Fender ropes - how long please?

[OliveOyl]

Am busily preparing my boat for its transfer voyage and wan to attach some new fenders but need some guidance on how long my fender ropes should be please? 

 

I have some go-cart tyres (not rope fenders as yet) and have bought some proper fender rope, but need to know how far below the little eyelet things on my gunwales  I should hang them?

 

Thanks, as ever,

Olive ?

[howardang]

9 minutes ago, OliveOyl said:

Am busily preparing my boat for its transfer voyage and wan to attach some new fenders but need some guidance on how long my fender ropes should be please? 

 

I have some go-cart tyres (not rope fenders as yet) and have bought some proper fender rope, but need to know how far below the little eyelet things on my gunwales  I should hang them?

 

Thanks, as ever,

Olive ?

Hang them so they cover the rubbing strakes/gunwales or whatever that proturde the most, but allow a little more slack  so that you can adjust them as required to allow for any protrusions such as low pontoons, landing stages etc. When tying to the fender hangers try to make your knots easy to undo to allow for adjustments- ideally with a round turn and two half hitches or something similar. 

 

Howard

[furnessvale]

Sometimes there is a shelf just below the waterline so my fender ropes are long enough to drop the fender into the water and, of course, they are then adjustable shorter as required.

 

The most important thing is, do not deploy them when moving, especially in locks.

 

George

[Robbo]

1 hour ago, OliveOyl said:

 

I have some go-cart tyres (not rope fenders as yet) and have bought some proper fender rope, but need to know how far below the little eyelet things on my gunwales  I should hang them?

 

Don’t use those eyelets, you’ll get in the habit of leaving your fenders down and the eyelets won’t last long anyhow. Hang from the hand rail when you moor up using something like below, you can then place where you need them.

 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2018 by Robbo

[mark99]

There is a knot can't remember its name where you slide adjust upwards the length but it locks going downwards. That way you have an adjustable rope length for all uses and adjust to perfect length.

 

Used with that hook above.

Edited May 12, 2018 by mark99

[rusty69]

2 minutes ago, mark99 said:

There is a knot can't remember its name where you slide adjust upwards the length but it locks going downwards. That way you have an adjustable rope length for all uses and adjust to perfect length.

 

Used with that hook above.

Rolling hitch?

[mark99]

Thought it was taut line hitch. May be same knot will have to look it up. I slo mo-od Ray Mears tieing it as it looked so easy.

[Athy]

53 minutes ago, furnessvale said:

 

 

The most important thing is, do not deploy them when moving.

 

George

This is simple one-upmanship, surely, and has no practical disadvantage?

54 minutes ago, furnessvale said:

 

 

The most important thing is, do not deploy them ... in locks.

 

George

This is good advice, unless you have the slim "pipe" fenders which are generally O.K. Even those should be lifted for certain very narrow locks.

[mark99]

Fenders on moving boats looks "shabby". Only imo.

 

Next minute, you allow  weeds  to grow from fenders unfettered. Its a slippery slope.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2018 by mark99

[ditchcrawler]

21 minutes ago, Athy said:

This is simple one-upmanship, surely, and has no practical disadvantage?

This is good advice, unless you have the slim "pipe" fenders which are generally O.K. Even those should be lifted for certain very narrow locks.

You swipe them off in locks when they catch in between the wall and the gate or you can even get wedged like Napton and Herlston for two well known examples, even pipe ones can get ripped off, I know I have collected plenty.

[Rob-M]

Pipe fenders in locks is a bad idea, often they catch whilst exiting the lock and snap off leaving fender and but of rope just below the surface for the next boat in to the lock to pick up on their blades as they engage reverse to stop.

[ditchcrawler]

Any who do Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/NarrowboatOwnersGroup/permalink/2090039124607698/

[Athy]

33 minutes ago, mark99 said:

Fenders on moving boats looks "shabby". Only imo.

 

Next minute, you allow  weeds  to grow from fenders unfettered. It's a slippery slope.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To me, fenders plonked on the gunwales look more shabby. They also mean that walking along the side deck may not be safe.

I gather that you're joking about the weeds - though there's at least one impressive stern-button garden on the Cropredy moorings.

[ditchcrawler]

2 minutes ago, Athy said:

 

I gather that you're joking about the weeds - though there's at least one impressive stern-button garden on the Cropredy moorings.

I doubt it, I have seen Moorhen nests in them

Edited May 12, 2018 by ditchcrawler
Delete some of the original

[Boat&Bikes]

22 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

Pipe fenders in locks is a bad idea, often they catch whilst exiting the lock and snap off leaving fender and but of rope just below the surface for the next boat in to the lock to pick up on their blades as they engage reverse to stop.

I used to go into locks with fenders down. Then about 4 years ago 1 of them wedged between boat and gate as I steered into the lock. I heard the rope strain and then it freed itself, the fender shot past my head catching me a glancing blow. It scared me and had it caught me full on I’m sure it could  have knocked me out. Never again! 

[dmr]

Pipe fenders are the work of the devil, a sinking fender with a floating rope, so when they get pulled off they end up on the bottom with the rope floating upwards waiting to attach to somebodies prop. I reckon to pick up one most years.  I note that Manchester ship canal rules actually bans sinking fenders but I suspect this is not enforced for pleasure craft.

 

Gunnel mounted fenders are not a good idea but are increasingly popular, as Robbo says, they should be fixed to the handrail or roof. Fenders should not be deployed whilst cruising, they Will get torn off in locks, so if gunnel mounted the only place for them is on the gunnel which is not good. If you have fenders down and do get jammed in a lock then lifting gunnel mounted fenders is really difficult.

 

Fenders down on Weaver locks is probably a good idea, big locks so no chance of getting jammed and fenders help prevent gunnels getting caught on the protruding stones.

 

...........Dave

[ditchcrawler]

It was just below Hunts where I got my last fender and rope round the prop.

2 minutes ago, dmr said:

Pipe fenders are the work of the devil, a sinking fender with a floating rope, so when they get pulled off they end up on the bottom with the rope floating upwards waiting to attach to somebodies prop. I reckon to pick up one most years.  I note that Manchester ship canal rules actually bans sinking fenders but I suspect this is not enforced for pleasure craft.

 

Gunnel mounted fenders are not a good idea but are increasingly popular, as Robbo says, they should be fixed to the handrail or roof. Fenders should not be deployed whilst cruising, they Will get torn off in locks, so if gunnel mounted the only place for them is on the gunnel which is not good. If you have fenders down and do get jammed in a lock then lifting gunnel mounted fenders is really difficult.

 

Fenders down on Weaver locks is probably a good idea, big locks so no chance of getting jammed and fenders help prevent gunnels getting caught on the protruding stones.

 

...........Dave

 

[dmr]

1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:

It was just below Hunts where I got my last fender and rope round the prop.

 

Just came down Hunts lock about two hours ago, getting more and more addicted to the Weaver. Centre line not quite long enough for Hunts lock so as we get to the bottom have to raise an arm and hang on to very end of centre line which causes lock keepers a bit of amusement.

 

I don't usually deploy fenders but have tried it this year as the Weaver locks do often take a bit of paint off the gunnel edge when going up. After ten years we still have all original fenders but have a had a few near misses, including the "catapult" accident as described by ianali

 

.............Dave

[Neil2]

Narrowboats have rubbing strakes instead of fenders and once upon a time grp boats that were designed for canal use had substantial timber strakes that serve the same purpose.  i just don't see the need for fenders on a narrowboat and as others have said the potential for them to get rubbed off means they can be a definite hazard to other boats.  Didn't Mike the Boilerman have a gearbox wrecked as a result of snagging one of those rubber sausage fenders?

[mark99]

When you are moored up fine. Stops clanking  noise.

[rusty69]

2 hours ago, rusty69 said:

Rolling hitch?

 

2 hours ago, mark99 said:

Thought it was taut line hitch. May be same knot will have to look it up. I slo mo-od Ray Mears tieing it as it looked so easy.

Wikipedia. Looks like a taut line hitch uses a rolling hitch on the standing part, and a loop.

 

The taut-line hitch is an adjustable loop knot for use on lines under tension. It is useful when the length of a line will need to be periodically adjusted in order to maintain tension. It is made by tying a rolling hitch around the standing part after passing around an anchor object. Tension is maintained by sliding the hitch to adjust size of the loop, thus changing the effective length of the standing part without retying the knot

[adam1uk]

1 hour ago, Athy said:

To me, fenders plonked on the gunwales look more shabby. They also mean that walking along the side deck may not be safe.

I gather that you're joking about the weeds - though there's at least one impressive stern-button garden on the Cropredy moorings.

We have carbine hooks on ours, so they get clipped onto the fender eyes in the gunwales when we moor up, and get taken off again before we set off.

[Athy]

14 minutes ago, adam1uk said:

We have carbine hooks on ours, so they get clipped onto the fender eyes in the gunwales when we moor up, and get taken off again before we set off.

That obviously suits you, whatever a "carbine hook" may be, but it sounds like a minor waste of effort. Ours hang down from the handrails on the roof. 

[mrsmelly]

33 minutes ago, adam1uk said:

We have carbine hooks on ours, so they get clipped onto the fender eyes in the gunwales when we moor up, and get taken off again before we set off.

Yep spot on. We have carbine hooks attached to the fender rope. Our shell has eyes welded at three points either side on the roof with stainless steel shackles on. Whichever side we moor simply snap the hook to the shackle. Quick and easy and NEVER attached when on the move.

[bizzard]

Tie them on securely though.

Just now, bizzard said:

Tie them on securely though.

No, sorry, wrong knot. Thats he ''Time knot'' that gradually undoes itself automatically as the tide drops.