Fender Boards

[ocarina]

I made fender boards for my Douglas 32 out of a 2''x 10'' plank of Douglas fir(naturally) and attached extruded dock edging to one side. They store across the lower rungs of my pushpit and form an ideal bench across the back of the cockpit over the lazerette. I shaped the ends to match the plan form outline of the aft deck so they do not stick out passed the toe rail and routed larg holes in their corners where I spliced on 6' long hempex tails. The tails (2 per board) serve for hanging the boards in position when im against piles or an irregular seawall and also provide an effective way of lashing them to the pushpit when in their stored position. Not only do the boards work beautifully for their intended purpose, but they create the best seat on the boat providing a clear view over the dodger. Another bonus of this arrangement is the abilty to slide a standard milk crate under the stored boards where they wedge snugly between the deck and the rubber dock edging. I found milk crates in the same colour as the trim on my boat and use one on each side to store cleaners and spare lines. The boards were cettoled to the same tint as the rest of my woodwork and form an attractive and useful improvement to my vessel.

[Lost Horizons]

I used fenderboards for a while and gave up due to inconvenience mentioned by many in this thread. Instead, I am now using fenders in series (like beads on a string) and very happy with this setup.

[wolfenzee]

With the size of my boat I had never really considered fender boards of and respectable size because of storage issues. But after reading this thread it made me pull out a tape measure and think. Indeed I *can* fit two 4' long 2x6 fender boards against the bulwarks between stanchion mounts (out of the way and easy to get to).