Fender covers - are they useful for protecting the gel coat?

[baz]

I'm finding that my black fenders will over time start to rub off the gel coat/paint on our R-25's hull. At this time it's not too bad, but I suspect over a longer period of time it will simply get worse.

I do not tie the boat up tight to the dock -- rather, leave some slack to hopefully let the boat float out some away from the dock side. The constant movement back and forth obviously causes the fender to get squeezed between the hull and the dockside and then any forward/rearward movement will mean the fender scrubs/rubs the hull's surface.

I'm thinking of buying some fender covers to avoid the fenders from rubbing the gel coat off.

Have others found this resolves the issue I mention above ? Thanks. 🙂

 

[South lake]

I was curious about this and found this comment on a Sailnet forum:

"Ask guys who paint boats and the tech support at Awlgrip. They will usually tell you they do more harm than good. I had a long conversation with the Dupont Imron reps at the Maine Boat Builders Show and they were complaining that fleece covers are a huge Peeve of theirs. People think they are doing good but dry crusty salt, dirt weeds dock grime and such sticks to fleece and it does not stick to a clean fender nearly as well..

People think they are doing a good thing but fleece likes to attract dirt, dock grime, dried seaweed and any other thing floating by. This stuff then gets trapped in the fibers and abrades the hull worse than a smooth clean fender will.

Clean your fenders often and I would advise agaisn the use of them. I chose to ignore my painter and bought some. I used them for one day and saw exactly what he said I would trapped grime and dirt in the fibers. They are basically brand new, sitting in my barn, collecting dust.."

Might not be a good idea to use them based on this.

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Hello Barry:

We've found the best practice is to keep the fenders tied up in such a fashion so they rest against the rub rails of our boat, therefore reducing the pressure of the fender being directly against the gelcoat. When your docking situation provides it always try to tie the boat up so the boat is kept a bit away from the dock, not so far that you have to risk your life getting off of the boat, but far enough that it is kept from rubbing against the dock or pilings. In those situations try to cross your stern lines for better leverage.

Jim F

 

[abcandjrc]

........They will usually tell you they do more harm than good........

Ditto. Generally speaking that is true. We used covers when traveling the locks on the Tennessee/Tenn-Tom waterway to keep the fenders from getting overly dirty but were always sure to remove them, wash them, and put them away for the next trip. They will prevent some premature sun damage to the fenders but even the smallest amount of dirt can become like sandpaper and dull gel coat or paint.

The advice to set fenders to put the primary pressure on the rail is good if it works for your particular docking situation. Fender boards are also helpful to keep fenders in good shape. Sometimes they are almost essential for a secure berth, as when pilings are well outside the limits of the pier itself and a fender, even if hung horizontally, will not guarantee that the boat will not make contact with the pilings.

We carried two 2"x8"x8' redwood boards on our larger boats and used them frequently. Redwood is relatively light, and stays looking good even if stowed on deck. I drilled about six 5/16" holes through the boards in the 8" dimension with a long drill. I drove hardwood dowels into the holes to reinforce the redwood and keep the possibility of cracking longitudinally at a minimum. Then I drilled suitable holes in two places on the boards through the 2" dimension and installed 3-strand rope protected by automotive heater hose and eye-spliced in place. They survived the 7 years we lived aboard and still looked reasonably good when we sold. During that period I would take a wild guess that we used them in over 100 lockings, some with a lift of as much as 95 feet and an average lift of about 35.

 

[baz]

Hello Barry:

We've found the best practice is to keep the fenders tied up in such a fashion so they rest against the rub rails of our boat, therefore reducing the pressure of the fender being directly against the gelcoat. When your docking situation provides it always try to tie the boat up so the boat is kept a bit away from the dock, not so far that you have to risk your life getting off of the boat, but far enough that it is kept from rubbing against the dock or pilings. In those situations try to cross your stern lines for better leverage.

Jim F

Jim: This is exactly my practice as well... and re-enforced by the advice given me the other week by a person who's full time job is keeping large boats looking pristine. I caught him working on a large boat that had endured some engine fuel mixture issue causing dirt/grime/soot to cover and stick to most of the boat's stern/cockpit areas. I had him inspect my boat's hull fender issue as described in my OP. He was adamant about the use of fender covers to reduce the wear and tear on the hull's gelcoat. This is especially true for boats tied up in Marinas for months on end and exposed to coastal weather conditions. There's just no way to avoid the jostling that boats get while tied up to docks due to daily tide movements and the wind etc.

Unless you have the opportunity of being in a slip that holds just one boat it's nigh impossible to have the boat tied up in such a way to avoid it moving up against the dock side. My boat is kept in a covered U shaped slip that accommodates two boats... so I have another boat alongside me. I keep our boat stern-in, mainly to expose as little light on the hull as possible (that is, barnacles like the sun light 😉 ). I can use two lines on the stern port & starboard cleats to keep the aft portion of the boat positioned away from the dock side. However, I'm left with no way to keep the bow side from rubbing up against the dock side, and the dock's edge and the height of the boat's rubbing strip makes it very difficult to position a fender that does not at times rub up against the hull.

My fenders are not low enough to dip into the water and so they keep clean without stuff collecting on them.

My task is to continue thinking about how best to tie up our boat such that it's held securely but cannot push against the dock and squeeze on the dangling fenders to the extent the fender scrubs on the hull's gelcoat.

 

[SlackwaterJack]

You may want to check out those products that look like Fishing rods mounted to the dock that keep the hull/fenders from contacting. Sorry, I don't know what they're called... "dock whips" maybe?

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Barry:

I thought of one more idea that I've used before, for situations like you describe sterning in. Take a long line from the bow cleat, on the side away from the finger dock, and run it back to the main dock. When doing this get as much angle on the line as possible, even tieing it off of your neighbors main dock cleat. By doing this you are at least helping to keep your dockside bow off of the finger dock, not all of the time, but a good deal of the time.

Jim F

 

[baz]

Thanks Jim...
I'll try that and will need at least 30 foot line.

I always hesitate using lines longer than 25 feet for fear they could tangle in the prop if loose in the water. 😉