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Whats Fenders Do You Use ?

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2013 20 SLX

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I have tried several.... Docks at my Lake are very high mostly due to water being so low.

My boat side mostly go under the dock dented my side panel once...

Whats the best fenders out there I need long ones like Rail to 3/4 down the Toon.

I know you guys have great ideas...

Ron :unsure:
 
2013 20 SL said:
I have tried several.... Docks at my Lake are very high mostly due to water being so low.

My boat side mostly go under the dock dented my side panel once...

Whats the best fenders out there I need long ones like Rail to 3/4 down the Toon.

I know you guys have great ideas...

Ron :unsure:
Click to expand...
We have the same problem. I am waiting for GREAT RESPONSES, that I know must be out there as there are so many of us Bennington Boat owners and it KILLS us to find new scrapes and dings on our beautiful boat !! from the high docks. :eek:
 
Here ya go, try these.click here All the docks around here are floating docks so the normal ones work just fine.
 
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Do a search at the top for fenders, if I remember correctly there was a long thread about toonmate brand

Derrick
 
If you normally dock in less than 5' of water, this might be the way to go:

twin-01.jpg


Sea-Legs
 
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Jim_R said:
If you normally dock in less than 5' of water, this might be the way to go:

twin-01.jpg


Sea-Legs
Click to expand...
$75.99 X 2 for bumpers or $5,000 :D

How do you get back on that Boat?

But if you don't have to build a dock they can start to make sense.
 
If your boat is banging against a dock that's so high it's level with your fence, not sure any fender system would work well. I'm thinking the retractable ones would have the dock banging and breaking the upper plastic section if you had much wind or waves?

I've never done this, but I would consider using a couple sections of pvc pipe (3 feet or so). Thread your line through the pvc, and tie one end to the boat cleat and the other end to the dock cleat. The PVC would make a "stiff arm" and keep your boat away from the dock, while the ropes keep your boat tied to the dock. The length and diameter of PVC would be case specific. You'd want a diameter that meshed up nicely with your cleat and would not do any damage to the vinyl decking (so probably a very small diameter). Of course the smaller diameters would be weaker and more likely to snap in wind/waves. In any case, you'd want the thicker Schedule 80 pipe.

You'd also have to run a couple (two more) spring lines to keep the boat from moving forward and backwards parallel with the dock. In other words, tie the 3rd and 4th lines diagonally - front cleat on boat to rear cleat on dock. The other line would be rear cleat boat to front cleat dock, if that makes sense. The lines would cross each other over the water between your boat and the dock.

Like I said, I've never done this, but it's just an idea that you might be able to make work. I wouldn't personally do anything that would put any pressure (even through a fender) on my fence panels though.
 
What I tried to describe above apparently has a name. They are called mooring arms.

http://www.scottcoma...oring_arms.html

Note how they make a triangle with the rope (one leg) and arm (second leg) and dock (third leg of the triangle). This may be a better alternative than having the rope go through the arm (pvc pipe) like I was suggesting. You only need two ropes that way. You'd have to drill a hole for the rope at one end and secure the other end to the dock (somehow). Might be easier to use 4 ropes...

Google "mooring arms".

If you can make it work, the pvc will cost less than $5.
 
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I built arms for our boat when we dock in Canada. I used gas pipe and exhaust system ubolts for the arms to pivot up and down. I have about $30 dollars in my rig. I would not be comfortable if the boat cleats were below the dock height. The holdoffs can not handle lots of stress. If the mooring ropes are level with the cleats than the arms only keep the ropes in line with the pressure on the lines. If the arms are out of line with the ropes, lots of energy is transmitted into the arms and the attachment points and pivots have to very strong. My rig has withstood a waterspout and two thunderstorms along with serious north winds into the dock area but everything is in a horizontal line with the rigging. It is not cheap but a great solution are the whips that hold the boat away from the dock.
 
Remediation said:
$75.99 X 2 for bumpers or $5,000 :D

How do you get back on that Boat?

But if you don't have to build a dock they can start to make sense
Click to expand...
Yeah, my suggestion was kind of tongue in cheek. Although I do want Sea-Legs. I moor at my dock all season long, and would like to get the toons out of the water, and limit movement due to wind and waves. A friend has them and uses them at friends docks, the local harbor bar, etc. Nice to have no worries about fender height, and boarding unboarding is a breeze when you can adjust boat deck to dock height. $5K is a bit steep, which is why I don't have them already.

The only other suggestions I have for you are 1)mooring whips, normally these are installed at the dock, but perhaps the concept can be reversed. Spring lines to an anchor on the side away from the dock would help. Idea 2): oversized bumpers at the deck level with a board hung on the far side of the bumpers. I'm thinking that the dock you are concerned about is really a pier. The board would need to be long enough to ensure contact with at least two of the piers support columns (pilings) - your bumpers would in effect be pushing against the dock supports rather than dock 'deck'. This might not be practical if the pilings are spaced far apart.
 
How many cleats and where are they located on dock? If you have 2 on port or starboard side and one in front to the FAR side, you can tie up so that boat can't reach dock. I have my sides crossed front to rear and starboard rear is tied to a cleat up front to RIGHT of my boat. My dock is a port side dock. I also have front of toon tied to starboard front dock cleat. With the ropes at proper length my toon can not move forward or backwards more than approx 6 inches nor side to side more than same. It is always approx 8-10 inches from side dock and at least 12"-18" in front.

I only have bumpers as secondary protection in case I break a line.

I have tied up this way for 3 years, no problems.Right now there are THREE different boats on my dock with smashed toons due to improper tying.

Just my 2 cents ...... :D
 
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