Fender deployment when docking

[Holdaway98]

Hello! My hubs and I are expecting our 2023 R27OB next month and are wondering where y’all hang your fenders and how you deploy them when docking. We currently have a Boston Whaler 210 Dauntless and docking is a breeze, with me just flipping the fenders over the rails and jumping off the swim platform to tie up while husband is behind the wheel. We always left our main lines behind on the dock and carried a couple of extra on the boat for tying up at restaurants, etc. How do you accomplish this on the R27? I would not feel comfortable (at least I don’t think) shuffling up to the bow while underway, even at super slow speed. I did a search and saw that some of the Cutwater folks hang their fenders from the roof rack… Any advice to these Ranger Tugs Newbies would be greatly appreciated! It will mostly just be the 2 of us on the boat. Thanks-
Amy

 

[Brian98133]

Congrats on your RT! 😀

The dimensions between our R23 and the R27 are slightly different... however I believe what we do should also work for your boat.

We tie our front fender line around the s/s rail where it meets the deck at the intersection of the windshield and the sliding side windows (in cars, referred to as the "A pillar"). We've found that this is the perfect location for our boat... I believe the 27 should be similar.

At this location, I can reach out the sliding window and position the fender easily by manipulating its line through the side cleat which is right on the deck below the window. Easy peasy! Same goes for the port side... however my better half handles that fender 🙂

Whilst underway, we simply pull the fender up and 'cradle' it on the sideboard where the stepguard is affixed to the boat. This creates the perfect cradle for the fender, surprisingly. I was skeptical at first, however after using the boat for 3 years now, and going through some unfortunately HEAVY seas, the fender has yet to get knocked out of the 'cradle'.

Works flawlessly for us 😀

 

[Submariner]

We tie our forward fender to the rail. Our stern fender to the vertical pole that holds up the Bimini. And the mid fender we tie to the hand rail. 3 fenders per side. We just move them outside the boat, and then we move them inside the boat.

We don't tie our fenders to the cleats as they get in the way of the dock lines that need the cleats.

Start at the 8:40 minute mark in this video to see the mid and aft fender position and how we secure the fenders.
https://youtu.be/vqN2QVweQyY?t=520

Start at the 13:00 minute mark in this video to see the bow fender pulled in as we drive away from the dock.
https://youtu.be/LQ2pw5Q-hBw?t=782

 

[Kimberly Dawn]

Hi Amy,

Y'all are getting a wonderfully fast and well-handling boat! I miss ours, but congratulations on your new acquisition!

Channel Surfing creates some fine YouTube videos that will help you make some nice additions or modification to your boat. I would take special interest in the auto-levelling for the Lenco electric trim tabs.

Regarding fender deployment, we only used (2) fenders on the docking side, usually our starboard side, for a bow-in tie. The forward fender is fastened to the bow railing at the gunwale, just forward of the mid-ship cleat. Tie with a clove hitch. (https://youtu.be/pwdZTHu5rTI)

The aft fender was tied to the bimini railing as mentioned by Channel Surfing using a clove hitch.

When retrieving fenders once underway, we would simply lift the aft fender over gunwale and place to inside corner of cockpit, out of the way of transom door. The forward fender was merely lifted up to rest on that sloped portion of the gunwale.

Regarding lines, we likewise kept lines cleated. Forward line was pulled back into cockpit, secured to aft mid-ship cleat with single loop. Stern line was merely stowed in a "loose mess" below the fender.

Happy Boating... and welcome to the family!

Bob & Kim
Kimberly Dawn

 

[Toucan]

We use three fenders on each side. The forward fenders are tied to the aft ends of the bow railing. When the knots are at the bottom of the rail, the ends of the fenders just touch the water, where they need to be to protect the hull gel coat from floating docks. In a lock or high wharf scenario, we slide the knot up so that the top of the fender covers the rub rail. This pair of fenders is stored between the ends of the bow railing (vertical parts) and the cabin sides. The forward dock lines are looped around the large bow cleat, lead back around the aft end of the bow rails and the bitter ends are stowed under the fenders. Our middle fenders are tied to the rooftop railing vertical sections and usually stowed on the roof inside the horizontal rails. We move the knot up or down the vertical tube depending on whether we are protecting the hull gelcoat or the rub rail. We tie the aft fenders to the horizontal railing just forward of the aft cleats and wedge the fenders between the railings and the top of the coamings. To adjust fender height depending whether we are protecting hull gelcoat or the rub rail, we roll the knots around the railing. Aft and spring lines are looped around the aft cleats. The aft lines are usually dropped on to the edge of the cockpit floor while the longer 25 foot spring lines are coiled. The port line is cow hitched to the forward end of the cockpit railing. The coiled starboard line is hung around the handhold railing just aft of the cockpit step.

Barry Thompson
TOUCAN, R-27 Classic

 

[Holdaway98]

Thank you all for these very helpful responses. I asked on the Tugnuts facebook page as well and received more great responses including photos there.

 

[knotflying]

Bow lines connected and tied back to side handles near cockpit. Stern cleats port and starboard with lines attached and lines secured to rails for quick release. One fender set to deploy and tied on rail port and starboard on rail. Fenders tied to cleats port and starboard at front slide windows and then lifted to squeeze between rail and sidewall forward of cleat. to deploy just open window. Mate never really has to walk out on narrow side deck to deploy fenders or obtain lines. Once at dock you can relocate the front fenders if you need use cleat for spring tie.

 

[CruisingElvinRay]

We usually deploy two fenders, tied off to the aft section of the forward rail (access through the window), and off the aft rail. Cleats are used for lines.

I don’t like cruising with the lines or fenders on display, so we always remove and stow them after departure. Always plenty of time to stow them while idling out of the marina or no wake zone. I have installed line holders under the downrigger pads (we don’t have downriggers), so we have easy access to 4 lines in the cockpit, but they are out of the way.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[YukonRon]

We were recently tied at a dock where a gentleman motored in single-handing his sailboat. He had 4 fenders stowed vertically along the gunwale, outside of the rail, until he was almost at the dock. He let loose a line which ran through the bottom eye of each fender and all 4 fenders dropped down into position just before he reached the dock. As he motored away he pulled the line to bring the fenders back up into stowed position, hooked it up and was gone. It looked pretty slick, I may give it a try for single handing.

 

[Oh Well]

We don't use the cleats. They are for the lines.

What we do is tie the fender lines on the hand rail. One near the cabin/cockpit the other on the hand rail near the helm window. Depending on the side. Also for the helm fender usually leave it on the cabin roof behind the navigation light frame. The cabin fender is also on top behind the hand rail. Convenient for for a quick flip.

We don't leave them up there all the time just as we plan which side we will be docking with. We do not have the stern fender nearer to to the transom because that is where we have put the name on the boat.