What size boat fenders do you use for docking?

[seahouse]

I'm going to say this for the reputation of all macgregor owners. For the love of God and all that is holy, once you leave the dock, lift the fenders up. Do not let them hang over the side like the urban gangster underwear look above their jeans. Lift the boys up and get them stowed. No need to allow yourself to be photographed with dangling.......um fenders. That would be embarrassing.


--Russ

Well said Russ!

Reminds me of a something my Dad used to do that would avoid that embarrassment.

Using 4 equally sized fenders set at the same height above the water level, all four would be connected at their bottom loops with a small-diameter line. Once away from the dock, all four would be pulled up simultaneously and held in a horizontal position when the line was pulled up from the rear and hooked over a cleat. Fast and easy, they look neat and tidy in both positions, done by one person, and most suitable when the dock is always on the same side.

[dlandersson]

Yo homey, was' wrong wit mah pants' down 'round mah knees?

I'm always open to fender storage solutions

I'm going to say this for the reputation of all macgregor owners. For the love of God and all that is holy, once you leave the dock, lift the fenders up. Do not let them hang over the side like the urban gangster underwear look above their jeans. Lift the boys up and get them stowed. No need to allow yourself to be photographed with dangling.......um fenders. That would be embarrassing.


--Russ

[ris]

Thanks for the input. They had Taylor made fenders in a 3 pack, 6.5 X 23" for $50 and triple points at WM. So we bought 2 packs.

[NiceAft]

I'm going to say this for the reputation of all macgregor owners. For the love of God and all that is holy, once you leave the dock, lift the fenders up. Do not let them hang over the side like the urban gangster underwear look above their jeans. Lift the boys up and get them stowed. No need to allow yourself to be photographed with dangling.......um fenders. That would be embarrassing.


--Russ

Russ,

I have always respected your opinion, but this dropped fenders phobia is no different than those who look down their noses at our Mac's.

I for one do not care what anyone thinks if my fenders are up or down. I prefer to have them up and out of the way, but if I forget and leave them dangling, so what. If I give some sailors a giggle because I am in a Mac, or if I give some sailors a giggle because of dropped fenders, I don't care. As to what people think, this falls under the 3 S.W. rule. Some will, some won't, so what!

With all due respect,

Ray

[mastreb]

Went racing on the new boat with a bunch of Beneteaus. Had a helicopter circle around to take portrait shots of the boats underway.

Yeah. Fenders out.

[Starscream]

So here's another reason to bring the fenders in that is unique to our Macs:

Last Friday I took a trip to a beach about 20 miles from our marina so there were extended bouts of powering into a 10 knot headwind and some waves. Fenders out. When I did a walkaround check at some locks which are about the halfway point, I found that the fender that normally hangs off the forward stanchion had been pushed back by the speed of the boat so that the rope that the fender hangs from had been rubbing the stay adjuster. The rope itself caught on the ringding that holds one of the stays in place, and was hanging from it. The ringding actually pierced the rope and was supporting the entire weight of the fender. The ringding had been pulled open to the point of being just a single large ring and was going to let go at any second, and the fender line was chafed.


Morals of the story:
Pull your fenders in.
Carry spare bits.
Walkaround check whenever possible.

[Tomfoolery]

Morals of the story:
Pull your fenders in.
Carry spare bits.
Walkaround check whenever possible.

I would add this: Use rigging tape on all exposed ring-dings, including the forestay.

Even rigging tape won't hold up forever to serious chafe from an errant genoa sheet or fender line, but it'll keep it all together much longer than without.

[Wayne nicol]

i dont care what anybody else thinks whether i have my fenders in or out. I just think it looks shoddy, a job half done, and dont feel that the boat is ship-shape until the job is completely done. everything stowed where it should be. but thats just me, and my opinion- not gonna force anybody to follow suite. but then i guess , if that where you store your fenders- along the side of your craft-0 then i guess they are stowed
its all cool!!!

oh and to answer the original post, i have 8" diam fenders, and they are stored two aside in fender holders on the pulpit


i know its a pic for the anchor roller- but the fender holders can be clearly seen
cheers all

[sailboatmike]

I was tired of the storage issues with round fenders, they take up heaps of room, so I just bought rectangular ones, 150 (6") x 550 (22") x 100 (4"), these can be neatly stacked because the they are flat, a great solution Im thinking and was only $24 for a 4 pack off ebay

[Catigale]

Went racing on the new boat with a bunch of Beneteaus. Had a helicopter circle around to take portrait shots of the boats underway.

Yeah. Fenders out.

I'm surprised the Sharks didn't get them.

You can always photoshop the fenders out later.

[Russ]

Eh...fenders hanging out don't really bother me. Seems it does to others looking for reasons to pick on Mac owners.

I keep my fenders tied to the dock along with dock guards. I don't need them on the boat. Ramp and gas docks have dock guards so my extra fenders are always stowed below waiting for a possible raft up or some such thing.

What does bother me is how people leave their boats tied up at the marina. I swear 1 in 25 boats actually know how to tie a dock line to a cleat. It's comical to see the crazy wraps around cleats. Spring lines are a total mystery to these folks in our marina. We have to push the bow pulpit of a powerboat out of the way to walk past the dock to our boat. Very annoying. The pontoon boats seem to believe rubbing on the dock is normal.

Then there is the RF clew sticking out like underwear. Now normally, I don't care how you leave your boat or your underwear. However, there is a Mac 26D in our marina who constantly leaves a couple of wraps of his clew sticking out. Not sure why. Does he think it's easier to unfurl?
Like this:


We had a bad T-Storm blow through and apparently caught his jib sheet and clew and pulled the sail out. When I got down to the marina I found his jib ripped in several places. I secured it as best I could and was sad to think this poor owner is now in the market for a new head sail.

A couple of wraps around the headsail with the sheets does wonders to keep the wind from pulling it out. And make sure the furling line is TIGHT. The sail cover sunbrella is important to protect from UV.

[Tomfoolery]

When I moved to my current marina a month or so ago, I bought a 3-pack of oval fenders at WM, on sale for less than $50. The ones I normally used were very big for that boat ('forgot' to leave them on my bigger boat when I sold it ), and therefore a pain to handle and store on deck when sailing. But those are good for rafting, and difficult docks with uneven surfaces, so I keep them aboard. With the new floating docks, small fenders are just fine, and much easier to handle.

What does bother me is how people leave their boats tied up at the marina. I swear 1 in 25 boats actually know how to tie a dock line to a cleat. It's comical to see the crazy wraps around cleats.

One of my favorite past times. It's actually more challenging to find a properly cleated dock line. I think I saw just one the last time I looked for one. Not counting mine, of course.

Spring lines are a total mystery to these folks in our marina. We have to push the bow pulpit of a powerboat out of the way to walk past the dock to our boat. Very annoying. The pontoon boats seem to believe rubbing on the dock is normal.

Maybe I overthink these things, but I use a pair of bow lines, splayed out to two dock cleats, a stern line that's more of a breast line (not much fore-aft; mostly side-to-side, due to the shortness of the dock), and a spring line to keep the boat from moving forward. And I make sure the spring line takes the foreward movement before the stern line does, as the stern line geometry is lousy for that. Two bow lines handle the odd southerly storm wind that may try to push the boat back, and their angles are much more favorable for that.

It ain't rocket science, but it sure seems like tangling some 'rope' onto a cleat on each end is considered good enough for most boats in most marinas. Well, power boats, at least.

[Catigale]

When I slipped I not only had three wraps go Genny sheet furled in I tied off the clew with a sail tie.

When our turn came for high winds, I was one of two sailboats whose head sails remained attached