Fenders rubbing against paint

[Alan Wheeler]

I am having a problem with my fenders rubbing against my hull and the birth and it is marking the paint. In some places the paint has actually come off. Is this a fact of life? or has anyone come up with a means of protecting the hull/fender contact area? or what.

[cyclepro]

I used to have the same problem and then I decided to take off the fenders once docked and tied down.

I have a single berth slip and am able to use the docklines to keep the boat in the middle without moving far enough to hit the dock/sides. This is not possible if your are sharing a slip with another boat.

-Jan-

[Alan Wheeler]

Yeah and that's the hitch. We have double births here. Actually I was talking to Seafox yesterday and he made the same comment. It seems his birth across the pond has an extra pole behind the boat in the middle of the two slips and you can take a line back to it and pull the boat off the finger. But I don't and space is a little tight between boats.
I tried taking a spring form the main jetty and down along the boat to its aft (I am bow in) and pull the aft out, but I can't get enough angle due to room, to be able to pull the aft out. The bow is a none issue as I have a line that keeps that off. The main reason I am having such an issue, is that the strongest winds we get are blowing directly side on and pushing us hard onto the finger. We had 45knts in there last Sunday. It's a lot of pressure on 46ft of boat.

Simple solution, spend less time at dock
I have the protectors on my fenders, and they work well. I have had no problems with the commercially available ones lasting. They are canvas with a draw string at the top.

[williamlatham]

Alan,

You could try using a fender board but in the reverse configuration. Get a 2x6 and some dock fendering material (smooth). Place this between the fender and the hull suspended from the rail, fender material towards the hull. The greatest movement should be the dock-fender-fender board, and minimize the motion against the hull and subsequent paint damage.

Regards,
Bill

[Talbot]

fender socks are good up until they protect against a bad surface, then the material from that bad surface (e.g. shell, gravel etc) gets into the fender sock material, and next time you use the fender, expect that to work like sandpaper on the paint!

[hellosailor]

Alan, that's a problem (and can be a costly one) with a painted hull. Those soft fender socks are nice as long as they never touch a bad surface, so they are worth getting as long as you keep an eye on them. But the best solution is to spread the wear, using more fenders, or fenderboards/pads. I've seen exercise mats used for that, they aren't as tough but they are inexpensive.
You may be able to lessen the wear by spraying a wax-type lubricant on the fenders and waxing the hull, since the wax will take wear before it gets down to the paint. Anything that is paraffin or simple "wax" like a mold-release spray (on the fenders, not the hull) may help some. And washing down that side with fresh water, because it may be salt crystals on the hull and fenders that are doing the real wear. They CUT just as well as any fine abrasive.