What's the Problem with fenders down while cruising?

[Jerra]

Another advantage of adjustable length fenders on hooks (well our anyway) is that being heavy and solid and sinkable they can be adjusted to sit underwater between the hull and the Shroppie shelf.

[adam1uk]

I've also spent two days stuck at a Thames lock while the divers were brought in to free a gate. Turned out to be a narrowboat pipe fender stuck underneath the gate.

 

 

Exactly -- nine time out of ten, when a lock gate won't close properly, it's because there's a fender sitting on the cill.

 

Then there was the case on the Trent and Mersey, where a boat leaving a lock got its dangly fender caught in the gate, which lifted it off the collar leaving the gate floating in the water -- and a stoppage, of course.

 

And how can you guarantee that something hitting your boat is going to do it in the inch and a half that the fender protects?

 

And they don't really protect the blacking anyway, because the swinging about leaves you with a semi-circle of rubbed blacking.

 

Pointless, except when moored.

[magictime]

 

I can see you've never held a piece of 3mm or 4mm steel plate in your hands and tried to bend it, say, over your knee if you think steel that thickness is fragile and needs protecting!!!

 

Hence 'never shake the feeling'. I know really that you're not going to punch a hole in a hull of 'thin' steel plate by bashing it against a bit of stone at walking pace, but it's that nagging voice saying 'better safe than sorry... 3.5mm doesn't sound much... everybody else's boat has steel twice as thick as ours...'

[Ex Brummie]

In the early days with a wooden Burnham Cruiser, I learned to lift fenders. I found out locks are not necessarily as wide at the bottom as at the top, and traversing Edstone Aqueduct with fenders down, the wind blew me against the side, the fenders rolled up and the fenders travelled the length on the outside of the aqueduct.(RED FACED or what?)

Front and rear fenders are a different matter. They are also a requirement for BSS.- Someone should really tell Canalbreaks.com as on the Oxford over the last 2 -3 weeks, I only saw one of their boats with a full complement.

[Alan de Enfield]

Front and rear fenders are a different matter. They are also a requirement for BSS.- Someone should really tell Canalbreaks.com as on the Oxford over the last 2 -3 weeks, I only saw one of their boats with a full complement.

 

Are they really ?

 

Our boat has neither front or rear fenders and has past passed its BSS a number of times.

 

Would you be kind enough to point out the relevant section in the BSS for me.

 

Edit for spull chucka

Edited August 21, 2016 by Alan de Enfield

[pig]

Well you've certainly given me food for thought.

If nothing else I will raise the front left fender the extra inch so it's out of the water; should correct that pull to the left the boat's got, and get me more miles per gallon too.

Thanks.

[Murflynn]

Front and rear fenders are a different matter. They are also a requirement for BSS.

.................. as are roses and castles, and fake rivets ..............

[JohnEW2912]

Both when I did my inland helmsman's certificate in 2002 and on a refresher day three weeks ago I was told always to raise fenders when moving.

Mind you I am rarely on the tiller with my shirt tucked in........

[roland elsdon]

Please continue to

1) boat with your fenders on

2) fail to pick up your nappy pins

3) leave your mooring pins

4) leave your windlasses on lock beams

 

I have full sets of all and spares due to your behaviours and I am thinking of opening an eBay shop.

[Starcoaster]

Has anyone mentioned the issues of the sinking-type pipe fenders, which when lost along the way, land on the bottom but leave the long trailing rope floating to catch the prop of another boat?

[system 4-50]

I get funny looks as I motor along - with a pair of 17" wheels floating alongside. But then I'm only travelling a few hundred yards from the water point to my mooring!

[Theo]

Isn't it like walking around with your shirt untucked?

Exactly so. Scruffy.

[rasputin]

Plastic boat fenders down all the time,plastic boat on the sea,fenders up when under way.

 

Maybe if some of you steel boats had fenders down in the locks, you may feel able to let the water in a lot faster

[Jerra]

Plastic boat fenders down all the time,plastic boat on the sea,fenders up when under way.

 

Maybe if some of you steel boats had fenders down in the locks, you may feel able to let the water in a lot faster

And jam and sink faster!

[Sea Dog]

Maybe if some of you steel boats had fenders down in the locks, you may feel able to let the water in a lot faster

 

I try not to let the water in at all - we've all seen the results!

[ditchcrawler]

Mine only go down when I moor up! I do that less often than you go through locks

 

Richard

Same

[dave moore]

Load of crap from Rasputin. I'm happy to pull paddles up quickly anyway, decent fenders at both ends prevent problems. Dave

[RLWP]

Plastic boat fenders down all the time,plastic boat on the sea,fenders up when under way.

Maybe if some of you steel boats had fenders down in the locks, you may feel able to let the water in a lot faster

How do you make it come in faster? I'm not prepared to jemmy the gates open

 

Richard

[magpie patrick]

How do you make it come in faster? I'm not prepared to jemmy the gates open

 

Richard

 

Going uphill, with a decent fender, one performs the Stourbridge Manouvre with the boat pole

 

(also tested on the Huddersfield Canal)

 

Side fenders aren't much help though, unless you use one instead of the boat pole to wedge the gate open

[Guest]

Plastic boat fenders down all the time,plastic boat on the sea,fenders up when under way.

 

Maybe if some of you steel boats had fenders down in the locks, you may feel able to let the water in a lot faster

Misinformation. OK with a narrowboat in wide locks, but bloody dangerous in narrow locks.

[RLWP]

Misinformation. OK with a narrowboat in wide locks, but bloody dangerous in narrow locks.

 

We lift both paddles as quickly as possible - how do we make the water come on faster?

 

Richard

[Dave_P]

The only vaguely valid argument made in this whole thread about fenders is the one about safety in locks. (The rest are just snobbery and aesthetics). However the safety argument simply does not stand up to any proper scrutiny. Yes, fenders down can cause hang ups in locks but they can also protect from hang ups in locks, depending on the circumstances. I've seen both.

 

So if you like to put them up, fine. If you like to leave them down, also fine. Just don't use either option as an excuse to not remain vigilant at locks.

 

Boats can hang in locks off the front and rear fenders. How many of you remove those every time you cruise?

[Dyertribe]

However the fender down permanently situation always reminds me of people who put up extravagant external christmas decorations on their homes, and then leave them all year presumably to save them the job of taking them down and putting them back up next time.

Rog

'Im indoors has been known to rant for a good two minutes on the subject of Christmas decorations left up all year. It doesn't help that the primary school directly opposite our office has done just that. He says he doesn't have any OCD tendencies but I wonder! He says he has CDO, he likes the letters in alphabetical order

[cheshire~rose]

 

Boats can hang in locks off the front and rear fenders. How many of you remove those every time you cruise?

 

Front and rear fenders should be fitted with a "weak link" meaning that that cannot hang up in locks. That is why it is safe to leave them on and, in the case of the rear fender it should cover the rudder which prevents the rudder becoming trapped in the gates and potentially causing the boat to sink (as was possibly the cause of a recent sinking in a lock.

 

Side fenders - even if they have a weak link can simply wedge the boat against the side of the lock and even if the rope, snaps they are already wedged and going nowhere

[bigcol]

On the coast fenders always brought back in and stored when leaving the marina.

Before entering a marina, or any close quartering then fenders come out, including some big locks.

 

On the canal yes we do leave them out, laziness maybe, close manovering, slow speed, tow path mooring up, and going into locks.

Not want to damage boat or others just in case

 

Being a wide beam going up or down stops scraping on the boat.im always in a lock by ourselves tho.

 

Surely as other posters says, whether you do or don't it's no ones business but your own.

 

Col