How to fend boat off dock in winds

[madhatter1]

I did try to google how to build big boat fender boards, no go, so changed it to yacht, same results. My dock is a pier that faces south. Westerly winds are no problem as the 46 will hang off the dock not hitting it. Easterly winds pin it to the dock and I need a good way to fend off without making things hard on the paint. Winds from the east due to proximity of land limit waves so even in a storm boat will not bounce around a lot. But pinned against the dock hard and minor movement is hard on the boat. Even with long tight spring lines the fenders get moved out of alignment some times. Fender balls would work decent midship to stern but forward I need a way to fend off the piling at the rub rail as its well above the dock height. Lot's of you guys have larger boats so I would appreciate some ideas and pictures.

Thanks in advance.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Big ball fenders mid ship and aft. Spring line to keep the bow off and the boat will stay only on the mid/aft fenders. A stern line to the far side aft cleat too. If the stern stays tight, the bow cannot swing in.

 

[Briankinley2004]

I made a fender board out of a 2x6 about 6' long and use two large fenders behind the board. All are held off the railing. I have had no issues even during the tropical storm we had hit in November. I also use the sailor Sams tide balls on my pilings and the boat stays close to the dock that way

 

[Pascal]

Hard to tell without knowing the kind of dock you have.

In a slip with pilings on both side I set the lines so the boat can’t hit the pilings.

Now if you are side to, like on a tee head you have to use fenders. When that’s the case I use fenders set horizontal just under the tub rails. If the dock is concrete with pilings then you can’t set big ball fenders against the concrete, tied to the pilings so you don’t have to move them every tome you leave.

Post a picture of the boat and slip so we can see

 

[carolinacoast]

If the tide allows, maybe something like this would work.
Old school solution-legacy scrap fire hose wrapped on the piling. Last thought, if a floating dock reaches out to the piling, a really large ball fender works too.

 

[madhatter1]

I will post up a picture in the morning. Thank you for the replies.

 

[madhatter1]

Pictures added

 

[rsmith]

You need tie off poles on the outside. Don’t know if they make mooring whips that big. Mooring balls? Unless you’re against a solid wall or rafting up to another vessel their totally worthless.

 

[rsmith]

You need tie off poles. I had triples that wouldn’t keep the boat off the dock in the 04 hurricanes I went to 6 clusters solved the problem. Added triples on the dock at the stern and bow. I had 2x12 fender boards rigged up in 04 for Frances they were reduced to splinters in the first 3 hours. I had to get out with a hand ax and cut the whole mess loose.

 

[Pascal]

If you have pilings on the outside you can use them to keep the boat off the dock.

If the beam supporting the dock planks is tall enough you may be able to tie a couple of large ball fenders to the pilings set right against the beam to help when coming in and out. Otherwise install some heavy duty pilings fenders, some are really nice and tough.

 

[jim rosenthal]

Subsalve in Rhode Island make some really large fenders and also socks for them, might be worth a look in their catalog.

 

[Photolomy]

I got a couple of these ...

https://www.amazon.com/Dock-Edge-Piling-Bumper-6-Feet/dp/B006ZOVGZS

They are very sturdy and work very well. I have a narrow slip and I have these on the pilings on one side, normal hanging fenders on the dock side.

 

[oscarvan]

I made fender boards out of white oak. These are sized to fit in the deck box. I've used them in a place where there's 2 feet of tide and a ripping current. They do occasionally wiggle out of position but a lot less than a horizontal fender. If this were my home slip and I was not always there I would make them longer with more fenders.

 

[madhatter1]

I am looking at 8' sections of Fend-All, similar to what Photolomy posted a link to. Then I'll look for some 14" longer fenders and come up with a better way to tie them so they don't move. Due to proximity to neighbors property I cannot install outer pilings.

 

[Briankinley2004]

I took a couple pictures of mine. I cannot install outer pilings either due to canal width restrictions. The fender board works well. It is a little long as I built it before I bought the Tide Minders. I had to leave slack in the rope for the tide. Now I only need a foot of slack so I could get by with a 3-4' board. The wind is strong to the aft in the picture so she is stretched all the way forward. I took a 10" PVC pipe I had laying around and cut in half to put on the face of the pilings. It keeps the rub rail in the back from grinding the wood and the boat slides up and down easily if the back rub rail is against the pilings.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

These are great and easy to stow once you deflate them. They come in all sizes. Get them big enough and long enough to sit horizontal tied to the boat and centered on each piling.

https://www.amazon.com/BRIS-Heavy-Duty-Inflatable-Fenders-Sailboats/dp/B07BW38SBH

 

[oscarvan]

Don't know how many months of wood chafe those big balls can stand.......

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Don't know how many months of wood chafe those big balls can stand.......

They're tough.

 

[Pascal]

The problem with hanging fenders and fender boards to the boat is that they move with tide. Also they re a pain to remove everytime you go out. No big deal for a dock queen otherwise it’s a pita. Securing the fenders to the dock means less work and always having them at the right height

 

[carolinacoast]

that is the way to go. diver or you need to keep the growth off though.