Fender Sizing

[At Ease]

I need to rig the boat with some new fenders. West Marine chart suggest 6" fenders for my 260DA. However, manufacturer (TaylorMade and Polyform) both suggest 8". Since storage space is a big concern, what do those of you that have a 260 suggest for fender size?

 

[blueeyeboatr]

Always opt for the larger size, no such thing as over protection, as long as storage is not an issue, money well spent on the larger size.

 

[At Ease]

That was my thought. Thanks for your reply.

 

[boatrboy]

FWIW - I have a 270 and find that the 8 inch is way better than the 6's. I keep 3 of them and even have (1) 10". I suggest you pre-make the lines to the appropriate length because if you are like me, most of my guests are non-boaters. I just have them hang the fenders and they are all set.

 

[At Ease]

Thanks for the info. Good idea on the pre-made lines. I am ready for warmer weather, how about you?

 

[Seabbatical]

At Ease,

For the AJ270 that I will be taking delivery of in early May, I plan to carry three 8" Taylor Made Big B Fenders w/ center rope tube that are to be stored in the transom locker. When out of port, I plan to bring along three more of the same size.

I used this same size on my previous 22 1/2' Tiara.

Amazon.com had a good sale on fenders a while back.

Regards,

 

[Skip]

At Ease,
I ran an 02 260DA for about a year. Ten foot itis now has me in a 420DA. I recommend that you purchase the biggest fenders you can store aboard the 260-be they 6 or 8". I am a big fan of center pull taylor mades-they are very flexible for raft ups, protection from pilings, etc.
I use ~10" x 30" center pulls on the 420.
I also bought two ~14" x 36" center pulls for my 420 Dancer. These are permanently affixed to my slip. I leave them on my finger pier when we depart, and redeploy them once we are back in the slip. These big fat fenders were worth their weight in gold last year when my Marina got hit with a freak storm. My boat was in her winter slip, facing north, and shrink wrapped. We had 50 knots sustained out of the west, on the port side of the boat; with no piling in the double wide slip to secure the port side I would have been hard against the dock on the starboard side were it not for the two big taylor center pulls I used on the starboard side. They kept the boat safe, with nary a blemish on the gelcoat.

My .02

regards
Skip

 

[Hoo'sdave]

What does everyone think of fender covers.Pro and cons?

 

[Skip]

They look spiffy, but if not kept clean will retain sand and dirt which will scratch your gelcoat.

I do not use them.

regards
Skip

 

[Hoo'sdave]

Thanks any more comments on fender covers.Pro and cons?

 

[RiverRat]

I only use the fender covers when locking through... As stated above they collect a lot of dirt, but they also keep your fenders clean. On the trips I take (using the locks) after the trip we just take them home and wash them. Otherwise we leave them off.

 

[toyboat]

When I went through the locks a bunch of years back, I was told to use heavy duty plastic bags over the fenders. It worked great. After the lock trip, we turned the plastic bags inside out and used them for trash bags.

 

[skibum]

For us non locking kind of boaters... Why do you need to cover your fenders while locking?

Thanks
Michael

 

[At Ease]

At Ease,
I ran an 02 260DA for about a year. Ten foot itis now has me in a 420DA. I recommend that you purchase the biggest fenders you can store aboard the 260-be they 6 or 8". I am a big fan of center pull taylor mades-they are very flexible for raft ups, protection from pilings, etc.
I use ~10" x 30" center pulls on the 420.
I also bought two ~14" x 36" center pulls for my 420 Dancer. These are permanently affixed to my slip. I leave them on my finger pier when we depart, and redeploy them once we are back in the slip. These big fat fenders were worth their weight in gold last year when my Marina got hit with a freak storm. My boat was in her winter slip, facing north, and shrink wrapped. We had 50 knots sustained out of the west, on the port side of the boat; with no piling in the double wide slip to secure the port side I would have been hard against the dock on the starboard side were it not for the two big taylor center pulls I used on the starboard side. They kept the boat safe, with nary a blemish on the gelcoat.

My .02

regards
Skip

Thanks for the recommendation. That is what I ordered from Boatersland this weekend. The 8x 20 Big B's from Taylor Made along with the socks. I figured I would keep two in the locker inflated and carry another deflated just in case.

 

[RiverRat]

For us non locking kind of boaters... Why do you need to cover your fenders while locking?

Thanks
Michael

Well, you probably wouldn't believe what those lock walls have on them. Ass. things growing, sludgie stuff that who knows what is in it. Trust me, covers are far easier to wash than trying to clean some of this stuff off of your pretty white fenders...