Bow fenders

[Mark R]

Morning guys,

 

Just bought a new boat and it came with a U Bow fender (not attached to the boat). My questions are, is this the best type of fender for a narrowboat bow? The chains are rather small, obviously these can be extended using chain and a D shackle, why is it fenders I’ve seen come with short lengths of chain?

 

Finally, if I do attach this fender, where on the bow should it actually sit? There don’t seem to be many pictures on line and I haven’t seen any boats locally with them fitted.

 

Mark

 

[Tracy D'arth]

Fit it so that its the first thing to hit the other boat broadside.

[MtB]

2 minutes ago, Mark R said:

Just bought a new boat and it came with a U Bow fender (not attached to the boat).

 

Bow fenders are always awkward to arrange and difficult to fit in my limited experience. Reading between the lines I'd say the sellers bought the nice fender then couldn't work out how to fit it, so just left it unfitted it for you to do! It needs arranging right over the prow so the fender hits (say) a lock gate rather than any metal of the boat. 

 

Congrats on the new boat by the way!

 

 

[Mark R]

Thanks both, really appreciate your input! Assumed it'd be the foremost part of the bow (learned a new word there MtB), stupidly I didn't measure chain thickness but assuming it's around 4mm, does that sound about right? It looks to be galvanised chain, do people remove this to the last link on the fender and relace it with stainless steel or just add to it using the same material? I'm assuming there is nothing better than a D shackle to make the connector?

[MtB]

14 minutes ago, Mark R said:

I didn't measure chain thickness but assuming it's around 4mm, does that sound about right?

 

With canal boats there are very few 'standard' ways of doing things. The chain will be whatever the fender-maker had to hand on the day s/he made yours. Sizes and materials vary. To match it you'll have to measure it! Also don't worry much about extra chain being the same. Fenders are consumable items and yours will get worn and battered.

 

But yes "D" shackles are the most common way of joining chain. Small carabiners work too. 

 

 

[Mark R]

 

8 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

With canal boats there are very few 'standard' ways of doing things. The chain will be whatever the fender-maker had to hand on the day s/he made yours. Sizes and materials vary. To match it you'll have to measure it! Also don't worry much about extra chain being the same. Fenders are consumable items and yours will get worn and battered.

 

But yes "D" shackles are the most common way of joining chain. Small carabiners work too. 

 

 

 

Thanks MtB, think I'll fit what has been left and replace it with something a little more substantial if it looks a bit weedy/useless. 

[blackrose]

23 minutes ago, Mark R said:

It looks to be galvanised chain, do people remove this to the last link on the fender and relace it with stainless steel 

 

If you are having to add more chain to get the fender to fit then yes I'd cut the chain off to the link sticking out of the fender and attach stainless with stainless D shackles. There seem to be different standards of galvanizing chain and I've had some go horribly rusty. The remaining galvanised links inside the fender may still go rusty of course, but at least they're hidden and they'll last for many years. 

 

Also it's a good idea to add weak links when attaching fenders so that if the fender gets caught on a lock gate it will snap. People generally use (6mm) cable ties.

[MtB]

39 minutes ago, Mark R said:

 

 

Thanks MtB, think I'll fit what has been left and replace it with something a little more substantial if it looks a bit weedy/useless. 

 

Another point is you'll probably need to have some more loops welded to the hull as those in the photo look far too close to the stem post for the fender you have. Or sell the posh fender and buy a basic 'button' fender which suit those loops better.

[David Mack]

1 hour ago, Mark R said:

 

 

Thanks MtB, think I'll fit what has been left and replace it with something a little more substantial if it looks a bit weedy/useless. 

You don't need anything more substantial - quite the opposite. You want the fender chains to fail if the fender gets caught in/under/over a beam as you are rising or falling in locks.

1 hour ago, blackrose said:

Also it's a good idea to add weak links when attaching fenders so that if the fender gets caught on a lock gate it will snap. People generally use (6mm) cable ties.

But use black ones which are less susceptible to UV degradation in sunlight than white.

Fit weak links to two of the three chains with a complete chain/shackle connection to one side. That way you won't lose the fender completely if it does get caught up.

[Jon57]

5 hours ago, Mark R said:

 

 

Thanks MtB, think I'll fit what has been left and replace it with something a little more substantial if it looks a bit weedy/useless. 

Something like this. 😁

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

Don’t a bow fender need a bit of knocking in to place?

Doing a few locks will help put a bit of a groove in the back of the fender so it sits and remains central,

and then adjust the links accordingly,

[MrsM]

Reinforcing the importance of having a sacrificial connection on the fender. We had a scary moment a few years ago on one of the Chester locks when our fender caught on a protruding bolt while ascending and the bow was held down briefly until the link gave way. 

[ditchcrawler]

I attach mine to the boat with cord chopping the chain off at the first link sticking out 

[Onewheeler]

I use small brass d-shackles. They look fairly tidy, break when necessary and don't degrade with UV.

[Paul C]

You don't NEED a sacrificial link in the chain supporting a fender. What you do need, is some way of ensuring the fender doesn't hang up (or pin down) the boat. If it has a slight slope in the top, it will push the boat back if caught going up. And if the chains aren't too tight and its located near the top, it will ride up if caught going down.

[Peugeot 106]

I got mine caught descending a lock near Middlewhich. The bow must have dropped about a foot with a massive splash when the sacrificial cable tie snapped. OK someone else was operating the lock and I was talking to the boat in the lock with me not paying attention. He got as big a fright as I did……

[MtB]

9 minutes ago, Peugeot 106 said:

I got mine caught descending a lock near Middlewhich. The bow must have dropped about a foot with a massive splash when the sacrificial cable tie snapped. OK someone else was operating the lock and I was talking to the boat in the lock with me not paying attention. He got as big a fright as I did……

 

 

Similar story to you except the lock was filling.

 

As usual I had stupidly allowed myself to become engaged in casual conversation by a by-stander and two minutes later the bow fender got stuck in the lock gate without me noticing. It broke free when the bow was within a few inches of going under (from the wet waterline!), the boat popped up grabbing our attention and a big wave ran up and down the lock several times.

 

Lucky escape. Always focus on the boat in a filling or emptying lock even if it means being rude to people trying to engage you in conversation.

 

 

 

 

[Peugeot 106]

2 hours ago, Paul C said:

You don't NEED a sacrificial link in the chain supporting a fender. What you do need, is some way of ensuring the fender doesn't hang up (or pin down) the boat. If it has a slight slope in the top, it will push the boat back if caught going up. And if the chains aren't too tight and its located near the top, it will ride up if caught going down.

Mine attached itself to a bolt sticking out so I don’t think it could have rolled out of the way.

[MrsM]

38 minutes ago, Peugeot 106 said:

Mine attached itself to a bolt sticking out so I don’t think it could have rolled out of the way.

As did ours. I would absolutely say that a sacrificial link (cable tie) saved us from a potentially serious incident.

Edited April 21 by MrsM

[Mark R]

15 hours ago, Jon57 said:

Something like this. 😁

 

Thats a pretty substantial fender compared to mine! The image helps me work out where I need to place it.

 

Thanks to everyone who commented. first thing I'll be doing is making sure I add a sacrificial link during installation!

 

[LadyG]

23 hours ago, blackrose said:

 

If you are having to add more chain to get the fender to fit then yes I'd cut the chain off to the link sticking out of the fender and attach stainless with stainless D shackles. There seem to be different standards of galvanizing chain and I've had some go horribly rusty. The remaining galvanised links inside the fender may still go rusty of course, but at least they're hidden and they'll last for many years. 

 

Also it's a good idea to add weak links when attaching fenders so that if the fender gets caught on a lock gate it will snap. People generally use (6mm) cable ties.

Yes, exactly, why replace the possibly undersized chain with strong chain and then insert a weak link of unknown strength. I'd just coat the existing links with paint,  and attach with whatever linkage you have to hand. It can be redesigned at a later date if necessary. Personally I'd rather use a bit of cord rather than cable ties, easier to cut should that be necessary.

I'd say that fender looks a bit undersized, have a look at other boats of the same prow design and see what they have come up with.

In my opinion the main fender function is to prevent you catching on lock doors, which can have several designs to catch the unwary. 

Edited April 22 by LadyG

[Francis Herne]

With such a long and narrow 'nose' at the top of the stem, I think you'd be better off with a more notched-shape fender:

 

The wide straight one you have could go lower down to protect against piling etc., or just sell it on.

 

Alternatively, I'd be tempted to try hanging it vertically rather than horizontally, something like the rubber thing on recent Black Prince boats:

 

Not sure if it could be secured well enough laterally.

[Stroudwater1]

I suspect it will bash into a more rounded shape with a lump hammer, thats what we were advised to do recently with a tipcat fender?

 

We have some car tyre cut up across the tyre  and attached onto the front of the fender so the tyre tread runs up and down the front of the bow and thus when we seldom touch the bow on the top gate when ascending. This seems to give it some additional protection, and may reduce the chances of getting stuck on bolts . Ive seen a few boats with that set up. However your fender has a nice section that would be covered by such a tyre, which you may prefer not to do.  

[Mark R]

On 22/04/2024 at 11:11, Francis Herne said:

With such a long and narrow 'nose' at the top of the stem, I think you'd be better off with a more notched-shape fender:

 

The wide straight one you have could go lower down to protect against piling etc., or just sell it on.

 

Alternatively, I'd be tempted to try hanging it vertically rather than horizontally, something like the rubber thing on recent Black Prince boats:

 

Not sure if it could be secured well enough laterally.

 

Thanks Francis & Lady G, I fitted it yesterday and to be honest it didn't sit or look right. I think I'll buy a new one and pass this one on!