- May 14, 2008
- 3,541
- Boat Info
- 1988 390 EC
- Engines
- 454 Mercruiser Gassers
Red fenders ... cool. :wow:
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I have two spots I usually hang fenders (we raft up very often). One is the handrail at the aft end of the salon. very sturdy and through bolted. The other is the midship side cleat. This gives good distribution. SRs are not particularly high freeboard boats so sometimes I need to set that midship fender a bit higher - that's when it goes on the the bowrail...of the other boat :grin:
In the home slip, the boat is set in such a way as to obviate the need for fenders. When transient-ing, they'll go in the spots described above and pictured below.
A cleat is our first choice. However, tides, the particular dock, etc. may not make this practical. We may have to hang a fender from the the rail or anything else that seems reasonable. I would like to use fender boards but I cannot figure out where to store a 6 foot long piece of wood on a 280 Dancer.
I keep a few undocumented workers on retainer - they physically hold the lines so that the cleats will remain free for fenders.
That's what I do also. I also carry some of these removable post bumpers and they come in handy pretty often. They don't take up alot of room either. http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...toreNum=10105&subdeptNum=10389&classNum=10395I use the cleats with the fender lines beneath the dock lines. When approaching the dock they're tied up estimating at what height they need to be, then once at the dock adjust everything to be snug.
Sometimes there ain't no middle Frank.Excuse me for stirring up trouble, but this is pretty much another winter-time poll that is useless.
Putting fender lines on a cleat causes various problems particularly for larger boats. If your dock lines are 5/8" or 3/4" diameter then there is no room for a fender line. Do you really want your cleats clogged up with anything if you find that you need to adjust your lines for a tide , thunderstorm, or, God forbid, a hurricane surge and winds. At 3AM I damned sure don't want to be messing with fender lines in the way of adjusting dock lines.......while hanging on with one hand in a 70 mph wind being peppered with rain and sand.
I'd say get your priorities in order and you answer the question quite easily. Is your priority to properly secure the boat in the middle of the slip or is it to hang an air-filled plastic baggie off the side in an effort to minimize the damage from not properly securing the boat with the bitter ends of your docklines on the cleats in the first place.
When I use fenders, mine are always secured to the bow rails or rod holders.
I guess smaller trailerable boats may have other priorities, but I've found the above to be proper and adequate for larger boats.
What are the lines attached to?
I keep a few undocumented workers on retainer - they physically hold the lines so that the cleats will remain free for fenders.
Nothing. They illegals just hold the lines and adjust them as needed according to wind and tide conditions. That's just how I roll.
In the pic below (transient slip in Atlantic City), you'll note one fender missing from my rack.
They're only in the ER when we're underway. Other than that, they can't leave their post holding the lines.Oh... and you keep them in the engine room!
They're on the port side. They aren't that tall. A Silverton bridge boat pulled in along side after this picture was taken so they were hidden from the view of the State Police and Coasties.Where are the illegals in that photo?