dock/piling bumpers

[bigbill]

what are y'all using for bumpers on you dock pilings? i have tried fire hose, fire hose stuffed with smaller fire hose, fire hose stuffed with pool noodles. the hose is great but does not give much cushion, the one with pool noodles onle lasted about a year and they were flat. 58 yachtfish so it is a heavy boat i need 9 pieces about 6 feet long

 

[Captain Ralph]

I assume you have tried the Taylor Made and other conventional pile guards. So did I.

A trick I did on my old dock on the north-side of Jax years ago. Heavy PVC 4 inch PVC pipes. Screwed onto the piles. The boat rides well on the plastic.
We were victims of the Ribault River currents always pushing us on the dock. No traffic, just pinned on the dock.

Drill 5/16" holes for the screws, 3/4" holes towards the boat about every 12 to 16 inches.
Nice stainless 5/15 x 2" lag bolts with fender washers.
Cheap socket , extension and tech tool adapter. Tape the bottom of the pipe with blue tape to catch the stuff you will drop till you get the hang of it. Epoxy the socket on the extension. A lil tape wedging the screw into the socket helps also.

I found some of that blue 4 & 6" plastic pipe.
Tore the dock down and left the hood before I had a chance to try it.

Currently in a pretty calm area. Back to standard dock rubbers. 2 years later doing well.
No pinning currents or SFB SeaRay operators around like on the Ortega river.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I have pilings all around so I can tie off so I never touch. But the neighbor has those pre-made ones from Taylor Made that have what looks like fire hose on them. He has a 52 Viking.

 

[Pascal]

I have pilings on both sides for my 53 so I set the lines to make sure the boat will not hit. That said it s a Hatteras with a real rub rail … not worried

My “office” is on the tee head so I have a couple of fenders tied to the pier. Taylor’s gender made are worthless even the big ones although in all fairness a 116’ puts a lot of pressure on them. After blowing 4 of them, I switched to another brand of big round fenders made in the US I can’t remember I also use a couple of Aere inflatable fenders. They work well

The key is to tie the fenders to the dock with longer lines to the next pilings or cleats and to the piling hook as well. This way they stay in place even when you come in

 

[madhatter1]

I put sturdy hard rubber cushion type 8" long fenders on the pilings. Then we have large inflatable fenders and a couple large ball fenders to also keep the boat cushioned. No such thing as too much.

 

[Briankinley2004]

I cut a 10" PVC pipe that I had laying around in half. I put it over the part of the piling that faces the rub rail and used dresser washers and screws to fasten it about every 12". I still use a fender board but the PVC helps protect the pipe. Haven't had any major UV deterioration yet. It was laying in a pasture for 10 years before I used it. It is the green sewer type.