Rear Fender

[Kipper 2]

My boat is a 2007 Liverpool Boat. My issue is that the rudder sticks out at the back beyond the stern about 17”. 
A normal rear fender does not quite extend enough to protect the rudder if in a lock. 
Can anyone suggest any ideas?

At the moment I’ve two fenders chained together in tandem, but to be honest this looks a bit silly.

[Tony Brooks]

Just now, Kipper 2 said:

My boat is a 2007 Liverpool Boat. My issue is that the rudder sticks out at the back beyond the stern about 17”. 
A normal rear fender does not quite extend enough to protect the rudder if in a lock. 
Can anyone suggest any ideas?

At the moment I’ve two fenders chained together in tandem, but to be honest this looks a bit silly.

 

Apart from welding, a steel stand-off on the stern so you only need one fender, I think anything else would either compromise the handing or be massively expensive.

 

Otherwise, you could think about one of the steel and rubber "hire boat" rear fenders.

[Ray T]

Either one or two tipcat fenders and a button fender.

[Tonka]

9 minutes ago, Kipper 2 said:

My boat is a 2007 Liverpool Boat. My issue is that the rudder sticks out at the back beyond the stern about 17”. 
A normal rear fender does not quite extend enough to protect the rudder if in a lock. 
Can anyone suggest any ideas?

At the moment I’ve two fenders chained together in tandem, but to be honest this looks a bit silly.

How does two tipcat fenders look silly

[Rob-M]

Looks alright on these...

 

[Chris John]

You can get fender extensions which are basically a thinner fender that goes behind your existing fender or get a longer one made. Plenty of places that make fenders. There’s a place on Braunston marina. I bought mine from a roving trader 

[Kipper 2]

That’s what I have at the moment.

[Mike Tee]

Blimey, how long is the rudder?

[IanM]

This is what we have on our Liverpool shell.  We had additional eyes welded to the deck to fit the tipcat as originally it just had the two buttons.

 

Edited June 4, 2025 by IanM

[blackrose]

4 hours ago, Mike Tee said:

Blimey, how long is the rudder?

 

...the rudder sticks out at the back beyond the stern about 17”

[Binkie's Grandson]

I make fenders and have made long buttons up to 22" long, but I generally wouldn't recommend anything longer than 18". For the cores, I use a combination of old tyre treads wound up tightly and coiled 1.5" diameter rope; for the longest ones I have even connected two tyre cores together. However, these long buttons do risk drooping over time or buckling under a heavy impact, and they just look silly (IMHO). You really only need about 3-4" of protection longer than the rudder and you are better off with a combination of tipcats and buttons for two main reasons; the button can easily be pulled out of the way if you are in a tight lock or winding hole; and the button also takes the majority of the wear and tear, so can be replaced at relatively low cost. Your particular setup seems to have only two fixing points, but you have added a third chain wrapped around the tiller bearing, which is far from ideal as this risks damaging your bearing or even the rudderstock. You may have another central point below the fender, which long buttons often utilise, but for the reasons given above, this does make it difficult to move the fender quickly, when needed. In the long-term, you might want to consider having two additional points welded on so that you can fit a combination of tipcat(s) and a button (A temporary fix could be achieved by adding two pieces of flat bar drilled at each end, with an eyelet at one end and bolted down with the same bolts for the tiller bearing, but I would only recommend this temporarily as any forces on the bearing that it is not designed for could be a problem). As you will see from the various photos sent by others, the tipcat(s) fit to the wider points and the button chains run over the top to two narrower points; if you do decide to weld on some additional points, the wider points should be about 26" apart and the narrow about 12" apart.

When I make tipcats, they are typically each 7" thick, combined with a simple button of similar dimensions or the more decorative Barlow button option about 11", so you can work out what you need to protect your rudder. However, if you want fewer tipcats, these can be made thicker to suit.

https://www.facebook.com/KnotforProfitFenders/

[Tonka]

33 minutes ago, Binkie's Grandson said:

I make fenders and have made long buttons up to 22" long, but I generally wouldn't recommend anything longer than 18". For the cores, I use a combination of old tyre treads wound up tightly and coiled 1.5" diameter rope; for the longest ones I have even connected two tyre cores together. However, these long buttons do risk drooping over time or buckling under a heavy impact, and they just look silly (IMHO). You really only need about 3-4" of protection longer than the rudder and you are better off with a combination of tipcats and buttons for two main reasons; the button can easily be pulled out of the way if you are in a tight lock or winding hole; and the button also takes the majority of the wear and tear, so can be replaced at relatively low cost. Your particular setup seems to have only two fixing points, but you have added a third chain wrapped around the tiller bearing, which is far from ideal as this risks damaging your bearing or even the rudderstock. You may have another central point below the fender, which long buttons often utilise, but for the reasons given above, this does make it difficult to move the fender quickly, when needed. In the long-term, you might want to consider having two additional points welded on so that you can fit a combination of tipcat(s) and a button (A temporary fix could be achieved by adding two pieces of flat bar drilled at each end, with an eyelet at one end and bolted down with the same bolts for the tiller bearing, but I would only recommend this temporarily as any forces on the bearing that it is not designed for could be a problem). As you will see from the various photos sent by others, the tipcat(s) fit to the wider points and the button chains run over the top to two narrower points; if you do decide to weld on some additional points, the wider points should be about 26" apart and the narrow about 12" apart.

When I make tipcats, they are typically each 7" thick, combined with a simple button of similar dimensions or the more decorative Barlow button option about 11", so you can work out what you need to protect your rudder. However, if you want fewer tipcats, these can be made thicker to suit.

https://www.facebook.com/KnotforProfitFenders/

And they are good fenders at a good price

[Sundodger]

Why not just hold the rudder to one side when in locks?

[Rob-M]

Not very wise, what do you do when you have to single hand a lock.

[David Mack]

15 minutes ago, Sundodger said:

Why not just hold the rudder to one side when in locks?

On some boats that will result in the end of the tiller catching the wall in narrow locks.

[cuthound]

29 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

Not very wise, what do you do when you have to single hand a lock.

 

Tiller strings?

[Ray T]

Don't tiller strings usually hold the tiller / rudder in a fore aft position?

 

[cuthound]

20 hours ago, Ray T said:

Don't tiller strings usually hold the tiller / rudder in a fore aft position?

 

 

Traditionally yes, but can easily be adapted to hold the tiller over to one side or other.

[jim mitchell]

On 04/06/2025 at 12:33, Tony Brooks said:

Apart from welding, a steel stand-off on the stern so you only need one fender, I think anything else would either compromise the handing or be massively expensive.

 

Not so sure about the aesthetics but would a substantial 'bustle'  style locker about a foot long and deep 2-3 ft wide be of use - it would allow for needing just one tipcat and alow some extra external storage space. 

[Kipper 2]

On 05/06/2025 at 12:01, Binkie's Grandson said:

I make fenders and have made long buttons up to 22" long, but I generally wouldn't recommend anything longer than 18". For the cores, I use a combination of old tyre treads wound up tightly and coiled 1.5" diameter rope; for the longest ones I have even connected two tyre cores together. However, these long buttons do risk drooping over time or buckling under a heavy impact, and they just look silly (IMHO). You really only need about 3-4" of protection longer than the rudder and you are better off with a combination of tipcats and buttons for two main reasons; the button can easily be pulled out of the way if you are in a tight lock or winding hole; and the button also takes the majority of the wear and tear, so can be replaced at relatively low cost. Your particular setup seems to have only two fixing points, but you have added a third chain wrapped around the tiller bearing, which is far from ideal as this risks damaging your bearing or even the rudderstock. You may have another central point below the fender, which long buttons often utilise, but for the reasons given above, this does make it difficult to move the fender quickly, when needed. In the long-term, you might want to consider having two additional points welded on so that you can fit a combination of tipcat(s) and a button (A temporary fix could be achieved by adding two pieces of flat bar drilled at each end, with an eyelet at one end and bolted down with the same bolts for the tiller bearing, but I would only recommend this temporarily as any forces on the bearing that it is not designed for could be a problem). As you will see from the various photos sent by others, the tipcat(s) fit to the wider points and the button chains run over the top to two narrower points; if you do decide to weld on some additional points, the wider points should be about 26" apart and the narrow about 12" apart.

When I make tipcats, they are typically each 7" thick, combined with a simple button of similar dimensions or the more decorative Barlow button option about 11", so you can work out what you need to protect your rudder. However, if you want fewer tipcats, these can be made thicker to suit.

https://www.facebook.com/KnotforProfitFenders/

Some really good ideas, thank you.