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Fenders? Really? Yep I have a question about Fenders...

6K views 32 replies 20 participants last post by  mooregm5 
#1 ·
Hello;

Well I have been planning and planning and researching and more planning for a refit and sail from Annapolis to Toronto for a few months. I have been able to dig up the answer to most of my questions but there are a few I will be posting and the first:

I didn't even think about fenders when I started to budget, I thought they would cost me about $40 a piece. Well I have started to look and I have found that they are going to cost anywhere from $65 to $100 depending on what I want...

So after trying to sort through the many of options in the fender market I was still at a loss. The plan was to buy 6 fenders and 2 fender boards for the transit through the Erie Canal. I was starting to get comfortable with the idea of spending $480 on fenders when today I am shopping at walmart and end up in the boating section (yeah I know walmart & boating supplies is an oxymoron...) and I find


Attwood 5x22 inch fenders for $11 a piece!?!?

I know these are not Taylor Tuff Ends or Big B's but I can't imagine that there is anything really wrong with them either.

The use they will see short term will be locking through multiple locks on the Erie canal. There will be a pair of fender boards, each using 3 fenders. The boat is a 33 foot Contest with 13,000 lbs displacement.

Any feedback? Am I missing something?

Robert
 
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#4 ·
Bundle 3 together in a canvas sock if in doubt and you have tons of protection.
 
#9 ·
Yeah, I was bit suprised too. There wasn't a lot of stuff but I found the fenders as well as a couple Attwood Tsunami T500 GPH Bilge Pump's for $19. You can't beat that price with a stick for a backup bilge pump. Not saying I would trust my boat to it but as a backup to hold you over if your primary fails...

Robert
 
#8 ·
But that is the heart of my question, the fenders you link me to would cost $240 for 6 were the walmart fenders would cost me $66 for 6. The only difference I see it that the West Marine fenders are bigger @ 8x26. Is there really that much of a difference for $180?
 
#10 ·
Buy the cheap fenders. I get most of mine from the dumpster.;) Before west marine's "sale" those fenders were $75 each. CRAZY!!!

The only thing I'd check about your fenders is do they deflate. Some super cheap ones don't and that makes them harder to store when you're cruising and the ones I have seen that don't deflate die pretty quickly.

Cheap fenders are fine. Don't get ripped off just because it's "marine".

MedSailor
 
#11 ·
Buy the cheap fenders. I get most of mine from the dumpster.;) Before west marine's "sale" those fenders were $75 each. CRAZY!!!

The only thing I'd check about your fenders is do they deflate. Some super cheap ones don't and that makes them harder to store when you're cruising and the ones I have seen that don't deflate die pretty quickly.

Cheap fenders are fine. Don't get ripped off just because it's "marine".

MedSailor
I remember when I was doing me sailing course in the Virgin Islands. We were getting read to go one day and a fender was floating by. The captain grabbed it with a boat hook, hauled it on board and called to each boat was we left the harbor. No one claimed it so he kept it. The thing was HUGE, bigger than any fender on the boat at the time.

I remember thinking "These things must not cost much if people let them float away."

:)
 
#16 ·
If you only need Fenders for a single passage through the canal, consider going by a tire shop and obtaining 4 or so discarded tires off of a relatively small car. They will very likely just give them to you to be rid of them. Thoroughly wrap the tires with several layers of stretch wrap and then affix them along your rails. At the end of your passage you can likely give them to someone headed in the opposit direction. There are tires at the Panama Canal that have been making round trip transits for years in this manner.

If you need/want large Fender's to keep, inflatable fenders have much to reccomend them. Again, stretch warp can be used to keep them clean and a 12v shop vac can be used to in- and deflate them. We have 4-5' long 20" diameter inflatable fenders stored in our lazerette locker that take up very little space.

FWIW...
 
#17 ·
you get what you pay for.Walmat is a great place to shop.If you have to you can roll up a blanket and tie it to the side of the boat.Any thing to keep the boat off the wall.Wait a couple bays after a storm in your marina and I bet you can find at least a couple floaters.
 
#18 ·
Ive had a few of these fenders, 8 x 20 something. they are what they are "cheap". I'd consider them disposable, pick up a few extras and keep them deflated in the lazerate for when one lets go. The eyes seem to be the weakest area, taking more than one turn should help spread the load ?

On the subject of fender covers , while covers range in price from about $20-30 bucks ( 8x27) you can make your own for less than $ 10 from a pair of sweets. Buying the Fruit-Of-The-Loom brand (color of choice) with the elastic on the bottom, cut to length sew in a quick hem thread some small stuff and there you have it. I generally get about two years out of a pair.
 
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#21 ·
On the subject of fender covers , while covers range in price from about $20-30 bucks ( 8x27) you can make your own for less than $ 10 from a pair of sweets. Buying the Fruit-Of-The-Loom brand (color of choice) with the elastic on the bottom, cut to length sew in a quick hem thread some small stuff and there you have it. I generally get about two years out of a pair.
Exelent idea!
 
#20 ·
Hello;

Well I have been planning and planning and researching and more planning for a refit and sail from Annapolis to Toronto for a few months. I have been able to dig up the answer to most of my questions but there are a few I will be posting and the first:

I didn't even think about fenders when I started to budget, I thought they would cost me about $40 a piece. Well I have started to look and I have found that they are going to cost anywhere from $65 to $100 depending on what I want...


Attwood 5x22 inch fenders for $11 a piece!?!?

Robert
You call those fenders??? I'll show you fenders!;) :)

Don't think you'll find these at Walmart or Crappy Tire!

 
#23 ·
Thanks Still,
Faster...I haven't seen a hockey sock in over 35 years, when the temp. drops below 70 I'm looking to move south ! :D
But beautiful cruising areas you have up there !
 
#29 ·
I might get a two pairs of the cheap's for the fender boards, $44 isn't a lot to add some cushion to those. Then I can look at 3 higher quality to cushion vital areas. I can always upgrade the cheapies next season.

I like the idea of stuffing 3 of them in a Hockey Sock!!! How Much More Canadian Can You Get!?!? :laugher

Robert
 
#33 ·
Small fenders

I would suggest a little larger than 5" fenders. We took our 25' Oday though the locks and back (~60 locks on our trip), and most go uneventful, but every few locks something very weird happens to a fender and it renders it useless.

Some things to consider (all of which happened more than once).

(1) For a bow fender you need something MUCH larger than 5", as you not only need to keep your bow off the wall, but the mast that sticks another 5'+ off the wall too. Remember your bow is rounded, and your boat usually not be parallel to the wall. This points your mast to the wall, and even an 8" fender can be too small here. Same things happens in the rear, just not as pronounced because the stern is wider. We used a 15" ball and it was about right for our boat. Then again we have a shorter boat and mast.

(2) Most locks have flat walls, but the locks undergo a major reconstruction about every 40-50 years on a rotating basis. Thus some locks have "holes" in the wall that literally swallow up a 10" fender. On our trip Erie Canal Lock 6 "ate" two adjacent 8" fenders, and if we did not keep the boat off the wall with our hands/hooks, the boat would have suffered some major damage. This is far more likely with 5" fenders. Fortunately Lock 6 is currently being refit for this coming year, and a major reason for boards.

(3) When tied to a dock your boat moves forward and back a foot or so before being kept by spring lines. In the lock you can move several feet, and also lower. This "rolls" your fender up and onto your deck. A 5" fender is smaller in both diameter and length. The shorter length hurts you here.

(4) Some locks, depending on water height, etc., will require your fenders to be a foot off the water, otherwise when the lock is full, your fenders would be too high. When you start to drop the low fenders are too small to keep the upper, wider part of the boat safely off the wall. This can easily be fixed by multiple fenders, some high, some low. But if your going to buy two small fenders, why not buy one larger one that is both wider and longer. Be careful of this on some of the middle Mohawk River Locks (12ish), some have less than 2 feet of clearance.

Now, I have at least two dozen of these old 5" fenders sitting in my yard. Most have either been found or came with a boat that needed larger ones. We use some for keeping on the dock year round or attached to temporary moorings, but the stock pile has just got too large. They are old and ugly, but all functional. So if you go with the cheap Wal-Mart ones, don't sweat it, they will work. Just put lots out (I would suggest at least 8 on your boat to help prevent the above issues).

PM me (or anyone else who is interested), depending on when you come through, I could sell you a bunch at $5 each. I could meet you at the Troy or Waterford docks. Who knew there was so much to say about fenders?
 
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