Alternatives to integral cabin rail fender hooks

[blackrose]

Has anyone tried cheaper alternatives to those ridiculously expensive ply or plastic cabin rail hooks. Even on eBay they're expensive. I know you can make them yourself with a jigsaw and ply but I can't be bothered. My plastic ones have just broken so looking for some alternatives.

 

I was thinking about something like these covered in pvc tape or duct tape. 4 for £6.99!

I'd put some para cord through the screw holes for the fender rope.

 

 

[blackrose]

I guess it's a cottage industry hence the price! They look like they'd last 5 mins the way I use them. I hang a car tyre from them.

 

 

[dor]

I made my own from 18mm ply, copied from one of the foam ones, similar, but more square than the ones shown.

[jonathanA]

I made a couple from off cuts of uPVC fascia. You can double it up and glue together for extra strength.

 

I think you would end up having to modify your ladder hangers anyway. I have some similiar, covered in foam pipe insulation that.i hang bikes from (In my garage at home not from the side of the boat !)

[Jen-in-Wellies]

10 hours ago, blackrose said:

I guess it's a cottage industry hence the price!

This. We get used to mass produced stuff being cheap. Produced in huge numbers in factories far away by people not being paid much at all. Things produced in small numbers for a tiny market are expensive. You can make your own easily enough, but figure out how much they would cost if you factored in your time and earning enough to live on.

[Tony Brooks]

I made mine (for tube type rail) from flat steel bar covered with heat-shrink to help protect the paint.

[Tracy D'arth]

Mine are 19mm X 3mm steel strip bent with a hole in the end for the rope, hosepipe covered to stop paint damage. Trad cabin top.

The plastic ones snap too easily

[cuthound]

Mine were made out of flat steel, lined with closed cell adhesive foam tape by the boat's builder, Kingsground Narrowboats on the Oxford Canal. However any decent steel fabricator should be able to make them.

 

 

[Hudds Lad]

find a local firm with a CNC router and you should get a fair few out of a sheet of ply or two, imagine the painting would take all the time and labour though.

[David Mack]

The Midland Chandlers version in stainless steel. Not cheap, but will last longer than any wood or plastic.

https://www.midlandchandlers.co.uk/products/stainless-square-fender-hook-with-eye-as-056#

 

Made by https://stainlessmarinefabrications.com

Edited January 4, 2021 by David Mack

[Detling]

47 minutes ago, David Mack said:

The Midland Chandlers version in stainless steel. Not cheap, but will last longer than any wood or plastic.

https://www.midlandchandlers.co.uk/products/stainless-square-fender-hook-with-eye-as-056#

 

Made by https://stainlessmarinefabrications.com

Look great but they will at some point go into the canal and if proper stainless they are not magnetic.  Just like my last tiller pin, I know where it went but it is still there.

[David Mack]

1 hour ago, Detling said:

Look great but they will at some point go into the canal and if proper stainless they are not magnetic.

And how magnetic are the plywood, mdf and plastic ones?

[GUMPY]

1 minute ago, David Mack said:

And how magnetic are the plywood, mdf and plastic ones?

 HDPE  floats in water 

Mine are cut from HDPE using one I found in the canal as a template.

 

[blackrose]

41 minutes ago, Loddon said:

 HDPE  floats in water 

Mine are cut from HDPE using one I found in the canal as a template.

 

Not if it's attached to a fender that sinks. You might manage to hook it with a boat hook I suppose.

2 hours ago, David Mack said:

The Midland Chandlers version in stainless steel. Not cheap, but will last longer than any wood or plastic.

https://www.midlandchandlers.co.uk/products/stainless-square-fender-hook-with-eye-as-056#

 

Made by https://stainlessmarinefabrications.com

They look like the deluxe version, but I don't need expensive shiny ones. They're just for hanging fenders!

Edited January 4, 2021 by blackrose

[GUMPY]

23 minutes ago, blackrose said:

Not if it's attached to a fender that sinks. You might manage to hook it with a boat hook I suppose

There is 3ft of  rope between the fender and the hook so unless the water is deeper than 3ft they will be on the surface even if the fender sinks. I know that rivers are deeper than that but canals generally aren't bankside.

[blackrose]

I've just gone cheap and cheerful. 5 x stainless wire S hangers for £4 on eBay which I've pushed inside some 6mm ID silicone tube folded over at each end with cable ties. 

 

Works a treat. They're actually pretty strong and easily holds the weight of a car tyre. Cost about £2 each in total to make. Simples!

 

 

Edited January 9, 2021 by blackrose

[jeanb]

12 minutes ago, blackrose said:

just gone cheap and cheerful. 5 x stainless wire S hangers for £4 on eBay which I've pushed inside some 6mm ID silicone tube folded over at each end with cable ties

They look really cool - what a good idea. Thanks.

[blackrose]

I knew there had to be an simpler way than cutting ply with a jigsaw. The stainless wire is 3.6mm thick so it's rigid enough for the job. You might need to bend them a bit to fit your handrail. The silicone tube is also available on ebay (6mm ID / 8mm OD). £4.78/m

Edited January 9, 2021 by blackrose