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Side fenders deployed permanently


Proper Charlie

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Our boat is being blacked and painted up to the gunwales next week, which has got me thinking how I can minimise everyday scrapes on lock landings, armco etc (apart from becoming a more skilful boater, of course).

At the moment we have two pipe fenders which we fix to the roof rail with a homemade hook and which we deploy when mooring. We have three brass eyelet type things on each side but don't currently use them. I know that fenders in locks can be a real problem, and also that permanently deployed fenders can, in some eyes, look unsightly. I'm thinking of attaching fenders to these eyelets, but using a cable tie as one element in the connection - the theory being that this will break if stressed in a lock. I'd either use our existing pipe fenders or perhaps buy some of those flat oval fenders I've seen and rest them on the gunwales when underway. Any thoughts?

 

 

Edited by Proper Charlie
Edited to improve grammar
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Well it's about time this topic came up again...

The shape of a narrowboat makes it impossible to avoid scrapes and scratches even with the use of fenders.

For a number of reasons I have changed my view on fenders and I don't employ them at all now except when moored.  It was a member of this forum who suffered serious damage as a result of a stray fender catching his prop that finally convinced me.  

If you secure your fenders with zip ties they will get rubbed off as soon as you snag one in a lock ie very soon.

There should be plenty more replies along soon...  

  • Greenie 1
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I use fenders on canals with wide locks only. Take them up when on the narrow system. Even so, they are a consumable item for me. Will always lose one or two on a trip. Cab!e ties will just mean losing more. The prob!em comes when there is relative motion between boat and jetty, lock side., or whatever. A fender trapped in between is subject to huge force.

In summary: Narrowboats have rubbing strakes for a reason!

Jen

Edited by Jen-in-Wellies
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There shouldn't be any need to have fenders down whilst cruising, rubbing strakes are designed to take the impact of touching a lock wall when entering locks. The danger of cruising with fenders down and the attitude they are a consumable that is going to get lost along the way means it is another bit of rubbish to collect around somebody elses propeller.

  • Greenie 1
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Our 58' NB method is this, secured by rope, and only deployed (if required) when mooring. 

53 minutes ago, Proper Charlie said:

those flat oval fenders I've seen and rest them fenders on the gunwales when underway. Any thoughts?

 

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I'm not a fan of side fenders unless absolutely necessary and I wouldn't dream of boating with them hanging in position. I don't use them when mooring up to the towpath, the steel sides are well able to cope and abrasion of the blacking ( 2 pack ) is hardly ever evident. Hung from the handrail they can be a trip hazard , when walking along the gunwale, my preferred fixing point is by built in eyelets on the gunwale edge. Hung on the offside when moored, is to me a pointless practice. What, exactly are they protecting?

Dave

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in a narrow lock they can jam the boat .

I now use tupperware fenders for mooring gives better protection 

Whoever came up with these slim fenders wants shooting especially for the hard solid rubber ones which lay on the canal bed with the line floating waiting for a prop to catch them.

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18 minutes ago, dave moore said:

I'm not a fan of side fenders unless absolutely necessary and I wouldn't dream of boating with them hanging in position. I don't use them when mooring up to the towpath, the steel sides are well able to cope and abrasion of the blacking ( 2 pack ) is hardly ever evident. Hung from the handrail they can be a trip hazard , when walking along the gunwale, my preferred fixing point is by built in eyelets on the gunwale edge. Hung on the offside when moored, is to me a pointless practice. What, exactly are they protecting?

Dave

There's another reason for deploying fenders when moored. Having to my shame managed to get a boat hung up by the rubbing strake on a protruding coach bolt I would never tie the boat up overnight without a gap between the hull and the canal/river side

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Ive moored up a couple of times with the fenders not down when I'm just making a tea or lunch, against the metal sidings, makes a horrible noise when the boat moves, I always drop them down now, and always lift them when moving.

Really do not see any reason why they need to be down when moving, the chance of hitting a boat, wall, bank and hitting the fender has to be very low.

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36 minutes ago, Traveller said:

Would not side fenders be worth deploying when moored against metal key-heading if for no other reason that to reduce the risk of galvanic corrosion?

 No, because;-

1. There should be a layer of paint or blacking between the boat hull and the piling

2. Even if there isn't the boat and the piles are very likely made from the same material

JP

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Pointless when cruising. Noise suppression when moored (well put sir).

If one cannot stand the sight of a bit of scratched blacking just carry a potful and brush and slap a bit on every month or after a long cruise.

It's a recipe for madness (and inconsiderate boating) worrying about a bit of topside blacking.

 

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47 minutes ago, Traveller said:

Would not side fenders be worth deploying when moored against metal key-heading if for no other reason that to reduce the risk of galvanic corrosion?

You could put a multimeter on both items (piling/hull) to see if any galvanic current...... (admit I tried it a few times on my home mooring piles). Only a few hundred millivolts is enough to drive a corrosion cell . Everytime I tried it I got zero mV.

Edited by mark99
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Others have mentioned a number of thoughts about why rigging side fenders when moving is not a good idea, and I agree. I especially don't like your idea of using cable ties as a fuse while in locks. Any fender which drops into the lock is liable to cause the gates to jamb, or to obstruct paddles. Not to mention a floating fender adrift in a lock can cause boats to jamb in tight locks. 

Not a good idea.

 

Howard

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19 minutes ago, Traveller said:

Interesting. There has been quite a lot on here about galvanic corrosion and I am reasonably sure mooring against metal key heading was mentioned as something to be avoided, if my memory serves :-)

 

Immerse two dissimilar metals in an electrolyte (canal water) and connect two metals together then one corrodes and the other gains.

To defend against, insulate the hull so that hull metal is not immersed in water, or rely on hull coating to prevent electrical continuity if hull touches piling (impossible all coating has holes). Drop fenders has the usefull by product of stopping metal connection/continuity (hull/piling)  for long term morrings (assuming you don't chain the boat to the piles bypassing and making pointless your fender "gap").

A bit of a dark art and mucho simplified.

 

 

 

Edited by mark99
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I leave my fenders down pretty much all the time but I am predominantly on a ship canal where there's no narrow locks and there's a 6mph speed limit, not to mention much bigger boats some of which weighing 80 tons. The edges of the canal are lined with iron sheeting(?) and what looks like old rail line. 

I have recently ordered small (junior) go-kart tyres as the small pipe fenders don't always cut it. It will look something like this but a bit smaller:

 

tyres.JPG

Source: http://lottied.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/its-raining-acorns.html

 

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2 hours ago, Proper Charlie said:

Our boat is being blacked and painted up to the gunwales next week, which has got me thinking how I can minimise everyday scrapes on lock landings, armco etc (apart from becoming a more skilful boater, of course).

At the moment we have two pipe fenders which we fix to the roof rail with a homemade hook and which we deploy when mooring. We have three brass eyelet type things on each side but don't currently use them. I know that fenders in locks can be a real problem, and also that permanently deployed fenders can, in some eyes, look unsightly. I'm thinking of attaching fenders to these eyelets, but using a cable tie as one element in the connection - the theory being that this will break if stressed in a lock. I'd either use our existing pipe fenders or perhaps buy some of those flat oval fenders I've seen and rest them on the gunwales when underway. Any thoughts?

 

 

Fenders are for mooring. Here endeth the lesson.

  • Greenie 2
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Even boats that cruise with fenders down still have scrapes on their blacking.  For one thing, you can't guarantee that when you hit something it will match with the inch and a half wide fender, rather than the unprotected ten or twenty feet either side of it.  And secondly, you end up with a semi-circular scrape on your blacking, where the fender swings about.  Pointless.

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Just now, adam1uk said:

Even boats that cruise with fenders down still have scrapes on their blacking.  For one thing, you can't guarantee that when you hit something it will match with the inch and a half wide fender, rather than the unprotected ten or twenty feet either side of it.  And secondly, you end up with a semi-circular scrape on your blacking, where the fender swings about.  Pointless.

Correct. fenders damage the paint more than any other cause.

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Have used a couple of 10" mini tyres for years. Two holes cut in the tread so the rope does not wear and one in the bottom to let water drain. Very good against even heavy duty piling. Hate the boat bashing about when I am trying to have a kip. Like a few good scrapes on the rubbing strake,to show the boat is not a marina queen.

  • Greenie 1
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