put in a new very small dock. Never used the fender board.

Wonder away, but if you don't need one, you won't have one. If you do, you will.

 

[shemandr]

I had them and used them for two of my keel boats. Very useful to fend off pilings, especially if said pilings had gnarly hardware protruding. In any marina with rising and falling tide, without floating docks, they are doubly useful because the boat can move for
ward or backward and still have fender protection from a piling. The only reason not to carry them is that a lot of marinas we used to visit already had them for transient use.
Not a lot of use on floating docks.
Mandatory for storm prep.
Yes we carried them while cruising.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Boats don't have bumpers, so why would anyone want a bumper board for their car?
However, in some areas fender boards are useful especially when tying up to docks that do no have a flat surface, such as a pier with corrugated pilings or those silly docks on the Chesapeake where the pilings are outside the dock.

If you must insist on absolutely correct terminology, they're FENDERS or fender boards when used on a boat because they help the boat fend off from another boat or a fixed object like a dock. They're bumpers when hung from or otherwise applied to a dock or other fixed object because they absorb the shock of a boat bumping into it.

I learned this and other useful information from a dear friend who was a stickler for correct terminology. I used to "pull her chain" by saying things like "I'm going downstairs" instead of "going below." She passed away a few years ago...I miss her.

--Peggie

 

[rgranger]

when pivoting on a piling, wood or steel.

I had not considered that… makes sense