Boring question - round fender size

Y

Yakmandu

New member
I’m always impressed with the breadth and depth of knowledge on this site. Sorry I don’t have a more challenging question!

I want to purchase two round fenders for holding my bow off while docking and in locks. I’m thinking I would hang them from the rear stantion for the bow rail. My side fenders are six inches in diameter.

I’m thinking maybe a 17” diameter ball would offset the curve of the bow. Looking for some insight...

I have a 19 Angler so space is a bit of a premium.

Thanks!
 
I go through locks on Ohio and Cumberland and have tried a large round fender on the first brace on the handrail. And have never had it touch with the radius of my 23' venture the rub rail touches first. I have gone to 8" fenders and use 3 with an additional one on the corner stern where I have installed a folding cleat.

Here are links to pictures in my album on how I tie to the floating pins. Which really works well.


http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?set_ ... _photo.php

http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?full ... _photo.php
 
A 17" round fender is huge...I have a 12" round, which I have used on several of my smaller boats. It is hard to find a place to stow it. The 12" seems to work fairly well with the 25 as well as the 22. I used one 18" round fender on my 41 foot trawler, and 36" round on our 62 foot ketch. They are used forward when I had to power forward against a spring, to swing the stern out agains a wind or current. Just doing locks we have not felt the need for the ball type fenders. We put one finder on the spring line cleat, one at the aft cabin bulkhead, and one all of the way aft--as far as we can--to keep the stern from swinging into the wall.

My 25 fenders are four: 10" diameter x 24" long (eye to eye). I also carry 3 of the line thru the middle, 8" x 16". That size was my main fender on the 22. On our 25, we have a radar arch aft on the cabin roof, and I tuck the fenders under the arch on each side. 2 of the large fenders have a "whip" (line to tie them on with) which will reach to the hand rail on the top of the cabin, and still have the fender reach the water line. 2 have shorter whips, which are suitable for use with cleats.

The 8" fenders have about a 6' line running thru the center, so they can be either laid along the side of the boat horizontally , or strung down vertically.
 
If you take a look at the shape of your boat from the top, looking down, you will see that the shape from the stern to midships is near a straight line, then the curve to the bow begins. Fendering the stern and midships points, with a snug tie, will leave the bow well off the dock. With the exception of during docking, there is really no need for a forward fender, even at the aft of the bow rail. I know, we al(most) always have one there, but on my boat, that fender is the clean one, as long as I keep it out of the water.

If you are using 2 each, 6 inch fenders, and tied snugly, you may need a bigger than 17" ball fender to reach the dock. This could be easily measured on your boat. But then you do get into the storage of a (pair) of huge ball fenders on a 19 foot boat. As Thataway Bob said, Those are really big fenders.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

January_2010_558.thumb.jpg
 
When we had Wild Blue, we found that a round fender tied at the aft stantion of the bow rail was very helpful - used it most of the time when docking. In wind situations that would pin you to the dock, it was ideal to rotate on that fender, have the first mate release the last line (forward) holding you to the dock, then back out at an angle. Also good in crowded dock situations with the same use. For storage, we would tie it to a stern rail or the radar arch. Easy.
 
Patrick,

Agree 6-8 inch std cylinder fenders should be fine for your locking. No need for ball fenders.

A few (4 of our last 162 locks) fill and empty on one side only, and require all boats on the other wall. Filling is much more violent than going down, and can push your boat HARD against the wall with such force that you and three big Mississippi Good Ol’ Boys at 300# each could never push it off. Hard to imagine, but we experienced it. If a fender pops, having a backup fender is good and much cheaper than the repairs.

A cockpit forward vertical cleat (that doesn’t catch clothing when boarding or prevent TC255 fishboxes from propping open) is a good add-on for locking as it allows you to throw a loop around it for more bollard security than you can ever have merely ‘holding the lines in your hands.’ It’s also a great place to tie off your bow lines so when docking you can toss it to a dockhand from the cockpit while keeping it secure. Keep it short enough that it can’t get to the props.

It’s not ‘nautical’ but we find ‘FenderGrips’ very helpful when placing 9 foot fender whips around the 255, including the roof rails.

All locks have emergency ladders recessed into the walls. Avoid having your fenders near these to hang up and capsize your boat.

Unlike tying to a dock in a blow, use smaller lines in a lock that will part before capsizing your boat if a line hangs up on a bollard that gets caught in its tracks underwater.

Have a sharp knife onboard to cut lines that threaten to capsize your boat.

We enjoyed meeting you at the cove.

Happy boating!
John
 
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