Fender eyelets - a bad idea?

[Jackofalltrades]

The quote for our narrowboat shell includes several fender islets - large round holes cut into the sides of the hull and round inserts fitted with an integral horizontal bar onto which fenders can be tied.

 

But I increasingly think these are not such a good idea for the following reasons:

 

- They are a potential source of leaks in the future.

 

- The chrome will wear away leaving rust behind, the screws (more holes!) might corrode (so use stainless screws into mild steel hull = potentially more corrosion).

 

- They intrude into the interior of the hull and therefore there will be less spray foam insulation over them, potentially causing cold spots where condensation might find a home.

 

- They look fugly (I think).

 

So my question to you all is, if you were having a new narrowboat shell built, would you go for fender islets or some other solution to attach fenders?

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

2 minutes ago, Jackofalltrades said:

The quote for our narrowboat shell includes several fender islets - large round holes cut into the sides of the hull and round inserts fitted with an integral horizontal bar onto which fenders can be tied.

 

But I increasingly think these are not such a good idea for the following reasons:

 

- They are a potential source of leaks in the future.

 

- The chrome will wear away leaving rust behind, the screws (more holes!) might corrode (so use stainless screws into mild steel hull = potentially more corrosion).

 

- They intrude into the interior of the hull and therefore there will be less spray foam insulation over them, potentially causing cold spots where condensation might find a home.

 

- They look fugly (I think).

 

So my question to you all is, if you were having a new narrowboat shell built, would you go for fender islets or some other solution to attach fenders?

 

 

They are a pain in  the bum to attach/detach the fenders to when you moor and leave

[dmr]

Fenders are for mooring only and should be fixed to the roof, either with dedicated welded on rings or the (rather ugly) wooden/plastic brackets that go over the handrail.

 

If you have fender eyes just below the gunnel then the only place to "store" the fender is on the gunnel which is a trip hazzard. If the fender is left down, or falls down, then you might get stuck in a lock (in fact you Will get stuck at some stage) and retrieving a fender fixed to a fender eye is Much more difficult than if its roof mounted.

 

.................Dave

[BEngo]

6 minutes ago, Jackofalltrades said:

So my question to you all is, if you were having a new narrowboat shell built, would you go for fender islets or some other solution to attach fenders?

No.  Much better and easier to hang fenders from the handrail.

 

The fittings themselves just promote rust behind them and encourage folk to cruise with fenders down  which just results in ripped off fenders in someone else's blades.

N

[Pie Eater]

18 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

They are a pain in  the bum to attach/detach the fenders to when you moor and leave

I just clip mine on when mooring up and remove them when cruising.

[PD1964]

I have welded fender bars on the gunwhale that I do not use. But have and use 4x fender eyes along each side on the handrail like the pic,  1x front, 1x centre and 2x rear, I only cruise with one each side at rear to cushion the impact when coming into lock landings(single handed) my total number of fenders is 2-4 and when I moor up I just clip to the appropriate side and then remove when travelling. 

Edited March 14, 2021 by PD1964

[Rob-M]

We have the little bars cut in the gunnels and attach fenders using soft shackles when mooring.

[LadyG]

I've got loops welded on to the gunwales, my fenders are on a loop of rope, they can be removed almost instantly. 

I use these for springs as well, none have come off yet ........

[Tracy D'arth]

The steel bar gets bent and falls out.

Agree fenders should hang from the roof level and never be attached when cruising but that can be dropped quickly when mooring.

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, Tracy D'arth said:

The steel bar gets bent and falls out.

Agree fenders should hang from the roof level and never be attached when cruising but that can be dropped quickly when mooring.

I go along with that, also hanging on longer lines allows them to move more easily  when the boat moves

[Jackofalltrades]

So a strong consensus against fender islets and overall a strong preference for fenders attached at roof level.  I shall tell the builder not to install the fender islets.

 

Thanks all ?

 

[PD1964]

5 minutes ago, Jackofalltrades said:

So a strong consensus against fender islets and overall a strong preference for fenders attached at roof level.  I shall tell the builder not to install the fender islets.

 

Thanks all ?

 

Discuss it with your builder and he may have a simple alternative. You don’t want to have no means of attaching fenders to the boat, you need some way even though you might not use them.

[OldGoat]

My builder welded substantial eyes into the roof of my boat and I hang fenders from that.

We're on the Thames whe fenders are 'essential' to avoid gunge from the lock wall on one side and the local cruisers not keeping clear on the other....

They've survived 20+ years to date.

 

[Jackofalltrades]

4 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

My builder welded substantial eyes into the roof of my boat and I hang fenders from that.

We're on the Thames whe fenders are 'essential' to avoid gunge from the lock wall on one side and the local cruisers not keeping clear on the other....

They've survived 20+ years to date.

 

 

Into the roof? Do you have a picture of your welded substantial eyes(!) by any chance?

 

[Tracy D'arth]

For  hooks on the roof edge, get some made of metal and cover them with hose to prevent paint scratches, the white plastic ones unfortunately are far too fragile, they break for fun.

[OldGoat]

6 minutes ago, Jackofalltrades said:

 

Into the roof? Do you have a picture of your welded substantial eyes(!) by any chance?

 

Sorry - no, we're still locked down here and miles from the boat. My builder got some substantial chain, cut the links in 'half' (or thereabouts) and weled them in as close to the rail as reasonable. The result is that you have to look closely to see them (a slight exageration)

[Jackofalltrades]

1 minute ago, OldGoat said:

Sorry - no, we're still locked down here and miles from the boat. My builder got some substantial chain, cut the links in 'half' (or thereabouts) and weled them in as close to the rail as reasonable. The result is that you have to look closely to see them (a slight exageration)

Ah, right, gotcha. Thanks for the explanation.

[Jackofalltrades]

29 minutes ago, PD1964 said:

Discuss it with your builder and he may have a simple alternative. You don’t want to have no means of attaching fenders to the boat, you need some way even though you might not use them.

The builder appears to fit fender islets as standard (as do several other builders that we looked at) which is also what we originally wanted and asked for. Fortunately we thought about the pitfalls before they have been fitted so fitted they will not be.

[Jackofalltrades]

We think the best solution, which is the consensus here - born out of experience - is to attach fender lines at roof level either via brackets attached to the cabin side near the handrail or via separate standalone brackets that simply hook over the handrail, which gives more flexibility as they can be located anywhere along the cabin roof. This is now our preferred way forward.

 

Will we get money knocked off the final bill for the non-supply & fitting of fender islets when we take delivery? Place your bets ?

 

[Jerra]

8 minutes ago, Jackofalltrades said:

We think the best solution, which is the consensus here - born out of experience - is to attach fender lines at roof level either via brackets attached to the cabin side near the handrail or via separate standalone brackets that simply hook over the handrail, which gives more flexibility as they can be located anywhere along the cabin roof. This is now our preferred way forward.

 

Will we get money knocked off the final bill for the non-supply & fitting of fender islets when we take delivery? Place your bets ?

 

Personally I find the ability to move the fender to where it is needed valuable.   Fixed points, in my experience often put the fender where it isn't doing the best job or sometimes any job at all.

[ditchcrawler]

55 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

My builder welded substantial eyes into the roof of my boat and I hang fenders from that.

We're on the Thames whe fenders are 'essential' to avoid gunge from the lock wall on one side and the local cruisers not keeping clear on the other....

They've survived 20+ years to date.

 

I find that I often have to hang the fenders in different places depending on the shape of the mooring. Its fine if you always use a straight pontoon.

 

Just seen Jerra's post, same thing

Edited March 14, 2021 by ditchcrawler

[David Mack]

1 hour ago, Tracy D'arth said:

For  hooks on the roof edge, get some made of metal and cover them with hose to prevent paint scratches, the white plastic ones unfortunately are far too fragile, they break for fun.

 

Or buy the stainless steel cushioned ones from Midland Chandlers. A but pricey, but much neater and longer lasting than the plywood, plastic or mdf ones.

 

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

Edited March 14, 2021 by David Mack

[Sea Dog]

13 hours ago, Jackofalltrades said:

Will we get money knocked off the final bill for the non-supply & fitting of fender islets when we take delivery? Place your bets ?

It'll be subject to a variation order, so you'll be charged firstly for the meeting to discuss the request, then for drawings, then for the time to brief the guy who was going to do the cut outs, and again for the guy who was going to fit the fittings. After that, the cut outs will be cut out anyway, so you'll be charged for that, then the fitter will see the holes and use his initiative and fit the fittings anyway... well, new ones cos the originals you paid for were thrown away... for which you'll be charged.  On your next inspection or delivery, whichever comes first, you'll spot the mistake and tell the boss. There'll have to be a variation order if you want to make a change, which will be more expensive at this late stage (why did you leave it so long?). For what then happens, go back to the top of this post...

 

Or is this just the MoD procedure?