Well, you have to admit it would look a bit Beverly Hillbilly.

Taylor Made fenders have lifetime warranty against bursting or splitting. As you point out, they are expensive, but they are the last you'll ever pay for.

 

Well, you have to admit it would look a bit Beverly Hillbilly.

Taylor Made fenders have lifetime warranty against bursting or splitting. As you point out, they are expensive, but they are the last you'll ever pay for.

Actually that is what I have- the Big B I think they are called. Paid about $90 a piece. They do have life warranty- but read the fine print- does not cover "wear" damage- only burst or split. I got some old tires from my last tire change that are free. I will still use the Taylor- but think of letting the brunt of the fending be done by an old tire. Don't really care what it looks like, I'm tied to a "working" dock, just want to protect the boat.

 

On larger commercial vessels and tugs, tires are routinely used as fenders.

The good things about them are that they are nearly indestructible and cheap. They will be used for years in really harsh conditions without any problems. You can get them from the junkyard which is nice too.

There are many cons that you should be thinking about. The biggest one to me is that they will mark up your topsides unless you are really careful to isolate them. Due to the stiffness of even softer tires, you will find that the boat comes up much harder against the dock. Another issue is that they are very heavy and unwieldly. Everytime you pull them up over the rail, you will probably get soaked (drilling a drain hole will help some) and you are in for a workout. There are also the looks to think about.

Personally, I would buy a few high quality oversized fenders and go that route.

 

Due to the stiffness of even softer tires, you will find that the boat comes up much harder against the dock. .

Good point. Having the boat slam harder would be harder on boat hull as well as standing rigging (shock loads), I would think.

 

Another thought. I'm certain that our marina wouldn't allow them.

Check with yours, unless you've seen others using them.

 

Another thought. I'm certain that our marina wouldn't allow them.

Check with yours, unless you've seen others using them.

I'm not at a marina, it is called a boat harbor. Any thing goes as long as you do not drill holes in the dock, or use chains to the dock cleats. But a lot of boats have chains to the dock cleats, then go to an eye, then to dock line to the boat. The chain tears up the dock cleats, but the harbor master does not stop the practice. I do not use chain, but use anti chafe gear (old blue jeans and other materials). There are some boats using tires, whats the down side?

 

I've seen tires painted white and permanently tied to the dock itself. Not sure if that reduces the scuffing or just makes them look better.

 

If you want to use tires get them from the airport , no wire, not raidials & a better size....Dale

 

Good point, I was thinking if the radial wires come out, they could do a nice wire brushing of your hull.

 

No one has commented on whether fender boards combined with fenders might provide more protection? Also, maybe the municipal harbor would let you line the pier with running track surface, fire hose material, or something similar... or perhaps you could wrap the tires with something like fire hose fabric.

 

I am on a floating dock, which makes things easier. I can fix the tire to the dock and it will always fend the boat at the same position no matter what the tide (same with the taylor fenders I am now using- the main fender is tied of horozontally to the cleat on the dock). The dock does have a fending rub strip the full length, which is nice for small bumps, but not when the harbor really starts rocking and rolling.

As far as fender boards, I think they are used to span one piling to another, since my dock is a continuous floating dock, we do not have exposed pilings and no need for a fender board.

 

You could stop by a golf course and get some golf cart tires. Link them together to get the appropriate size. They are softer and no wires. It may work.

 

Talk to your slip neighbour... To your mutual benefit you could set up a couple of heavy duty bungee cords between the two boats, holding them both off the dock except for the times that one of you is away. If the space is adequate you won't need fenders between the boats, each boat can be tied so as to be a foot off the dock, and the bungees maintaining tension and the gap between boats is limited by your own dock lines.

When your neighbour is away for a time run the same idea across to the other finger.. you just need his/her agreement and cooperation but it shouldn't be a hard sell. We did this before after a fresh paint job.. didn't want fender rub and it worked for us both.

Raw tires are just wicked nasty.. covered tires works well but most marinas won't allow such heavy add-ons.

 

casey,

If you decide to leave the tires at the dock, I would recommend retying them to the boat when you get back. If they are securely tied to the boat, it will scuff your topsides a lot less as there will be much less relative movement between them and your topsides. If you tie them to the dock, your boat will have a lot of relative movement and it will make the aesthetic issue much worse.

I have never seen the steel belting come out of a tire but I could certainly see it happening. The worst thing that I have seen was someone who used studded tires without realizing it on a wooden boat. We used to use fenders in the summer and tires for the winter so the scuffing wasn't a big deal for us as things would get painted as soon as spring rolled around.

 

If you are in a double wide slip with a floating dock, then you are tied on one side (let's say port) and your neighbor is tied on his starboard side. Tie the boats together! Run just one line from a cleat on your boat to a cleat on your neighbor's with just enough tension to keep you both off your respective docks. Ask first, of course. This was common practice in a marina I was in many years ago, and I have been doing it where I am presently for over a decade. It helps both boats and is pretty effective.

 

On the lines of what Faster recommended. I like Faster's idea of using a bungee, it may be the solution of what I was concerned about. Neighbors boat is a Nordic 44 and weighs probably 3 or 4 times what mine weighs. We get a raelly bad ground swell that at times can make its way into the harbor (waves can be breaking with 50 foot faces just outside the harbor). When that happens, boats are moving as well as the docks (since they are floating). If I tie to neighbors boat, that boat could be moving opposite direction as mine, and when a common line were to go tight, would rip the cleat off my boat (the Nordic 44 cleats are much stonger than mine). The bungee might work, but then again when things really start to move, best is to just be tied up somewhat close to the dock (with fenders) and ride it out that way. If I have too much slack in the dock lines, then the boat moves around too much, building a lot of momentum, before reaching the limit of the dock line. I do have line snubbers in all my dock lines to try to relieve some of the stress on lines and cleats.

 

As far as tires, I saw how smack lost his boat. Was wondering how the boats would have fared if the dock had tires tied to where the boats bows made contact. I am thinking of doing this in case I break a dock line and the bow starts contacting the pier (I go bow in). Might buy some time before the bow is heavily damaged. Would also help me on my not so perfect docking manuvers.

 

I have seen the surge in the harnors in Niwilliwilli and also in Lahina and how they can really big dramatic. What about a large fender board with fenders on both sides. It would cushion the shock doubly. They work well on fixed docks. In your case you may want to attach the fender board to the edge of the floating dock with cleats. Having fenders of both side of the board amkes it like the Nascar safer barrier in theat it gives and the soick compresses on both sdes at contact.

 

I wonder if West Marine's no question asked return policy works for a worn out fender? Probably not.

 

I had bought the fenders from wm mail order. Few weeks ago I called them and they said they would send me a replacement. Then, a few minutes later they called back and said I needed to go directly through Taylor. I called Taylor and asked if I could return it to my local wm store for exchange. Taylor said I could. I will attempt to do that. WM is getting harder to deal with (as most stores are tightening there return and warraty policy- not just wm, to save on the bottom line). I have not had a chance to get to the WM, but I will try. Hope they exchange without a problem. If I need to mail to Taylor for exchange, shipping will be the cost of a new fender- probably about $90 as everthing into and out of Hawaii goes air freight. Shipping cost to Hawaii generally runs the cost of the item. I try to buy local because of that. WM did have a flat rate of $20 for shipping for all your items to Hawaii- I think even that has now changed.

 

If the fender is not punctured, it can only be leaking from the stem. I would press on that being warranty. It's a minor burst.

 

The leak is through a crack. By feel I can tell the crack started from within the fender and moved out to the outside of the fender where it broke through. At that point it made a pin hole leak. Hope this is considered splitting and hope it will be covered under warranty. Warranty only covers splitting and bursting.

 

I've been using tyres as fenders for decades. I wouldn't consider buying a fender. I cut them into three sections and stuff them each inside of the next to a total of three sections. I cut out the wire around the centre and put a hole in the bottom and tie a rope thru the hole. Three sections give you far more cushioning than one. and they sink when you tie alongside a log boom ,making them far more effective than floating fenders. And they last forever. Painting them the colour of your hull eliminates scuff marks, altho scuff marks can be easily cleaned off with gasoline or diesel fuel.
I wouldn't want to be seen in a marina so childishly snobby as to ban tyres for fenders. That would be embarrassing.

 

....I wouldn't want to be seen in a marina so snobby as to ban tyres for fenders. That would be embarrassing.

Which is why they do it. They don't want people with tires for fenders to be seen there, so everyone is apparently happy.

 

If that's not splitting, what is.

 

The split was in an area where so rub wear occured. I hope WM/Taylor agree with you, but if they deny, not much you can do.

 

The acrylan slip covers friends made for the tires that they were using as fenders were presentable and seemed to work fine.

 

casey, if the boat is small enough, there are things called "dock whips" or something like that. They are fiberglass rods that you bolt vertically onto the dock. Then you bend them down, over the boat, and tie the end to the far side of the boat.

The rod tries to straighten out, which in turn pushes the boat away from the dock.

Not perfect, but they can help if sized properly and at least in moderate conditions.

Tires that are in the water or soaked with tidal changes, will grow barnacles and those of course will chew up the hull. So like any other fender the tires should be kept high enough to be dry.

Of course, you could try something industrial along the lines of shock absorbers, pinned into the dock on one end, pinned into the boat on the other. Or light truck springs from the junkyard, holding off a padded fender board. I have no idea how much "brute force" you'll need to gentle down that dock but sometimes a clever machine shop can suggest something, if you're allowed to install things.

 

casey, if the boat is small enough, there are things called "dock whips" or something like that. They are fiberglass rods that you bolt vertically onto the dock. Then you bend them down, over the boat, and tie the end to the far side of the boat.

The rod tries to straighten out, which in turn pushes the boat away from the dock.

Not perfect, but they can help if sized properly and at least in moderate conditions.

Tires that are in the water or soaked with tidal changes, will grow barnacles and those of course will chew up the hull. So like any other fender the tires should be kept high enough to be dry.

Of course, you could try something industrial along the lines of shock absorbers, pinned into the dock on one end, pinned into the boat on the other. Or light truck springs from the junkyard, holding off a padded fender board. I have no idea how much "brute force" you'll need to gentle down that dock but sometimes a clever machine shop can suggest something, if you're allowed to install things.

I looked into the dock whips a couple years ago and could not find one big enough. I will try to find some golf cart tires. Seems those would be flexible enough and small enough diameter to stay dry above water line. They probably do not have steel belts. I will keep with the Taylor fenders (try to get replacement for leaking one) but tires would be a good back up. Thing I like about tires is they cannot fail. Taylor may honor their life warranty, but that does little good if your boat is damaged. At my harbor, I have seen numerous boats damaged after the fender deflated. Problem is the fender is most likely to fail during a big surge event, the time when you need that fender the most.

Curious as to why no maker fills the fender with a light weight foam to make them "run flat" fenders.

 

I'm going to guess that lightweight foam means open cell, which gets real nasty real fast when warm and damp. And closed cell foam is expensive. And you can't blow mold a vinyl envelope around either one of them, so now you need a whole different manufacutring process. Closed cell will also tend to rupture cells every time it goes squish, although foamed neoprene is strong enough it is damned expensive.

So...it all comes down to money.

Can't you put down some helix anchors outboard of the hull, attach float lines to them, and then pull the boat away from the wall when you secure it?

 

Can't you put down some helix anchors outboard of the hull, attach float lines to them, and then pull the boat away from the wall when you secure it?

That would not be allowed. I am in a state owned harbor and the only thing you can do is tie your boat to the existing dock cleats. On big surge events some boats set an anchor to try to keep off the dock. I have not tried this as I do not think it is worth the effort. The scope would be less than 1:1 and the harbor bottom is mostly silt- not much holding power. Additionally, if there is a boat next to me (we are in double wide slips) the line to the anchor could interfere with their mooring or the entering and exiting dock.

 

Yes ,stick a knife in the tire to make sure its not steel belted. Several along your dock not only protect you more if a line breaks, but they also make it much easier for anyone who falls off the dock to get back aboard.

 

My old dock has a couple of tires mounted on it as fenders. I hatde them, they left black marks on the gelcoat that was annoying to remove. I was always docking in a way that made sure that the boat never touched the tire, kind of defeating it's purpose.

 

I was always docking in a way that made sure that the boat never touched the tire, kind of defeating it's purpose.

Sounds as if they actually worked well.

 

They worked about as well as putting nails with the sharp end sticking out of the side of the dock. That isn't normally what I ask for from my fenders.

 

Bare tires are only fit for workboats at a working dock. They are simply not "yacht" (sniff )

20 years ago my wife came home with an armful of 3 1/2" X 5' solid pool noodles (no hole down the center). As soon as I saw them I realized she had bought them to use as dock edging. They are closed cell foam and cost next to nothing - especially at the end of summer at dollar stores.

I lashed them in place using lengths of old sail ties screwed to the float with stainless screws and fender washers. They worked exceptionally well - if a fender flips up you are still completely protected. If you misjudge and rub the dock - nada.

They will deteriorate from UV - lasted three years here before they started shedding. You have two choices about that - spend $20 every couple of years for new ones or spend a bunch more and make up covers like those sold for fenders. If I could use a sewing machine I'd make covers colour coordinated to the boat but as it was I simply used noodles that were colour coordinated to the boat.

After I implemented her idea we started noticing other people using them in the same way - should have patented the idea.

 

Pool noodles encased in fire hose would probably last forever. Hmmm.....

I like the golf cart tire idea except for it marking up the hull. As much as I would like to say I don't care about that, I do think that my boat is beautiful and if it's white hull were all marked up all the time, it wouldn't be good.

MedSailor

 

Lots of good points pro and con. Please if you do use a tire be sure it will not be a breeding ground for mosquitos. Fix it so water can not stand in it. Good Day, Lou

 

Dont be so cheap....Use the nice big fenders......replace when worn out....cheapest part of owning a boat if you ask me. Cant afford to but a fender? How are you going to afford to fix anything else that wears out? Tires.....cmon man Sail.net ...... not tug.net

 

I look for ways to save money and resources. That is how I CAN afford to fix anything else that wears out and keep my safety equipment up to date. And I will stay "cheap". I drive 20 year old (or more) cars but have managed to pay my house off, boat off, and all cars paid for. I owe no one nothing- but hey, you can call me cheap if you like....

 

I'm also often frugal, but this isn't the right place to be frugal.

I spent 5 minutes buffing tire marks off of my friends boat yesterday after we hit a dock-mounted tire while docking in high winds. If you don't mind your boat being covered in black skid marks then they work fine, but if nothing else you'll be paying for it later in buffing compound and wax.

Used fenders are about the same price as used tires. I was offered two free ones on Sunday by one of my dock mates. Even at local used sailing stores you can get them for about $10/ea.

 

I'm also often frugal, but this isn't the right place to be frugal.

I spent 5 minutes buffing tire marks off of my friends boat yesterday after we hit a dock-mounted tire while docking in high winds. If you don't mind your boat being covered in black skid marks then they work fine, but if nothing else you'll be paying for it later in buffing compound and wax.

Used fenders are about the same price as used tires. I was offered two free ones on Sunday by one of my dock mates. Even at local used sailing stores you can get them for about $10/ea.

Well you should be glad the tires were there, otherwise you would be spending more than 5 minutes for the repair. As others have mentioned, cover the tires (I have seen old carpet used) to prevent scuff marks. I have 6 used tires sitting in garage- they were free, saved from last tire change- I can get more free from local tire store if needed. Used fenders here in Hawaii are rare, fenders here do not last long and people keep them until they are completely deflated and torn. I saw some used ones (complete with gashes on them) on the local craigs list and they were nearly the cost of new with no warranty- they sold in two days. There are no used boat equipment swap meets here. There are really not many boaters and very few active sailors.