Rigging Fenders

[Peter Cockerton]

The pontoon at Draycote waters has scratched my gelcoat, despite putting out fenders. On my last trip out the northerly wind blew across the pontoon so I left on the leeward side and came back in on the windward side so I didn’t get blown off at the last moment before I could secure the lines. I un-cleated the centreboard and rudder so it was ready for shallow water grounding and tied up in the deepest water at the end of the pontoon. The boat was now being held tight against the pontoon and the fenders did their job. So tractor man called, Dave, (not allowed to use the car) and with the help of the boat hook to push the hull away from the pontoon we pulled the boat along the pontoon towards the readied trailer. Some several metres away from the trailer I left  Dave to complete the pull so I could ready the winch hook and grab the bow to centre it on the trailer swinging arm (if it misses you can damage the hull as it goes to the side of the swinging arm and hits the end of the trailer arm). Once recovered on the trailer I noticed white chalky marks on the side of the hull, after wiping off the marks I noticed the hull was scratched as well. This occurred because when I left Dave to pull the boat the last few metres along the pontoon he couldn’t pull and push the hull away from the pontoon so the fenders rolled up and allowed the hull to rub against the old pontoon fenders which are not in good condition and resulted in the marks and scratches.
So the question is has anyone else experienced this and rigged the fenders differently to prevent riding up when the hull moves against the pontoon as I have described, does it work to string the fenders together and hang them horizontally along the hull. I use the standard fenders which fit in the cockpit cut-outs. Or would a different design of fender you may be using stay in place as it rubs along the pontoon, if not I will bring the boat in to the shallow end of the pontoon in future, even ground it on the slip, get on to the pontoon, secure the lines and call for Dave, that way I just have to push the bow back slightly to get her on the swinging arm, release the lines and winch her on. The only problem I can see with that is having sufficient centreboard down to get some steerage and when the centreboard grounds it may twist as I make the last minute turn to come alongside the pontoon.

Peter C

[Ged]

As a good friend of mine says... 'It's a boat... not a piano'

I think a boat with a few dings and scrapes is a boat that's having fun, mine's happiest covered with mud and weed, as hard as you try the only way to keep a boat in pristine condition is not to use it, which would be a sin.

[Graham W]

Peter,

In the circumstances described, I think I would run the boat straight up on to the shore and miss the pontoon out completely.  You may get wet legs!  The concern is that if the wind is offshore, the boat drifts away while you’re finding the tractor driver or (in other places) getting your car and trailer.  A really long bow warp and/or a willing bystander is a help.  If the wind is onshore, a long stern warp to the pontoon can help stop the boat going sideways on.

Like you, I’ve got some nasty scratches on my hull from the end of the trailer arm where the boat has gone sideways on despite my best efforts.  I don’t use the trailer’s registration plate extending arm sockets any more and have instead stuffed them with rubber padding, thus banishing any further scratched hull misery.

The pontoon at MYC is a bit too tall for the BR20, which risks having its gunwales trapped underneath when hit by heavy wash from tugs and other commercial traffic passing by.  I’ve got a fat fender which I secure to the pontoon next to a pontoon float and opposite the middle of my boat.  That seems to do the job of holding the boat away from the side but it doesn’t help with your pontoon issue.

[Peter Cockerton]

As a good friend of mine says... 'It's a boat... not a piano'

I think a boat with a few dings and scrapes is a boat that's having fun, mine's happiest covered with mud and weed, as hard as you try the only way to keep a boat in pristine condition is not to use it, which would be a sin.

Ged

It's a balance i know, however after spending north of £20K on my boat i feel it should be used but looked after as well, take it to the end conclusion on this subject and why bother putting fenders out at all when it's just your own boat to consider. My last BR20 (2009) was sold to partially fund this new one and i can assure you it was well used but sold in very good condition for it's age, often it was left rigged throughout the winter and sailed at Rutland waters when there was snow and ice on the banks, on one occasion Andy D and myself went out in a F6 blow which strengthened to gusting F8 (Jib and Mizzen) and it really put the boat and us through our paces ,so yes it's to be used and enjoyed but looked after as well in my opinion and i must admit i get a kick out of admiring comments on my boat.

Peter C

[Peter Cockerton]

Peter,

The pontoon at MYC is a bit too tall for the BR20, which risks having its gunwales trapped underneath when hit by heavy wash from tugs and other commercial traffic passing by.  I’ve got a fat fender which I secure to the pontoon next to a pontoon float and opposite the middle of my boat.  That seems to do the job of holding the boat away from the side but it doesn’t help with your pontoon issue.

Graham have found fenders with short lengths of string attached to suction cups at each end, considering buying one to see if it would stay in place under circumstances i have described or will just pull off under the strain.

[garethrow]

Peter - I feel your pain!
Going off topic a little, but not a lot, having swapped to a new BR20 from the Storm 17 I am hainvg to re learn a lot of techniques, including puzzling over singlehanded launch and recovery. Leaving a Storm beached for a few minutes on a falling tide whilst you get car and trailer is no worry - as it is light enough to heave back into the water. The BR20 on the other hand is a different kettle of fish. An offshore wind helps - as Graham says with a long bit of rope and somehting to tie it to (or anchor); an onshore wind though is something I have not figured how to cope with without a helpful / patient crew to hold her in the water whilst I am getting car and trailer. I realise that you are meant to be able to recover a BR20 onto a swinging trailer from the beach - but I don't relish this as its a mixture of mud sand and stone = not good for car wheels or gel coat scratching! I can only think that I will have to resort to a stern anchor that holds her just off shore until I am ready - a bit of a faff though.

Regards

Gareth Rowlands
BR20 Halen Y Mor

[Graham W]

have found fenders with short lengths of string attached to suction cups at each end, considering buying one to see if it would stay in place under circumstances i have described or will just pull off under the strain.

I hadn’t thought of suction cups but if you can get strong enough ones, they would definitely do the sticking job.  Amazon etc have a selection of quite big ones with levers for £10+ a pair.  They’re the sort that glaziers use for manoeuvring large sheets of glass.  Probably better than drilling holes for permanent hitching hardware.  The problem with fenders on pontoons is that they can ride up under action from the waves and flip inboard.  Secure them top and bottom?

[Nick Orchard]

This may not work so well for a BR20, but I've found the Fender2Step (Force4 et al) very useful in difficult fendering situations on my BC26. In fact I've used it more as a fender than a step. It's particularly useful when being blown hard against a pontoon, as it doesn't roll up and out of the way like a standard fender, and it also seems to be much stronger. Admittedly my normal fenders are only size 2, chosen to do the job but not take up all the available locker space, but if there's anything more than a F3-4 blowing from the side then there tends to be just one fender that takes most of the load, and it doesn't look very happy about it, which it demonstrates by squeaking a lot. Replace that fender with the fender2step and I feel a lot happier. The squeaking stops, the fender doesn't look like it's going to burst, and so far no marks on the hull. What I have noticed is that, because it doesn't roll but slide against the pontoon, it is getting marked more than the normal fenders. Maybe the single Fenderstep would work for the BR20 and still fit in the locker?
Nick

[Graham W]

My big fender for my BR20 is something fairly similar to Nick’s https://seamarknunn.com/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?WD=step%20fender&PN=Anchor%2dMarine%2dStep%2dFender%2d%2d%2dBlue%2d0044%2dMTA0043RB%2ehtml#SID=580
It arrived in the post deflated and probably like most mail order fenders needed an air pump with a football needle valve to inflate it.

[Sea Simon]

Fenders. I have four Marjoni Low Freebiard Fenders, that I rig in the cockpit area. They work very well on tall/overhanging pontoons that we have locally. With the dog leg in them they don't ride up or roll.

https://www.bosunbobs.com/Mobile/en/Majoni-Angled-Low-Freeboard-Fenders/m-m-1756.aspx?PartnerID=29&gclid=Cj0KCQjw28T8BRDbARIsAEOMBczo55-olxPrNBN6G9K1zp6maQK5nNIG2WN31-yCyCGYx-lWo66Kgt0aAi1PEALw_wcB&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=UnitedKingdom

The only issue for me was to persuade my wife (retired primary school teacher) not to paint faces on them "because they look like penguins".... apparently!

I use bigger fatter fenders f'ord of the shrouds, to allow for the shape of the bow.

Trailer lighting board arms.
Mine are also removed!
 More EU nonsense, imho...

Permanent bow lines
are also very useful, I find.  I have one shackled to the bow eye, with a heavyish, but floating warp. Large soft eye on one end, hard eye at the bow/shaclke end. It tends to live dropped over the winch.
Can be dropped over a cleat ashore, at about my mid ships, then back on to my stern cleat. Once properly tied up (bow and stern lines too?) It acts as a sort of "spring line".

I also use this for anchoring with an idea cribbed from the West Wight Potters association  forum.
Works really well on a BRe, and saves me many trips onto the fore deck.
I'll try and find a link.
Will post this on a new thread, as it's about anchoring rather than fenders.

[Peter Cockerton]

Thank you all for some excellent suggestions and making me aware of some different bits of kit available to aid fender rigging.

Peter C