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Fenders, Fender Boards and Docking Print E-mail
Written by Charles Culotta   
One of the joys of boating-------docking *. It has been said that  docking is the cause of more marriages to sink than the office Christmas party! As a result, anything that can take the edge off is welcome.

A few years ago THE WIFE and I were on our way to a Trawler Fest in Houston, Texas when we experienced a less than good docking in an emergency. No serious damage, except to pride and an unhappy wife. Fortunately no spectators.

* Upon arrival at the rendezvous we were docked next to a boat with BIG FENDERS. 12X36 monsters, compared to my weenie fenders” (8 x 20), as THE WIFE describes them. She immediately said that she wanted two. When I demurred, suggesting that they were too large for her to handle while docking, she went on board the boat and asked to see if she could manage them. She could. Then I suggested that they cost too much. She then put it into words that even I could understand. “I will not leave the dock again on that boat until I get two of them.” I immediately purchased two for her. I always tell people that those are Her fenders! I attempted to get away with them being her 50^th birthday gift, but that didn't fly.

I can assure you that these beauties, THE WIFE included, really make docking a much easier if not a pleasant experience. See the photo, which fender would you prefer to be protecting your boat?

Often docks or other places that we tie up are less than passable and offer a real challenge.

About 20 yrs. ago this prompted me to construct several sets of Fender Boards. I used plain pine that I treated with COPPERTOX as a preservative and attached scrap Carpeting for the padding. I am still using them today. You could purchase 2x6 pressure treated boards and skip the preservative.



Each board is four feet long. Place the carpeting on one side rolling it over the 2 in. edge and fasten it with screws and washers or nails with large heads. By so doing there is no chance of the fasteners touching the piling or the boat.

On one end there are two holes drilled all the way through the width (6inch) side one just above the other.

Through these holes thread two lengths of nylon rope, ¼ inch, or better yet, 3/8-inch diameter, one in each direction. The heavier line is easier on the hands and easier to tie. Make them  long enough for the board to almost touch the water when hung HORIZONTALLY. The other end of the board has only one hole and one length of rope. This allows you to easily hang the board vertically or horizontally with the flat carpeted side against the hull.  I have color coded the ends of the two lines that allow horizontal use by dipping the ends of only those two lines in red Liquid Electrical Tape. A note is written on the board red ends horizontal”. Anyone can see that note so it bears little explanation when telling a new crewman what to do!!!

They have been used on pilings, in raft ups, on piers and docks.

This is used in lieu of a cobbled setup of two fenders with a board hung across them and the concern (worry) that the fenders or board will slip during the night and result in damage. An added benefit is that they are extremely easy and quick to deploy, and stow exceptionally well with the ropes just wrapped around them.

I built a second set that has 6inch stand offs near each end. Only the standoffs are heavily carpeted as this is the only part that touches the hull as the flat side is against the pile, dock, etc. The rope set up is the same as the flat ones. I do not use them in locks but they could be. These are particularly useful if you must tie to a piling that is too short to reach your rub rail or it is leaning off vertical. The standoff keeps the hull away from the piling, etc. We have used this set much more often than the flat ones.

With the foregoing equipment readily at hand you will be prepared for almost any docking situation.

************

NOTE FROM THE WIFE

I am always amused by the manly trait of minimizing near disasters and maximizing the mundane.

When Charles says we experienced a less than good docking, I recall that the scenario was so not good that I won the grand prize at Trawler Fest for Best Horror Story”while traveling to or from the event.

Picture this.  It's almost dark, we're trying to tie up to a barge, one engine has just died and he says,“You've got  *_one _* shot to get a line on the cleat.  My reply was, or what, we die?”The end result was that we crunched the teak because the weenie fender was not _exactly _where it needed to be.  So, if you are not a crackerjack deck hand like yours truly, then you need these fenders.  We've been bouncing off lock walls and docks, etc ever since I got them for my 50th birthday.  Now for maximizing the mundane, you should have heard the reaction to my real present, Cajun dance classes every Sunday for 6 weeks.

 

 

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