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Fenders while cruising


RichLech

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So is it customary to have the fenders down along the side of the boat while cruising? I've seen some with and some without.

 

 

They should not be down its a terrible habit,drives me around the bend when i see a boat with dangling fenders as it cruises by.Makes me shout and scream at the boater responsible.

 

Ian.

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Having just applied £600 quids worth of paint to the hull, my answer is yes laugh.gif

 

We always used them though anyway, they do protect the hull sides to some extent especially on rivers where the water level varies and sometimes concrete or metal moorings can do a fair amount of damage scraping paint off.

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When I started on the canals it was regarded as the height of poor boatmanship for a narrowboat to travel with side fenders down. They were only ever put down when you were moored up.

 

Nowadays half the people don't seem to care, and the design of some boats makes it almost impossible to remove them when under way. Not that I'm complaining, because they get ripped off in locks and tunnels, and I pick them up later and add the better ones to my collection. I got three good ones this year, two practically brand-new and one that was probably about 3 months old, which was good because a couple of mine were falling apart.

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They should not be down its a terrible habit,drives me around the bend when i see a boat with dangling fenders as it cruises by.Makes me shout and scream at the boater responsible.

 

Ian.

Good gracious, you're easily upset. Do you feel that shouting and screaming at (probably) several boats per day imroves the boating experience for you and other boaters?

Why are fenders less aesthetically pleasing when vertical than when they are laid horizontally on the side decks?

 

It does occur to me that your comment may have been in jest. I do hope so. I feel rather sorry for you if it wasn't. Come to think of it, we have cruised past your boat a few times (assuming it's the 'One Day' which sometimes moors north of Cropredy) and I did not notice anyone yelling their little socks off.

Edited by Athy
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They should not be down its a terrible habit,drives me around the bend when i see a boat with dangling fenders as it cruises by.Makes me shout and scream at the boater responsible.

 

Ian.

Maybe thats the Revs problem

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe thats the Rev?

  • Greenie 1
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Fenders up, fenders down, not important and do what you like. I'm a bit hacked with the purists out there, or any dictats on how you do your boating.

Assuming you have a standard width boat ie it fills a narrow lock or half a wide lock (including fenders)AND your fenders are not trailing in the water and thereby wasting fuel/warming my globals, then fenders down are fine by me.

Much better than risking a scrape as my recent experience when a fenderless boat was steered alongside by a gin-sodden twerp resulting in two yards of paint damage to my boat and virtually none to hers (fact, not sexism). The bottom line is CONTROL. A skipper should be in absolute control of the boat and crew in order not to cause harm or damage to others or the environment. If this is best served by fenders down then fenders down it is. It is also served by keeping 'reasonably'sober at the tiller.

 

Peter (by no means a killjoy) from NB 'Endjin'

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Fenders up, fenders down, not important and do what you like. I'm a bit hacked with the purists out there, or any dictats on how you do your boating.

Assuming you have a standard width boat ie it fills a narrow lock or half a wide lock (including fenders)AND your fenders are not trailing in the water and thereby wasting fuel/warming my globals, then fenders down are fine by me.

Much better than risking a scrape as my recent experience when a fenderless boat was steered alongside by a gin-sodden twerp resulting in two yards of paint damage to my boat and virtually none to hers (fact, not sexism). The bottom line is CONTROL. A skipper should be in absolute control of the boat and crew in order not to cause harm or damage to others or the environment. If this is best served by fenders down then fenders down it is. It is also served by keeping 'reasonably'sober at the tiller.

 

Peter (by no means a killjoy) from NB 'Endjin'

 

This is not true, there are many locks on the system where a typical narrowboat with fenders down will get stuck.

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Our marina is next to one of the narrowest locks on the system. So, its fenders up ASAP after leaving. However we put them down for the end of day; and if stopping at a marina with new decking etc (more to protect the decking, than our boat). If we had a day which was entirely spent on a broad canal, or entirely on a lock-free section then might leave them down, just to save the walk along the gunnels to raise (half of (if you remember to put them up the start of the day!)) them. But I think that's only occurred once or twice - on the Bridgewater.

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When I started on the canals it was regarded as the height of poor boatmanship for a narrowboat to travel with side fenders down. They were only ever put down when you were moored up.

 

Nowadays half the people don't seem to care, and the design of some boats makes it almost impossible to remove them when under way. Not that I'm complaining, because they get ripped off in locks and tunnels, and I pick them up later and add the better ones to my collection. I got three good ones this year, two practically brand-new and one that was probably about 3 months old, which was good because a couple of mine were falling apart.

I have not bought a side fender in over 10 years, we even picked up a good button the other week. Keep using them I say, especially when going in and out of locks.

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I know what you mean but it's a bit nit-picking when my gist was obvious.

 

The carrying boats did not have much in the way of side fenders and largely didn't need them as a profesional boatman would rarely do more than 'kiss' the bank/lock/ whatever. (my romantic view and probably as untrue as life itself).

My father (ex petty officer)would no doubt quote Queens regs on setting orf on a jolly boat with fenders down (ten lashes) but don't get confused between over-crewed spit-and -polish RN bull and what goes on ont cut.

Do whatever you are comfortable with as long as you don't cause harm.

 

Peter.

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I have put swivel shackles on our side fenders. We usually lift them before setting out. On the odd occasion they do fall I have never lost one in a tunnel or lock. The swivel shackle allows them to roll up the side of the boat without twisting the suspension rope.

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We always used them though anyway, they do protect the hull sides to some extent especially on rivers where the water level varies and sometimes concrete or metal moorings can do a fair amount of damage scraping paint off.

 

Unless you've got fenders every couple of inches, they won't necessarily protect the side of the boat anyway. By sod's law, whatever's sticking out won't coincide with where the fender is. What's more, it strikes me that the fenders themselves cause quite a bit of damage -- I'm always seeing boats with fenders down, and big semi-circular scrapes which the fenders have made.

 

They can also cause damage to infrastructure. There was a case on the Trent and Mersey where a dangly side fender got caught in the top gate of a lock as the boat left, and it lifted it off the collar -- necessitating a stoppage while a crane was brought in to lift the gate back into place.

 

Use them for mooring only.

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Unless you've got fenders every couple of inches, they won't necessarily protect the side of the boat anyway. By sod's law, whatever's sticking out won't coincide with where the fender is. What's more, it strikes me that the fenders themselves cause quite a bit of damage -- I'm always seeing boats with fenders down, and big semi-circular scrapes which the fenders have made.

 

They can also cause damage to infrastructure. There was a case on the Trent and Mersey where a dangly side fender got caught in the top gate of a lock as the boat left, and it lifted it off the collar -- necessitating a stoppage while a crane was brought in to lift the gate back into place.

 

Use them for mooring only.

 

Well we were on the water for nay on 2 years, never pulled the fenders up once, went through many locks without a problem, never lost a fender. On the river in Kingsmead Bath on a concrete mooring we moored along with my brothers boat for quite some time. Our fenders saved damage to our hull sides, brother's boat was badly scraped against the concrete.

 

As you can see here our rubbing strake is above the concrete edge, even more so when the river rises, my brothers boat is mored alongside as it completely stripped the paint from his hull side when moored originally behind me.

 

OnTheRiver013.jpg

 

They did though remove bitumen from the sides of the boat with ease in the areas they're affixed, hence now coating the boat hull in 6 coats of Jotun this will solve that problem. The only damage to the hull sides was rust on the waterline where the bitumen fell away. My brothers boat (no fenders) suffered much more damage overall and we were in the water the same amount of time mostly cruising together.

 

Fenders work wink.gif

If they upset people Tuff laugh.gif

Will I pull them up, NO laugh.gif

Do I care what others think NO laugh.gif

 

Oh and they don't trail in the water either, so there tongue.gif

 

 

 

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As you can see here our rubbing strake is above the concrete edge, even more so when the river rises, my brothers boat is mored alongside as it completely stripped the paint from his hull side when moored originally behind me.

 

No-one is arguing about using fenders when moored -- that's sensible (I'd say essential). We're talking about using fenders when cruising, which is unnecessary and potentially bad for all the reasons people have mentioned.

 

They did though remove bitumen from the sides of the boat with ease in the areas they're affixed, hence now coating the boat hull in 6 coats of Jotun this will solve that problem.

 

As I said, they cause more damage than they prevent. Or in your case, they cause you to have to put six coats on.

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No-one is arguing about using fenders when moored -- that's sensible (I'd say essential). We're talking about using fenders when cruising, which is unnecessary and potentially bad for all the reasons people have mentioned.

 

 

 

As I said, they cause more damage than they prevent. Or in your case, they cause you to have to put six coats on.

 

 

I'm yet to hear a good argument why they're a problem whilst cruising.

 

Boat was recoated in Jotun 2 pack due to inadequacy of bitumen at the waterline, nothing to do with fenders.

 

 

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I am personally far more concerned with the potential danger of people navigating with their head up their arse over other peoples fenders. if you want to buck for membership of the royal yacht squadron then it's the kind of thing to get upset about but if you're not a poseur then what the hell.

  • Greenie 2
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I am personally far more concerned with the potential danger of people navigating with their head up their arse over other peoples fenders. if you want to buck for membership of the royal yacht squadron then it's the kind of thing to get upset about but if you're not a poseur then what the hell.

 

Well, each to his own indeed.

 

However, in this case, there are documented cases of fenders left down causing damage to infrastructure, or blocking the job for an extended period.

 

There is also the fact that fenders left down leave nasty dirty marks on the side of the boat.

 

I don't get too stressed about other people doing it, but I wouldn't do it myself, and it does colour my initial perception of the likely ability of the steerer.

  • Greenie 1
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If you read tthe thread fully, you'll note that the lock gate was missing a bolt, so not entirely the fault of a fender although contributary. Also our fenders are connected to fender eyes which have a Brass pin running through the eye, any extreme force and his pin will snap releasing the fender, if the lock gate had not had a fault, i would bet the fender eye bar would have snapped before lifting off a lock gate.

 

 

 

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