Mounting fenders to the dock

Irie308

Irie308

Well-Known Member
May 28, 2013
2,593
CT
Boat Info
2004 420 DB, GHS Hydraulic Lift
Garmin 8600/Garmin 1222 plus
AB Mares 10 VSX with 30 hp Tohatsu
Engines
Cummins 450C 8.3 L Turbocharged
So I was wondering if there are any downsides to attaching our fenders directly to the dock. I see at our marina that some people do it but not most. The reason I ask is that my wife and I hate walking along the gunwales to put out the fenders when we get ready to pull in. We really miss the walk through windshield access on our old 215 since the 320 did away with this access. We would still keep spare fenders on board should we have to dock elsewhere however it would sure make life easy if they were already attached to the dock. Any thoughts?
 
I tie my fenders to the dock.
 
Well I know what I'll be doing this weekend.
 
I also have some fenders tied to the dock, but I am going to switch to the big orange floats (buoys) as I am told they are better for the finish on the side of the boat and they don't sweak.
 
Would mounting some kind of padded bumper dock edging along the inside of the slip not provide more consistent protection? Just seems like unless you mounted a ton of fenders, there would be a lot of space in between them where you could hit with no protection. As expensive as fenders are, unless you are using old spares, you could probably buy some pretty good dock edging and come out the same or maybe better price-wise. Or maybe I don't understand what you are trying to accomplish? I just back in my slip and tie up lines that are already in place, no fenders involved. I have dock edging to protect me if I rub against the dock. I have the lines adjusted so the boat wont hit the slip sides but still have plenty of slack for the boat to move. I do have access to both sides of the slip though. I guess if you are sharing a slip and have to tie up against the dock, that would not be an option for you.
 
Last edited:
I also have dock edging along my side.
 
jason78 said:
Would mounting some kind of padded bumper dock edging along the inside of the slip not provide more consistent protection? Just seems like unless you mounted a ton of fenders, there would be a lot of space in between them where you could hit with no protection. As expensive as fenders are, unless you are using old spares, you could probably buy some pretty good dock edging and come out the same or maybe better price-wise. Or maybe I don't understand what you are trying to accomplish? I just back in my slip and tie up lines that are already in place, no fenders involved. I have dock edging to protect me if I rub against the dock. I have the lines adjusted so the boat wont hit the slip sides but still have plenty of slack for the boat to move. I do have access to both sides of the slip though. I guess if you are sharing a slip and have to tie up against the dock, that would not be an option for you.
Click to expand...
We do have a rubber edging on the dock but its a pretty thin strip. If we came in too hot I don't think it would be adequate. Ultimately we're trying to avoid the constant back and forth to put the fenders out when docking but we feel we do need the added protection of the fenders. My plan would be to install 4 fenders at the slip.
 
I don't really know because I also have fenders and I tie my boat to where it doesn't touch the dock.
 
We're on a floating dock and we have fenders tied to the finger pier. It just saves time at the home slip.

We carry other fenders on board for other locations.
 
A lot of folks at our marina use 2 x 4's wrapped in carpet, seems to work well for docks.
 
I know its over kill :grin:, but I use fenders at the dock. I have my stern fender pre-fit so anyone, even non-boaters can hang it on the stern cleat if I need help. I did not run my dock fenders all the way back because the stern fender is easy to get to.

 
Hi boatrboy. Just one word of caution because although I didn't have as many fenders as you I had a few. The constant up down movement of boat rubbing against your boot stripes and fenders may rub the stripes away a bit. Happened to me. Just my 2 cents
 
I ran a line through a fender and tied it into a loop, then did the same on another fender. I run the loops around a cleat and hang the fenders over the side, horizontally against the dock face. Makes it really easy to bring them aboard when traveling but otherwise they are there on the dock. Of course, you have to have conveniently placed cleats for this to work.
 
Due to the current and the way we tie up at the marina, our boat never really touches the dock. The fenders are really only needed while we are pulling in or leaving our dock.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,118
Messages
1,426,467
Members
61,033
Latest member
SeaMonster8
Back
Top