Protecting your paint from fender wear

[blackrose]

In windy conditions, how do you prevent your boat from being blown against whatever is cushioning it against the mooring and gradually wearing the paint away?

 

My boat rests against car tyres. I try to make sure the tyres are above the waterline so that when the tyre does inevitably wear the paint away it will be easier to repaint. However, due to rising river levels that isn't always possible. Perhaps I should just be tying up tighter so the boat doesn't move so much in the wind, but even though the rings I'm tied to can slide up and down on the risers, tying up too tightly is not a great idea on a river.

[MtB]

Mike you've jumped the gun.

 

it's FEBRUARY 1st, not APRIL 1st....!!!

[Wanted]

I get fender rash, interested to hear solutions..

[blackrose]

Mike you've jumped the gun.

 

it's FEBRUARY 1st, not APRIL 1st....!!!

 

I'm not joking about this Mike. I've just spent a lot of money applying 2-pack paint to my hull, and even though it's much harder wearing than bitumen it will eventually get worn off. If it gets worn off above the waterline I'm not too bothered, but dry docking isn't cheap to repair paint abrasion under the waterline.

 

This is what a tyre did to my bitumen when I was moored at Brentford. The rest of the bitumen was fine. I went out onto the Chiswick grid to repair it that time and I raised the tyre above the waterline after that.

 

 

On my current mooring that lower tyre is usually well above the waterline. I suppose I should just have a method of taking it away when the river level rises.That's not so easy as the tyre needs to be tied to keep it on the pole and prevent it from being pushed to one side or the other. The go-kart tyre just gets pulled up the pole when the river floods so it's always above the waterline.

 

Edited February 1, 2016 by blackrose

[billS]

You could perhaps tie some dead sheep between your boat and the jetty, as these are less abrasive than tyres. They are quite common floating down the rivers at this time of year. Try to avoid bursting them if possible

[MtB]

There was a bloke on the K&A at Reading with a beautiful pea green boat called the Owl and the Pussycat on his EOG mooring, who moored it with scaffold poles with hinges each end, presumably to address this problem.

 

At one end he had a pair in a triangle to locate the boat lengthways, and a single pole the other end just to hold it off the bank.

 

Sadly the boat is out on the bank now.

[bassplayer]

I rarely use fenders. As Les Allen said, that's what the rubbing strips are for. If you are moored to posts then I guess it's more of a problem. Just wondered if a bit if grease on the impact area from time to time might help?

[b0atman]

ordinary fenders between tyre and boat that can roll.

[gazza]

There was a bloke on the K&A at Reading with a beautiful pea green boat called the Owl and the Pussycat on his EOG mooring, who moored it with scaffold poles with hinges each end, presumably to address this problem.

 

At one end he had a pair in a triangle to locate the boat lengthways, and a single pole the other end just to hold it off the bank.

 

Sadly the boat is out on the bank now.

Some of our club members use pivoting scaffold pole arms with trailer hitches on the end. The tow ball is attached to the boat bow and stern.

A couple of stout cables keep the arms from twisting, this method allows the boats to rise and fall with no worries about altering ropes in times if flood.

It also stops the boat clattering the mooring as you point out.

[blackrose]

I rarely use fenders. As Les Allen said, that's what the rubbing strips are for. If you are moored to posts then I guess it's more of a problem. Just wondered if a bit if grease on the impact area from time to time might help?

 

Presumably Les Allen didn't moor on rivers very much? Yes, without the tyres the impacts can get very bed indeed when it gets windy or boats pass.

ordinary fenders between tyre and boat that can roll.

 

I tried that but it didn't really roll, it just got dragged backwards and forwards. You can see the pipe fender laying on the gunwale in my picture above.

Some of our club members use pivoting scaffold pole arms with trailer hitches on the end. The tow ball is attached to the boat bow and stern.

A couple of stout cables keep the arms from twisting, this method allows the boats to rise and fall with no worries about altering ropes in times if flood.

It also stops the boat clattering the mooring as you point out.

 

It's worth thinking about, thanks.

There was a bloke on the K&A at Reading with a beautiful pea green boat called the Owl and the Pussycat on his EOG mooring, who moored it with scaffold poles with hinges each end, presumably to address this problem.

 

 

 

The main reason people use scaffold poles/trailer hitches is because they don't have vertical pilings to rise against when the river level changes. I suppose there's nothing to stop one having both.

[gazza]

 

Presumably Les Allen didn't moor on rivers very much? Yes, without the tyres the impacts can get very bed indeed when it gets windy or boats pass.

 

 

I tried that but it didn't really roll, it just got dragged backwards and forwards. You can see the pipe fender laying on the gunwale in my picture above.

 

 

It's worth thinking about, thanks.

 

 

The main reason people use scaffold poles/trailer hitches is because they don't have vertical pilings to rise against when the river level changes. I suppose there's nothing to stop one having both.

No problem.

 

The most we normally see is +7' above that it starts getting a bit arse twitchy! never have a problem with the boats on the main river with this set up.

[Alan de Enfield]

Lumpy-Water boats use "Fender-Sox" (Socks) as the material is softer than the rubber of the fenders, and marks the paint or GRP much less.

 

Never seen Fender-Sox for car tyres but would guess a good equivalent would be to wrap a number of 'wraps' of hessian type stuff around the tyre, alternatively put an 'ice-board' along side the boat and let the tyres rub along that.

 

O' the joys of boat ownership.

[b0atman]

use yoghurt pot fenders between tyre and boat bigger diameter for rolling

[DHutch]

I must say, by the time your protecting the boat from the thing thats protecting it, its getting a bit thin end of the wedge! We do not loose sleep of the slight buffing of the blacking the occurs around the fenders. We also move them around a bit to suit where we are moored so its never in one place.

 

 

I dont know what the rest of the blacking looks like, but I would be far more worried about the adhesion issues (missing paint) than the slightly polished area due to the fender.

 

 

Daniel

[bizzard]

Woolly jacketed hot water bottles make good fenders and if filled with hot water will keep the river water from freezing.

Powerful strip magnets stuck vertically onto the boats hull side with corresponding ones stuck on the mooring poles or risers. Stuck on back to front 'like' with apposing poles facing each other, which will fight one and other forcibly to keep their distance, just like they've all had an argument and so provide and maintain permanent, non frictional and invisible fender gaps.

[blackrose]

alternatively put an 'ice-board' along side the boat and let the tyres rub along that.

 

 

I think I'll try that once this gale subsides and the river level goes down a bit.

[nb Innisfree]

Maybe knock up a collar that a tyre shod wheel could fix to and pivot round, then slide it down the pole? Boat would roll along them.

[blackrose]

I must say, by the time your protecting the boat from the thing thats protecting it, its getting a bit thin end of the wedge! We do not loose sleep of the slight buffing of the blacking the occurs around the fenders. We also move them around a bit to suit where we are moored so its never in one place.

 

I dont know what the rest of the blacking looks like, but I would be far more worried about the adhesion issues (missing paint) than the slightly polished area due to the fender.

 

 

Daniel

Thanks, but given some of the suggestions on this thread I don't think one necessarily has to protect the paint from whatever is protecting it. Also, your suggestion of moving fenders around to suit the mooring doesn't really work on a home mooring!

 

I wasn't at all worried about the polished blacking in the photo. I think you've misunderstood. The rest of the blacking was fine and the paint adhesion issues were actually caused by the tyre. The blistering appeared nowhere else on the hull.

Edited February 1, 2016 by blackrose

[DHutch]

... your suggestion of moving fenders around to suit the mooring doesn't really work on a home mooring!...]I can see that might not work on your mooring.

I can see that might not work on your mooring.

 

Alternatively however, if you can at least get the to rub above the waterline, repainting becomes much easier.

 

 

I wasn't at all worried about the polished blacking in the photo. I think you've misunderstood. The rest of the blacking was fine and the paint adhesion issues were actually caused by the tyre. The blistering appeared nowhere else on the hull.

I must stay I am surprised that the tyre/fender is actually appearing to be causing adhesion failure. A significant part of me things that perhaps the water-line adhesion isnt that great anywhere and the tyre is simply highlighting the issue, although it is also possible that you actually actually generating signification pressure between the two such as to cause adhesion failure?

 

I have only ever really seen buffing of the paint, or really just removal of dirt from it. I have just posted some photos of our blacking on another thread, but this is our boat after five years use. You can see an area a fender has been.

 

 

 

Daniel

[system 4-50]

Fix a board across 2 of your piles. Then have a floating wheel between the board and the boat. Adapt as necessary to cope with rise and fall.

I had a lot of scurffing of the paintwork when I was on a mooring with tyres installed by a previous bod.

Changing to floating wheels stopped the damage and made it so comfortable that I no longer care at what speed people pass by.

Floating wheels is obviously harder to arrange in your environment...

[Texasboater]

Would fitting large self adhesive clear vinyl patches to the hull where the contact is alleviate the issue?

[bassplayer]

Would fitting large self adhesive clear vinyl patches to the hull where the contact is alleviate the issue?

Yes but what do you do to protect the vinyl patches?

 

I still recon grease might work. At the end of the day the problem is abrasion. Perhaps left over Vaseline might work, or KY jelly...ahem...

[David Mack]

 

I'm not joking about this Mike. I've just spent a lot of money applying 2-pack paint to my hull, and even though it's much harder wearing than bitumen it will eventually get worn off. If it gets worn off above the waterline I'm not too bothered, but dry docking isn't cheap to repair paint abrasion under the waterline.

 

This is what a tyre did to my bitumen when I was moored at Brentford. The rest of the bitumen was fine. I went out onto the Chiswick grid to repair it that time and I raised the tyre above the waterline after that.

 

 

On my current mooring that lower tyre is usually well above the waterline. I suppose I should just have a method of taking it away when the river level rises.That's not so easy as the tyre needs to be tied to keep it on the pole and prevent it from being pushed to one side or the other. The go-kart tyre just gets pulled up the pole when the river floods so it's always above the waterline.

 

If you fix the fenders to the boat rather than the mooring you can ensure they stay above the waterline as the river rises and falls.

[tidal]

Lumpy-Water boats use "Fender-Sox" (Socks) as the material is softer than the rubber of the fenders, and marks the paint or GRP much less.

 

Never seen Fender-Sox for car tyres but would guess a good equivalent would be to wrap a number of 'wraps' of hessian type stuff around the tyre, alternatively put an 'ice-board' along side the boat and let the tyres rub along that.

 

O' the joys of boat ownership.

 

Fender socks and equivalents are fine if you can keep them clean.

If you don't they will grind your paintwork more than the tyres do.

Silt and (for lumpy boats) salt crystals make for a fine rubbing compound or in worst cases a grinding paste.

Wheels if you can use them are one solution but a board with tyres on the landward side and great big balloon fenders on boat side might be an answer. At least then you get to move the boat protection around

Though the latter tend to get nicked if they aren't watched carefully

[mango]

Woolly jacketed hot water bottles make good fenders and if filled with hot water will keep the river water from freezing.

Powerful strip magnets stuck vertically onto the boats hull side with corresponding ones stuck on the mooring poles or risers. Stuck on back to front 'like' with apposing poles facing each other, which will fight one and other forcibly to keep their distance, just like they've all had an argument and so provide and maintain permanent, non frictional and invisible fender gaps.

Great idea Bizzard and I'm glad you did not suggest magnetic monopoles.

 

Maybe the magnets on the boats could be the popular neodymium disc magnets disguised as fake rivets.